Partnership aims to improve access to behavioral specialists

Purina Pro Plan Veterinary is partnering with Ease, an online veterinary behavior specialty care service, to help increase access to behavior care. The collaboration is part of the Pro Plan Veterinary Support Mission that was created to help remove barriers veterinarians often face in practice.¹

"Animal behavioral care is a specialty that many vet clinics sorely need and often cannot access," Callie Harris, DVM, Purina Pro Plan Veterinary, said in the release.¹ "Through our partnership with Ease, we're helping to raise awareness and let clinics know that help from board-certified veterinary behaviorists exists so they can continue to focus on patient care and their own well-being."

Pet behavioral issues are a top client concern for veterinary practices and are among the leading reasons that animals are surrendered or euthanized, despite most being treatable with appropriate expertise and approach, according to Purina. Although studies show that more than 72% of dogs and up to 50% of cats exhibit stress and anxiety-related behavior, only 0.07% of practicing veterinarians in the US are board-certified veterinary behaviorists. ^1-4

“There are a lot of pets that could benefit from behavioral help, but there aren't very many people that are credentialed with this kind of expertise, so your average veterinary practice likely doesn't have a certified applied animal behaviorist or a board certified veterinary behaviorist on staff to help with these kinds of cases,” Annie Valuska, PhD, a pet behaviorist for Purina, said in a dvm360 interview. “The goal of Ease is to try to bring this kind of expertise in to these clinics, to give these general practitioners access to these certified applied animal behaviorists and board certified veterinary behaviorists and allow them to help pet parents and offer this kind of expertise to their clients.”

Ease aims to allow veterinary practices access to expert behavioral support from its team of licensed Diplomate of the American College of Veterinary Behaviorists (DACVB), at no extra cost. Because few veterinary practices have a dedicated DACVB on staff, the Pro Plan Veterinary partnership can expand Ease's ability to make behavioral treatment accessible to pet parents nationwide, all while keeping general practice vets at the center of care.¹

Ease's online platform allows DVMs to submit behavioral cases quickly. After review, Ease offers the client a structured behavior program, while the DVM provides medication and testing with DACVB guidance. Clients receive their own online pet portal, complete with a tailored treatment plan, on-demand videos, training tutorials, and email support for all training and behavioral questions.¹

"Veterinarians face behavioral issues from clients every day, and it is incredibly hard on them when they cannot provide the support their patients need. That gap not only affects pets and their families but weighs heavily on the vets and techs who care so deeply," Brandy Kuentzel, Ease cofounder and CEO, said in a news release.¹ "This partnership helps close that gap by raising awareness of behavioral issues in practices and by increasing the ability to access expert behavioral care so every pet family can get specialist-level help without delay."

For Pro Plan Veterinary, the collaboration marks another way the brand is working for vets through its Pro Plan Veterinary Support Mission. Launched in 2024, the mission helps address challenges that veterinarians often face in practice and embodies the company's long-term commitment to meeting the personal and professional needs of the veterinary profession.¹

The partnership between Pro Plan Veterinary and Ease was also a natural fit, as one of the tools in the treatment toolbox for Ease practitioners is Calming Care, a supplement that supports calm behavior. Calming Care contains a strain of beneficial bacteria shown to help dogs and cats maintain calm behavior.

References

1. ProPlan Veterinary announces partnership with Ease to raise awareness of veterinary behavioral support services. News release. Purina. November 18, 2026. Accessed February 16, 2026. https://newscenter.purina.com/2025-11-18-Pro-Plan-Veterinary-Announces-Partnership-with-Ease-to-Raise-Awareness-of-Veterinary-Behavioral-Support-Services
2. Salonen M, Sulkama S, Mikkola S, et al. Prevalence, comorbidity, and breed differences in canine anxiety in 13,700 Finnish pet dogs. Sci Rep. 2020;10(1):2962. doi:10.1038/s41598-020-59837-z
3. Buffington CAT, Westropp JL, Bolus RR. Clinical evaluation of multimodal environmental modification (MEMO) in the management of cats with idiopathic cystitis. J Fel Med Surg. 2006;8(4):261-8. doi:10.1016/j.jfms.2006.02.002
4. Veterinary specialists in the US. American Veterinary Medical Association. December 31, 2024. Accessed February 16, 2026. https://www.avma.org/resources-tools/reports-statistics/veterinary-specialists