Intermountain Pet Hospital Blog

Deciding to bring home a new puppy can be exciting, thrilling, and stressful all at once. If you already have another dog (or more) in the home, this introduction of a new family member can be dicey and require extra care and attention on your part. Particularly if you have concerns about your dog based on interactions in the past where your dog may have acted aggressively toward other animals, you should consider how to make the first impression a good one. Here are a few ideas to make the transition of bringing a new puppy home smooth.

If you saw an unattended dog approaching you, your response may be one of avoidance, annoyance, or even fear. Most unsupervised dogs should be cautiously approached, but when it comes to service dogs, there could be something else entirely going on than you think.

Neuroscientist Shannon Odell loves to study the brain and ask why certain things affect us so much, from alcohol to cuddling. In a recent video, Shannon tackled a question we may all wonder: why do we love puppies so dang much?

Every year, dogs overheat and die after being left in hot cars during the heat of the summer. As we’ve been experiencing some of the hottest temperatures of the years in the Treasure Valley this month, ranging up to as high as 109 degrees, it’s a good time to talk about why it’s so dangerous to leave your dog in a car. It’s not a fun idea to consider and can be upsetting to think about, but it’s important to know why leaving your dog in a car for any amount of time during the summer can be lethal so quickly.

Is it time for an end-of-summer camping trip with the whole family, including Rover? Before you embark (see what we did there?) into the great outdoors with your pup, it’s important to be prepared and think through the entire adventure. Your dog’s safety is important, and everyone will have a much better time if you include your dog’s needs and temperature in your planning. Here are a few things to keep in mind before bringing your dog on a camping trip.

As summer draws to a close, it’s time to start thinking about getting back to school and the routine of the fall and winter months. Your kids may already be complaining about the end of another fun and carefree summer and feeling a little unready to brave the classroom again—but have you thought about how your dog is feeling?

As a responsible pet owner, there are certain concessions you have to make to keep your dogs, cats and other pets safe in your home and yard. There are certain house plants you need to keep away from your pets. There are specific foods that you must never feed to your pets. And to add to the list, there are certain fertilizers you should use on your lawn to keep your dog and cat safe, and keep your lawn green.

The question has been debated since the domestication of dogs and cats:

Who's smarter?

If you have spent time at the Idaho Botanical Garden or walked around the Rose Garden of Julia Davis Park, you've probably noticed some of the amazing flowers that are in full bloom. They are amazing to look at, but be aware, your pet may not be just admiring them. Your pet may be thinking about how delicious those flowers might taste. 

Summertime is great for getting to the park, camping, hiking, and doing all the outdoor things the Treasure Valley has to offer with man's best friend. But...doing all the wonderful outside actives is also an open invitation for fleas, ticks, and mites to make their moves on your pet.