076 Making Sure Dogs Have Happy Lives & Specialists for Pets Severe Behavior Issues.

Do you wonder if your pet has a happy life overall? You can increase their happiness and mental well-being by addressing the core emotions that both you and your pets share. This means understanding the emotions and creating an environment where your pet’s positive emotions, SEEKING and PLAY get activated as much as possible and the negative ones, FEAR, RAGE and GRIEF, don’t get activated any more than necessary. Through this guideline, your dogs and cats will be much happier and you’ll see fewer behavior problems. In this episode, I’ll tell you about the first positive emotion, SEEKING – how you experience it, and then offer some tips to activate it in your dog. Then, are you dealing with some serious behavior problems with your dog or cat? Not sure what to do or if you need to call in some help?  There are specialists that work with severe behavior issues. Who are they, what do they do and where do you find them?  My guest Dr. Kelly Ballantyne, a board-certified Veterinary Behaviorist and leader of the company, Insight Animal Behavior Services will answer these questions.   Additional Resources for the show. Source for the story about the positive emotion, SEEKING – “Animals Make Us Human” by Temple Grandin and Catherine Johnson. Dr. Kelly Ballantyne’s website – Insight Animal Behavior Services. How to find a Vet Behaviorist: The American College of Veterinary Behaviorists. European Board of Veterinary Specialization