Idaho Veterinary Hospital

08/27/2026

Help us wish the wonderful Taylor a Happy Birthday today!

08/26/2026

🐶 Happy National Dog Day! 🐾 Show us those gorgeous canines!

Today we’re celebrating the dogs who make us laugh, keep us moving, steal our blankets, follow us into every room, and somehow always know when we need a little extra love. ❤️

Whether your dog is a hiking buddy, couch potato, working dog, senior sweetheart, brand-new puppy, or professional snack inspector, they each bring something pretty special into our lives.

In honor of National Dog Day, give your pup a little extra today:
🐾 Take them for their favorite walk
🦴 Give them a special treat
🎾 Make time for their favorite game
🧠 Try a new enrichment activity
📸 Or simply spend a few extra minutes doing whatever makes their tail wag

And while you’re loving on them, it’s also a great time to make sure they’re up to date on their wellness care, vaccines, parasite prevention, and microchip information.

Now for the important part… show us your dogs! 📸👇
Drop your favorite photo in the comments and tell us one thing that makes your dog uniquely them. We can never have too many dog pictures. 🐕❤️

08/25/2026

It's Vannesa Day! Help us wish her a very Happy Birthday today!

08/22/2026

🐱 Take Your Cat to the Vet Day! 🩺

For some cats, a trip to the vet is no big deal. For others, the carrier comes out and suddenly they’ve disappeared into another dimension. 😹

Regular veterinary visits are important for cats, even those who live completely indoors. Cats are also VERY good at hiding signs of illness, so routine exams can help us catch subtle changes before they become bigger problems.

Here are a few ways to make vet day easier on you AND your cat:

🐾 Leave the carrier out year-round.
If the carrier only appears before something scary happens, your cat quickly learns what it means! Leave it somewhere accessible with a cozy blanket, treats, or toys inside so it becomes a normal part of their environment.

🐾 Make the carrier smell familiar.
Use bedding that smells like home. A feline pheromone spray can also be used in the carrier before your trip to help create a more calming environment.

🐾 Skip the carrier wrestling match.
A carrier with a removable top can make getting your cat in, and examining them at the hospital, much easier. Sometimes we can even do part of their exam while they stay comfortably in the bottom half!

🐾 Cover the carrier for the ride.
A lightweight towel or blanket can reduce visual stimulation and help your cat feel more secure. Keep the carrier stable in the vehicle and never allow your cat to roam loose in the car.

🐾 Bring their favorite treats.
If your cat has a special high-value treat they LOVE, bring it along! Positive distractions can go a long way.

🐾 Ask us about pre-visit medications.
If your cat becomes extremely fearful or stressed during veterinary visits, please tell us. There are medications that may help reduce anxiety and make the experience much easier and safer for your cat, you, and our veterinary team.

❤️ Most importantly, don't skip veterinary care just because your cat hates coming to see us. We know it can be stressful, and we're happy to work with you to find ways to make future visits easier.

Your cat may never love coming to the vet…but we'd be perfectly happy with a little less plotting our demise from inside the carrier. 😼🩺

Set up your appointment today - 208-466-4614

08/22/2026

Over the past several days, some of our clients may have noticed activity outside our hospital. Because this involves a private and ongoing matter, we are not able to discuss the circumstances or respond publicly with additional details.

What we can, and very much want to say, is thank you.

To our clients who have continued to walk through our doors with kindness, encouragement, and trust: your support has meant more to our team than we can adequately express.

Your comfort and safety are also very important to us. If you ever feel uncomfortable coming into the hospital alone, please remain in your vehicle and call us. A member of our team will be happy to come outside and es**rt you in. Additional parking is also available behind the hospital if you would prefer to enter that way.

We are incredibly proud of our IVH team. They have continued to care for every patient and client with compassion, professionalism, and remarkable grace. Even during difficult and distracting circumstances, their focus has remained exactly where it belongs: on the animals and families who depend on us.

Idaho Veterinary Hospital has cared for this community for more than 60 years, and we remain deeply committed to providing compassionate veterinary care with integrity, kindness, and respect.

Thank you for continuing to stand beside our team. We are truly grateful to be part of this community.

08/21/2026

🦜💚 5 Things Every Parrot Owner Should Teach Their Bird!

Parrots are incredibly smart, and a little training now can make veterinary visits, emergencies, and everyday care MUCH easier in the future!

🖐️ 1. Step Up...for More Than One Person
It's great if your bird steps up for you, but what happens if someone else needs to handle them? Practice stepping onto different hands and, when appropriate, a handheld perch. This can be incredibly helpful if you're unavailable or your bird needs care from someone else.

⚖️ 2. Step Onto a Scale
Weight loss can be one of the earliest signs that something isn't right with a bird, and sometimes it's happening before an owner notices any other changes.

Teaching your parrot to calmly step onto a gram scale makes regular weight checks easy and stress-free. Make stepping onto the scale a game: step up → favorite treat → all done!

🪽 3. Get Comfortable With Being Touched
Slowly teach your bird to accept gentle handling of their feet, toes, wings and beak. Never force it! Reward calm participation and work in very short sessions.

💉 4. Take Liquid From a Syringe
This is a BIG one!

Don't wait until your bird is sick to introduce a syringe. Teach them that a syringe can contain something tasty and rewarding. If they ever need oral medication, you'll both be very glad you practiced beforehand!

🚗 5. LOVE THE CARRIER!
Please don't let the carrier only appear when it's time to go to the veterinarian! 😆 Leave it out occasionally. Put favorite treats or toys inside. Let your bird explore it without going anywhere. Take short, positive trips.

