Synergy Veterinary Behavior

10/29/2026

Halloween, dogs, and doorbells, oh my! 👻

Halloween can be a struggle for people with dogs who bark at the doorbell or when someone knocks on the door.

While it's probably too late to "fix" the behavior before the 31st, we DO have time to implement management strategies to reduce barking and lower everyone's stress.

Here are a few ideas:

🎃 Put your dog in another room with white noise (or other noise-buffering) and provide them with enrichment activities (ex: snufflemats, frozen Toppls, etc)

🎃 If you have a smart doorbell, turn the volume off or down. Your phone can vibrate to notify you of arriving kiddos, and/or you can sit outside to hand out candy.

🎃 Leave a note at your door asking people not to knock or ring the doorbell. Leave a basket of candy outside instead!

Goal for next year: Work on desensitizing your dog to the sound of people knocking or the doorbell noise! Not sure how to begin? We can help!

10/28/2026

10/28/2026

Calling all veterinary and training professionals in the Portland area! 🥳

Join us for our Good Behavior Gather-Up on Sunday, November 22nd, from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.
Location: Synergy Veterinary Behavior - 2127 NW York St, Portland, OR 97210
▶ ▶ Please RSVP using the QR code.

As a veterinary behavior and training facility, we know the best way to support people and their pets is to do it together. That's why we're bringing together veterinarians, veterinary staff, trainers, and behavior consultants for a day of learning and connection. 💙

Our presentations will focus on:
🐾 Minimizing stress during veterinary care
🐾 Identifying and preventing behavioral concerns in puppies and kittens
⭐ CE pending approval for veterinarians/technicians and trainers

Featuring presentations from:
▪ Dr. Valli Parthasarathy, PhD, DVM, DACVB
▪ Jennie Fiendish, CVT, VTS (Behavior), CPDT-KA, CDTI
▪ Lorenzo JW Fox, FDM, SAPT, PDT, CCUI
▪ Amber Mahoney, CDBC, CPDT-KA, FDM

Come bridge the gap between veterinary and behavior pros - snacks, sips, Q&A time, and prizes are all on us! ✨

10/27/2026

Because we love Halloween and magic, I asked our staff what they'd do if we had a magic wand...👻✨🧙‍♀️

10/26/2026

The Clicker Expo Virtual Conference is only a few months away! ⭐

And what's even more exciting? Dr. Valli Parthasarathy, PhD, DVM, DACVB, and our former Synergy trainer/current friend, Vivi (Sara) McLoudrey, CDBC, FFCE, LSH-CE, will be presenting together!

▶ ▶ The Five Ws of Referrals: Who, what, where, when, why, and how to send a good referral. Including troubleshooting situations like...
▪ When to refer back to the primary veterinarian
▪ How to decide if you should refer to another trainer
▪ How to deal with pushback from clients or other professionals about when or why you want to refer
▪ Staying in your lane while referring and following up with clients

Their webinar is on January 22nd, 2027, from 12 - 1:30 PM Pacific Time. Clicker Expo Live runs from January 22nd through the 24th.

Register Here:
https://clickerexpo.clickertraining.com/clicker-expo-virtual/live-2027-conference-program/?utm_campaign=46838845-ClickerExpo-2027&utm_medium=email&_hsenc=p2ANqtz--5-NRROpyWnX8HCiG7NV0zdLjEPvAoD0JsHiQ_Bei8c3hmalw4Nh7d1P60gFo4fnj2XC5m2U8ElEqAEl7Q80Yi6bSG7w&_hsmi=442858545&utm_content=442858545&utm_source=hs_automation

10/22/2026

Stop! Before you dress your pet up for Halloween... 👻

🤠 Cowboy Marbles has some advice to make dressing up easier for our furry friends:

▪ Pick costume types for comfort rather than amusement. Hats, shoes, and other accessories can be very uncomfortable and harder for a pet to adjust to.

▪ Get your pet used to the costume rather than forcing it on. Pets CAN learn that wearing clothes and costumes isn't terrible or stressful, but we have to help them by gradual desensitization and positive exposures instead of expecting them to just be "okay" with it.

▪ Does your pet need to be in the costume all night? OR is it better to snag a few photos and switch them to a comfy shirt, sweater, or back to being "naked"? Expecting a pet to wear a costume all night while at a party can be unnecessary stress on top of an already stressful night.

Dragon-Cowboy-Bat Marbles is a young, highly confident, and very impressionable puppy. He got plenty of cookies while modeling his costumes, and aside from the hat (because it's clearly a much better chew toy), he quickly learned that costumes mean FUN.

10/20/2026

Join us in wishing Jenn a Happy Vet Tech Week! 🥳

Jenn wears many hats, including being a CVT, VTS (Behavior), CPDT-KA, and CTDI. She is THE dog, cat, and horse girl (but really, you can throw any animal her way, and she will help nurture it back to health).

At Synergy, Jenn helps implement the behavior medication plans we start with your pets, builds training plans (mostly for our feline patients, who don't get enough credit for how trainable they are), and teaches you how to carry them out at home. Around the clinic, she manages inventory and ordering, handles a hundred tasks we don't always notice until they're done, and still finds time to present at conferences and teach at other clinics. If there's a problem, she's already working on a solution. She's an educator in every direction: toward clients, colleagues, and the profession.

Few technicians hold the VTS (Behavior) credential, and fewer still do all of this in one place. We would know: ours is what helps us function!

Jenn, thank you for everything you do and for everything you are! Happy Vet Tech Week. 🐈 💙

10/20/2026

Supporting our scared pets 🐶 🐱

⭐ Understand that fear is not a response your pet can control. However, we can help them with it.

💙 Don't flood pets with scary situations - it will not improve or change how they feel.

⭐ Desensitization and counter-conditioning must happen at a level that isn't overwhelming for the pet.

💙 Behavioral medications can help pets with fears and phobias. Talk with your vet or veterinary behaviorist to see if it's a good option.

⭐ Punishing or yelling at a pet for being scared won't help and, in some cases, can worsen their fear.

💙 Fear can trigger aggression (fight), flight (escape), freezing, or fawning (appeasement).

When our pets are feeling scared, the first step is reducing their fear by removing the source of it. If hiding makes them feel more secure, let them hide. If they need to get away from the scary thing, help them move away from it. If you can remove the scary thing for them, remove it. It doesn’t matter if YOU don’t think the thing is scary- show your pet you can help them feel safer!
From there, work with your vet and/or a veterinary behaviorist and a qualified positive reinforcement-based trainer to put together a plan that addresses these fears and builds their confidence. Don’t know where to begin? Please reach out to us!

10/19/2026

Halloween is near! Are you ready for spooky fun? 🎃

Even if you are, your pets may not be! Many pets find the decorations and festivities stressful, so let's make sure we're prepared:

👻 To prevent door-dashing when answering the door for trick-or-treaters, consider putting a baby gate or x-pen around the door. Alternatively, if the weather permits, set up your candy station outside!

👻 Keep candy, decorations, and flames out of reach of your pets.

👻 Make sure your pets are microchipped and wearing current ID tags, in case they get out Halloween night.

👻 If your pet will not enjoy dressing up, don't force them to.

👻 If you're going out, keep your pets at home. If you're hosting a party, consider confining your pet to another room.

10/18/2026