Got a burning question about dogs? You’ve come to the right place! Drool founder and expert Vet Dr Chris Brown took over Petstock socials and conducted a livestream Q&A. We’ve compiled our favourite answers from all these doggy head scratchers.
How Do You Stop Dogs From Being Reactive When People Coming To The Front Door?
When dogs hear someone near or at the front door, they want to make sure you know about it and their immediate response is to bark. They see themselves as the head our of security, and that’s their job. In instances when people are just passing by your house (like the postman) the behaviour is inadvertently reenforced because they bark, and the postman leaves.
What we need to do as pet owners is to make sure the behaviour isn’t enforced.
A good first step is if you have a doorbell, ring it repeatedly and don’t react. This will show them that you’re not after that reactive behaviour, and you’re not requesting them to do that.
It’s also a good idea to exercise them during the day to burn up some of their energy.
My Drool Calm and Collected Treats contain L-theanine – which is proven to help with reactivity.
How Do You Clean Your Dog’s Teeth?
I’m a big believer in having a dental routine for your dog.
I give my dog Buzzy Drool Teeth and Breath Treats after breakfast and dinner. The ingredients do the same job as brushing and toothpaste. The activated charcoal and coconut oil helps neutralise those unpleasant odours and toxins living in their mouth, and brown kelp which is scientifically proven to help remove tartar build up and neutralise bacteria in the mouth.
How To Get Your Dog To Stop Eating And Stealing Your Stuff?
Dogs will often do this because your ‘stuff’ has your scent on it. Your things are their ticket to feeling closer and more connected with you. When they take it to the next level of chewing and eating your ‘stuff’, this is their way of calming themselves down, so it can be a self-soothing mechanism for them when you’re at work or away.
This is why I always recommend leaving them with a treat. Drool Calm and Collected Treats work well with separation anxiety.
Do Dogs Dream?
Scientists studied the brain activity of dogs as they fall asleep and made a remarkable discovery. Their brain activity is almost identical to ours.
After reaching deep sleep, both dogs and people enter something called REM (rapid eye movement) sleep. REM sleep is the stage where we dream. So yes, it is possible!
Next time your dog falls asleep next to you, watch them. It’s the point where they start twitching and their legs start moving that they’re going into REM sleep, which is the dream sleep. Normally, their brain paralysis their body so they don’t act out of their dream, but that isn’t always 100% successful. That’s why you see videos on the internet of dogs ‘chasing rabbits’ when they’re asleep.
Why Is My Dog Always Hungry?
For dogs, it’s an instinctive thing. Generally, even if their belly is full, they think they won’t eat for a few days so they want to keep eating. On the other hand, cats are hunters. They like to stay light and nimble, so they prefer to graze and have bit here and there.
I recommend feeding food-obsessed dogs twice a day – or breaking up their meals into smaller amounts more often so they’re getting food more regularly.
My Drool In-Betweeners treats contain pre-biotic fibre which helps fill them up and balance their gut bacteria.
Why Do Dogs Sniff Each Other’S Butts?
Dogs and cats have something very much in common and its two glands inside their backside. They’re called anal glands. We shake hands. They sniff each other’s backsides. It happens so often that we almost see it as being normal.
They sniff there because those little pouches are actually ‘scent’ glands. Essentially, the glands contain that dog (or cat’s) unique odour that tells them EVERYTHING you need to know about that park newbie.
From their age, to their sex, their health, their favourite dinner and whether they’re de-sexed is all divulged with one simple sniff.
How Do You Stop A Puppy From Biting?
Between the ages of 10-12 weeks, puppies are teething. Their sharp little teeth are slowly being pushed out and dissolved because the big adult teeth are coming through, and they’ll want to mouth anything: your hands, your feet…your ankles. The best thing you can do is re-direct the mouthing towards something else, like a toy.
Why Won’t My Puppy Eat Without Being Hand Fed?
It usually comes down to a confidence thing. Dogs that like to be hand fed feel like they have to earn their food and it becomes a comfort thing for them to eat out of your hand. You can slowly change this by making them sit for their food instead and then they think they’ve earned their food, and they will eat.
Dr Chris
Brown
Dr Chris Brown
Dr Chris Brown is an Australian Vet, television presenter and author. Best known for his television series Bondi Vet, he is also the founder of Drool – a company which champions quality ingredients and hand-picked supplements for healthy pet treats