こころのワクチン
A Mind Vaccine
もみの木動物病院（神戸市）獣医師・村田 香織

Kaori MURATA, Veterinarian, Mominoki Animal Clinic, Kobe City

I am Kaori Murata, of the Mominoki Animal Clinic in

infectious disease prevention. We’ve all heard about a

Kobe City, and I am very happy to be here with you

lot of frightening infectious diseases that, once we aretoday.

infected there is a chance we may die, and in order tobe cured we may have to undergo a very long period

I’ve been listening to what everyone has been sayingof treatment. However, if we are inoculated against

over the past two days, and I have been very impressedsuch diseases in advance with a vaccine, we can beby all the passionate interest shown in the various

protected against the risk of infection. So, in order tosubjects under discussion. This is a really wonderfulprotect against dog problem behavior (and cat problem

conference, and I would like to express my gratitude tobehavior too), I attempt to build strong ties and good

Knots and to all the people involved with organizing therelationships between animals and their owners. This

event for their splendid efforts. Thank you very much.

kind of thing, which includes puppy and kitten training,can be called a “psychological vaccine”.

At Mominoki Animal Clinic, in addition to making
ordinary veterinary examinations, I have been involved

In the course of my work I constantly talk with pet

for many years in counseling about pet behavioral

owners, and I invariably tell them that if they areproblems, mostly concerning dogs but also including

keeping pets, they should follow three rules. The firstcats on occasion. In fact, a lot more people are troubled

rule is that owners should enjoy life with their pets.

by dog problem behavior than with cat problem

The second rule is that the pets should be happy. And

behavior. Today, we have listened to various stories

the third rule is that keeping pets should not cause

about the benefits of keeping pets, although nobody

trouble for the surrounding people. I ask pet owners

can know in advance whether living with a pet will

to follow these three rules. These are the activities ofbe good for their health. Perhaps surprisingly, it can

the Japanese Animal Hospital Association’s (JAHA)

become a constant worry or headache. In some cases

Companion Animal Partnership Program (CAPP).

pets are abandoned for precisely this reason, and in

Dr. Shibanai first started conducting these activities

other cases keeping pets may cause trouble for thein Japan about 20 years ago. These pets make theneighbors. Over many years, I have been tackling thesurrounding people happy rather than causing them

behavioral problems of adult dogs. Treatment can taketrouble. If pets can reach this stage, this is a very nicea great deal of effort and in a significant number ofway of curing them of bad behavior.

cases the animals cannot be cured completely. But inany event, treating them takes time and perseverance.

There are three steps we need to take in order to live

Comparatively speaking, it is much easier to prevent

happily by following these rules. Today, Mr. Nagamura,problem behavior from emerging by properly training

President of the Japan Kennel Club is here with us.

dogs when they are still puppies. This yields much

Following on from this morning’s talk about matching

more fruitful results with much less effort.

owners with pets, if you are going to choose a pedigree
dog, particularly in consideration of your own lifestyle

In a way, preventing problem behavior is similar to250

りぶ・らぶ・あにまるず 神戸アニマルケア国際会議 2012

and living environment, the selection of the breed isenjoy interacting or playing with other members ofvery important.

their species. Even if that is too much to expect, it isstill greatly preferable if they can be trained to be at

To fulfill the second rule requires that we satisfy theease and relaxed around other dogs.

needs of our pets, including by feeding our dogs andcats suitable food, giving them sufficient exercise

There’s a saying about the future that ‘darkness isand opportunities for play. On top of this, I think it is

one step ahead’. Last year Japan experienced a major

essential to provide pets with education and training soearthquake disaster and for anyone like me who hasthat they can live happily in human society.

had a certain amount of life experience, this saying has
been engraved on our hearts many times. WheneverNow, it’s clear that there are many unhappy pets justsomething untoward happens, I recall this saying, andas there are unhappy owners, and also that many pet

pets, whose life spans are very short compared withowners struggle with all kinds of problem behavior.

ours, also have a variety of experiences during their

I think that the short cut to reducing such problems

lives. From the pets’ point of view, we humans are

relates to increasing the number of happy pets andsimply another species of animal. And while they live

owners bound together by strong mutual ties. Whatamong us in human society, they lack the means toanimal hospitals can do towards starting this off is toobtain the verbal information we enjoy. So if a dog’s

hold “puppy classes”. There are lots of other things welife is like a human life, the darkness really is one step

can do as well, but puppy classes are a good beginning.

ahead.

