Thank you for contacting PAWS regarding behavior issues you may be experiencing with your companion animal. PAWS is pleased to be able to provide information about behavior issues for both dogs and cats via this area on our website. The most important element to recognize in attempting to understand and modify behaviors you may be experiencing with your companion animal is that patience is required. Unwanted negative behaviors don’t develop overnight, and they can’t be resolved overnight. Many unwanted behaviors can be successfully eliminated but you must be committed to a 6-8 week training period to get the desired results. If you are committed to patience and are willing to try to work with your animal to overcome unwanted behavior, please read on.

Guidelines:

1. PAWS is located in Lynnwood, Washington, and this service is intended for people in Western Washington only. Due to the volume of inquiries, we are not able to provide assistance to people outside of our area. Visitors from other states or countries should read the information made available on this site and others as a starting point, and then contact a trainer or behaviorist in your area.
2. PAWS is not able to give advice on any medical issue your animal experiencing; you should contact your veterinarian instead. We also cannot address any aggression your animal may be exhibiting. There are too many factors involved, and you should therefore consult a behavior specialist to resolve ANY aggression-related issue. Please view the When the Behavior Helpline Can’t Help page.
3. This Behavior Helpline is not meant to be a resource for people seeking to relinquish their animals. Information on how to re-home your animal is available on the Can't Keep Your Dog or Cat page.

If you have a question about animal behavior, please look at our animal fact sheets to see what information we have to offer. If the problem you are encountering is not listed there, or if you have tried some of the suggestions we’ve provided, you can email us to reach a specially trained volunteer or staff person who will respond to you as soon as possible.