TOP #131 Deep Dive In How To Care And Train Your Dog From A Veterinarian's Perspective

Hi there, welcome to the Theory of Pets Podcast where we uncover the truths about the pet industry! I am your host, Connor Knight!

Today we are going to be looking at basic how care for a new dog and training from a veterinarian's perspective. The guest today is none other than Dr. Lyndsey Kingsley. 

She has been a wealth of knowledge continuously coming on the podcast and sharing what she knows with us! 

This episode goes on a deep dive so listen in!

Here is the lay out of the questions I ask:

1. So there are some basic guidelines for pet owners and new pet owners on how much physical and mental activity with dogs. You have trainers saying that they need mental stimulation and physical stimulation in order to be happy
   1. HOW MANY MINUTES PER DAY SHOULD DOGS BE PHYSICALLY ACTIVE AND HOW MANY MINUTES SHOULD THEY BE ACTIVE MENTALLY
      1. Outside of nutrition, how much do you think mental stimulation and physical exercise plays into how long a dog can live?
2. Let’s talk about hygiene, dogs clean themselves for the most part, in the wild they never really would get baths except for the occasional dip into a river I guess.

And you know it’s funny bc people like to anthropomorphize their dogs. 

There’s this whole movement out there where people don’t shampoo their hair bc they believe it strips the oils from their hair, however, for dogs word has been going around that there are definitely some shampoos that cause itchy skin problems and dry skin issues. 

1. My question is how often should dogs be bathed, if at all? 
   1. It sounds gross but my Dad, he’ll give his dog a bath maybe once a year. But if you smell her she doesn’t smell at all really. She maybe has had one skin issue bc she runs around outside and got bit by something, but other than that her coat is perfectly healthy.

1. We’ve talked about nutrition before and if people want to go listen to a deep dive into nutrition go listen to podcast #128
   1. What kind of dog food would you recommend, and if you could recommend homemade, or raw dog food and people could afford it would you recommend that over commercial dog food, and why?
2. Now let’s move into training, this is a big topic bc it’s kind of this area where there’s these dog trainers that have no background in science for the most part BUT THEY HAVE 10, 20, 30 years in training dogs so they are considered experts.
   1. From a veterinary perspective what is the best protocol you would recommend to follow for a training program for a new dog, adult dog, and a senior dog (if needed at all)
   2. Do you think senior dogs need to be trained?
      1. I definitely do, my girlfriend she has a 17 year old dog who has some questionable habits and I try to train him, but it’s a lot of work so i don’t think im qualified to mold him like I was able to with my dog when she was a puppy
   3. How should people be going about finding the “right” training. In your opinion who are the best trainers and who should people trust
      1. What are your thoughts on balanced training (takes into both positive and negative reinforcement) similar to that of a little kid
      2. What are your thoughts on ONLY positive reinforcement training?
         1. Do you think it is as effective to only reward the dog when they do something good and never correct them when they do something bad?
3. Okay let’s move from basic training to more behavioral training
   1. Ideally let’s say someone has a new puppy, how should they be going about introducing them to environments, other dogs, external things that might be frightening
   2. Let’s talk about dog’s that are super fearful and have a bad reaction to things
      1. There’s a type of training that talks about exposure to the thing they hate or fear
         1. Is it inhumane to continually do this if they eventually get over the fear?
   3. Veterinary Behaviorists
      1. When is it time to go from a dog trainer to a veterinarian
         1. And what should people look for when trying to find a great veterinary behaviorist
4. When is it appropriate to opt for medication as a solution to behavioral problems
   1. What do people get wrong about opting for medication as a solution to behavioral problems like anxiety
5. Let’s talk about CBD
   1. Everyone i know in the veterinary field dances around this topic
      1. Why is that?
      2. Have you seen any positive results from your clients using CBD for anxiety?