Dr. Virginia Sinnott-Stutzman, senior staff veterinarian at Angell Animal Medical Center, joined Boston Public Radio Wednesday for Ask The Veterinarian, where she fielded listener calls about their pressing pet questions.
A listener who texted the show said they had tried everything, but their miniature schnauzer will not stop barking. They wanted to know if bark collars are effective.
"Anything that delivers a shock is probably a bad way to go, because they're going to see the shock as coming from what they're looking at. So if he's looking out the window barking at someone walking by, he's going to see that someone walking by is going to cause him pain," she said. "Our behaviorist, Dr. Bright, taught me that. The other one is the citronella collar ... sometimes it works because it's not meant to give them a negative feedback, it's meant to startle them … kind of get them out of the cycle."
The real key to quieting a dog down is actually teaching it a command for barking, such as “speak.” Sinnott-Stutzman recommended seeing an animal behaviorist, who can help train the dog to bark so they know when barking is a desired behavior and when it is undesired.
On training in general, Sinnott-Stutzman said consistency is key: aim for a few minutes every day.
"It's better to spend 3 minutes and four pieces of hot dog training your dog five times a day than to spend half an hour a couple times a week," she said.
Al, who likes to run with his labrador retriever, asked: How far is too far to run with your dog?
"As long as you're working up the mileage, they can become runners just like we are," she said. "You just want to make sure he stays a healthy weight. If he's heavy and he's putting a lot of force on the joints, you can increase the risk of arthritis. And we don't want a weekend warrior. So let's say you personally run a few miles a day during the week but only take the dog on the ten-miler on the weekend, just like you, the dog's going to be sore because he's not trained for it."
Aidan, who lives in a home with a cat, asked how often should you brush your pet's teeth.
"Ideally you brush your cat or dog's teeth daily. A minimum of three times a week, anything less than that probably is not helping as much as you think, because the tartar builds up pretty quickly," Sinnott-Stutzman said.
She recommended the C.E.T. line of veterinary toothpaste, which comes in a variety of flavors.
"Find the one they like, and let them just lick it right out of the toothpaste tube every day, just a few licks, then the next day you put it on a brush and let them lick it off the brush," she said. "Slowly over time you'll be able to do the canines, the front teeth, then over time you can add in the sides, one side at a time.”
Sinnott-Stutzman explained that dog owners typically only need to brush their pet’s upper teeth, where tartar is more prone to build up.
Ben asked if it’s better to allow visitation with a pet after a divorce or relationship separation, or if there should be a clean break.
"It depends on the bond," she said. "If the person the dog's most bonded to is not the one they're living with, then maybe visitation with a slow phasing out is a good idea so they aren't despondent. But in general, the best thing is to keep their lives as stable as possible. In the ideal world, maybe no visitation, but humans have feelings too ... I mean, every kid who had a dog and grew up and went away to college, came back for Christmas or Easter and we weren't like 'Oh that's inhumane you can't come home.'"
Produced with assistance from the Public Media Journalists Association Editor Corps funded by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, a private corporation funded by the American people.
