PET CARE/BEHAVIOR > Pet Behavior Helpline

FREE BEHAVIOR HELPLINE
Hundreds of animals are turned into shelters each year because of behavior issues. Owners may try to address a problem they are experiencing with their pets with minimal results. Other people become so fed-up with their pet's behavior that they make them an outside pet, further isolating the pet from its family and leading to additional behavior issues.

Naturally social animals, dogs can become bored in a backyard with no one to keep them company. Digging, chewing or excessive barking are the result of canine boredom. Frustrated owners may feel their only choice is to surrender the pet to a local shelter. One of our goals is to reduce the number of animals coming into our shelter by providing people with the proper tools and support needed for a lifetime of happiness with their pet.

Having a dog or cat can be a great source of joy and companionship, but we need to teach them appropriate behavior to live companionably in a human world. On our website, you'll find information on how to solve most of the common behavior issues people face with their pets. These handouts will provide you with a good start in working through your pet's behavioral issues, and may be enough to resolve them. Click here to access our dog-related topics and here to access cat-related topics.

Behavior Helpline/Assistance for Cats and Dogs
(FREE service to the public)

Does your dog chew up your furniture or is your cat scratching it? Maybe your dog is barking too much when he's in the backyard, or your cat isn't using her litterbox. If your pet has a behavior issue, you have somewhere to turn to for free help and advice. The Sacramento SPCA offers a behavior helpline that anyone can call, whether or not they've adopted a pet from our shelter.

The behavior helpline is designed to help animals in their homes by providing owners with practical information so that they can alter the relationship they have with their pets to a positive workable one. All information sent and advice given is based on positive methods of working with your animal's behavior.

In order for us to best assist you, we need a detailed history of your pet's behavior. There are three ways you can help us help you with behavior assistance:

 

• If you would like to get a head start, please fill out our Behavior Helpline Form and fax the form back to us at (916) 383-7062,  Attn: Behavior and Training.

 

• If you would like to start the process via telephone, please call our help line at (916) 383-7387, ext. 9148. Leave us a message with your phone numbers, where you can be reached, times you can be reached, and your e-mail address. These calls are returned within 48 hours, Tuesday through Friday.

 

• Finally, while the majority of the assistance we provide to you does require obtaining a history of your pet's behavior, there are some questions we can answer for you without gathering this information first. If you believe this is the case, please click here to e-mail us.