Your goal is for the carrier to mean “adventure!” rather than “OH NO.”

The goal isn't to make your parrot put up with handling. It's to teach them that they have choices, that cooperating earns rewards, and that new experiences don't have to be scary. ❤️

A few minutes of positive training today can make a HUGE difference when your bird needs care someday.

08/20/2026

On and in continuation of National Immunization Awareness Month, we’d like to remind animal owners to protect against mosquito-borne illnesses, such as heartworm disease, West Nile Virus, and others, by keeping their animals up to date on vaccinations and using preventative medications.

Be sure to talk to your veterinarian if you have any questions!

08/20/2026

We're still accepting photos for our Fall Canvas Contest!

🍂 FALL PET PHOTO CONTEST! 🍁📸

We have Fall on the brain, and that means it’s time to redecorate our front office! We would love to feature YOUR pet in a beautiful Fall scene! 🐾

Send us your favorite high-quality, fall-themed photo of your pet for a chance to have them become part of Idaho Veterinary Hospital! Dogs, cats, birds, reptiles, bunnies: we want to see them all! 🐶🐱🦜🐰🦎

Our IVH team will vote on their favorite photo, and the winner will have their picture blown up onto a large canvas and proudly displayed in our lobby! 🖼️🍂

A few tips for your best chance at becoming lobby-famous:
🍁 Fall backgrounds, leaves, pumpkins, cozy blankets, or autumn adventures are encouraged!
📸 Please submit the original, highest-quality version of your photo so we can make it canvas-worthy.
🐾 One pet or a whole furry/feathered/scaly crew is welcome!
✨ Most importantly, have fun with it!

To enter: Post your photo in the comments below! By submitting your photo, you’re giving us permission to share and display it at Idaho Veterinary Hospital.

We can’t wait to see your pets showing off their best Fall vibes! 🍂🧡

Ready… set… PUMPKIN! 🎃📸

08/18/2026

🐶🩺 5 Things to Practice With Your Puppy BEFORE Their Vet Visit!

Want to help your puppy grow into a confident veterinary patient? Start practicing at home! ❤️

Veterinary visits involve a lot of strange things: people looking in ears, touching toes, lifting lips and feeling all over their body. Practicing these things when your puppy is relaxed (and pairing them with plenty of treats!) can make future visits much less stressful.

Here are 5 easy things to practice:

🐾 1. Touch Those Toes
Gently handle each paw, touch between the toes and briefly hold individual toes. Don't forget the nails! Treat and praise along the way. This helps prepare them for nail trims, paw exams and blood draws.

👂 2. Peek in Those Ears
Gently lift and handle your puppy's ears and briefly look inside. Make it quick, positive and rewarding, especially for puppies with ears that may need regular cleaning throughout their lives.

🦷 3. Lift Those Lips
Practice gently lifting your puppy's lips and looking at their teeth from both sides. You can even work toward briefly opening their mouth. This makes dental and oral exams MUCH easier later!

🤗 4. Practice Being Examined
While your puppy is relaxed, gently touch their belly, legs, tail, neck and body. Practice a brief, gentle hug or hold, followed immediately by praise or a treat. The goal is never to force them, it's to help handling become familiar and safe.

⚖️ 5. Practice the Scale
If you have access to a safe, flat surface, teach your puppy to step onto it and stand still for a moment. Use a treat to lure them on, reward, and let them step right back off. Learning “stand here = SNACK!” can make weighing in at the vet a breeze. 😋

⭐ The most important part? Keep it POSITIVE!

Practice for just a minute or two at a time. Use lots of tiny, high-value treats and stop if your puppy becomes uncomfortable. We're not looking for perfect behavior, we're building trust and confidence.

Those little practice sessions at home can make a BIG difference when your puppy comes to see us. Our goal isn't just to take great care of their health, we want them to feel as safe and comfortable with us as possible, too. 💙🐾

08/17/2026

🐈‍⬛ Black Cat Fun Fact: That sleek little house panther isn't bad luck... although your odds of tripping over them in a dark hallway may be significantly higher. 😂

🖤 Black isn't just one "black." The Cat Fanciers’ Association recognizes multiple breeds that can come in solid black, but the Bombay is the only breed developed specifically to be exclusively black, with its signature glossy coat and copper/gold eyes.
☀️ Some black cats can “rust” in the sun. Prolonged sunlight can lighten black fur and reveal reddish-brown tones. Genetics can also make subtle tabby markings, sometimes called ghost stripes, more visible in bright light.
🧬 Their color comes from lots of melanin. Black cats produce high levels of eumelanin, the pigment responsible for black/brown coloration. That pigmentation is also associated with their commonly striking yellow, gold, or copper-colored eyes.
🐈‍⬛ Black cats aren't actually bad luck everywhere. In several cultures they're associated with good fortune. In Japanese folklore, black cats have been considered lucky, and British maritime traditions have included beliefs that black cats bring good luck.
🐾 There isn't one “black cat personality.” Coat color doesn't determine whether a cat will be affectionate, independent, spicy, cuddly, or the household's tiny dictator. Personality is influenced by genetics, early socialization, experiences, environment, and the individual cat.
📸 They're notoriously tricky to photograph. Cameras can have difficulty exposing dark fur while preserving facial detail, which is one reason a black cat can look like a pair of floating eyeballs in a poorly lit picture. 😂
🧪 Black-cat genetics have actually interested scientists. Researchers have studied mutations associated with melanism in cats and other felids, including whether pigmentation-related genes may have relationships with biological processes beyond coat color.