So that’s where we have started.
For example, in the case of communication between
Today we don’t have a lot of time so I can’t go into

people, if you say to your mother, “From tomorrow, I’

much detail, but I would like to talk simply about twoll be going away for a week on a short trip with mythings dogs learn together with their owners at thesefriend, OK?” your mother is unlikely to be worried. But

puppy classes. Puppies’ brains are extremely malleable

if you go away on a trip without your dog, as far as

and, with the right kind of training, they learn suitable

your dog is concerned, you have simply disappeared. A

behavior very rapidly. But they can also learn unsuitable

dog doesn’t know when its owner will return. There isbehavior just as easily. It seems that the owners andabsolutely no way that you can convey the information

dogs continue to build extremely good relationshipsof your return date to the dog. During the course

after the classes are finished. The owners who visit ourof their lifetime, perhaps well over ten years, dogs

hospital for disease prevention or treatment purposes

have to accept all kinds of change within their living

have built up very good relationships with their pets.

environment. In order for them to be able to accept

They look so happy together it makes me smile whenthese changes contentedly, it is vitally important that

I see them. I always feel it is very important to educate

they are properly educated when they are puppies.

puppies.
For instance, there may be times when their owner
Today I would like to talk in particular about two

has to go into hospital. And there are all kinds of otherof these practices. First of all, there is the matter ofreasons why a person may no longer be able to keepsocialization. For example, dogs should be able to enjoy

a dog. If this occurs, it is much better for a dog if itinteracting with people other than their owners. If the

can get on well with other dogs, animals and people.

dogs cannot achieve this then at least I would like to

Likewise, if it can live happily with a new family, or

see a situation where the dogs are OK and calm withwithin a group living at an evacuation center if needs

other people.

be. If a dog is unable to do this, it is likely to be very
unhappy if separated from its original owner.

Secondly is the matter of other dogs. Ideally dogs can

2nd Live Love Animals International Conference on Animal Care in Kobe 2012251

This is a photo showing the staff and animals at ourrecommends to get various people to give the dog its

hospital. If people and dogs (and in some cases cats)favorite food while it is still a puppy. This will increase

can get along well with each other like this, then theseits sense of security. In this way, you can prevent the

animals will be able to live safe and secure lives. This isproblems I mentioned earlier such as inappropriate

one of the chief aims of the education and training webarking at visitors. In puppy class, the participatinggive to puppies.

owners and staff practice feeding the puppies theirfavorite foods. We tell the participants to first open

These puppies have come to the hospital for counseling.

their hand, then place the food on their palm, then offer

Now I’d like to show you a video I took at my own

it to the puppy. Many people hold the food between thehome. It’s a video of some dogs that had not learned totips of two fingers which sometimes means the puppy

socialize properly.

will unintentionally bite the fingers as it takes the food.
This of course causes physical pain and fear to the(Explanation while showing video)

giver. So we ask our participants to use their palm.

We kept this dog for a while. The surrounding dogs are
my own and my staff’s dogs, and this dog is afraid of

By nature, dogs do not really like being patted on thethem. So it is being kept in a cage. It constantly exhibits

head, as most of you are probably aware. They aremenacing behavior to the others so they are barking in

especially uncomfortable if it happens without warning

turn, not because they are mean, but because they arefrom a person they are unfamiliar with. However,afraid. The other dogs are socialized animals so theypeople in general do like to touch dogs on the head. So

consider this dog to be a problem dog. Yet they don’t

if possible it is preferable, from the standpoint of thefight back against it or anything like that. They do havedogs’ future happiness within human society, if theya little trouble, but as such non-socialized dogs come toare trained using rewards to accept being patted on theus quite often, the socialized dogs are now more usedhead.

to this kind of thing. Dogs are animals that have an
extremely strong instinct for sociality so after several

If you have a dog that leans its head away because itdays living together they usually get along with eachdoesn’t like to be patted on the head, it can be trained

other very well.

to accept a pat by holding a reward in one hand andthen touching the dog’s head while allowing it to eat the

The dog on the opposite side is another dog that can’t

reward. This training can be carried out by a number ofdeal with other people. It is barking aggressively at thepeople in turn, such as veterinarians, veterinary nurses,

visitor but it had grown used to the surrounding dogs

etc.

by this time. This dog, a Border Collie, is barking at thisperson so we do give it a caution. But when the person

We also set aside time for communication between

backs away, the dog quickly follows after them. Dogs

dogs by making time for them to interact with eachthat are easily scared often seem to behave like that. An

other and for puppies to enjoy playing together.

easily scared dog will chase after a person moving awayfrom them but will then run away scared if the person

By giving puppies socialization training like thisre-approaches. This is not a bad dog by any means, it isconsciously, we can achieve a lot to make it easier for

only that it didn’t properly learn how to socialize withdogs to live comfortably in human society.

people as a puppy. It doesn’t know the ways in whichpeople and dogs communicate. We get consultations on

Everybody, I’ve got something now that I’d like tothis kind of thing a lot.

ask you to think about. Take a look at these two
photographs. Which do you think is the best photo

252

So, how can you make your dog act more friendly

from the standpoint of socialization? First, raise yourtowards other dogs and people? Puppy class first of all

hand if you think the photo on the left is best. Now,

りぶ・らぶ・あにまるず 神戸アニマルケア国際会議 2012

raise your hand if you think the photo on the right isnot?” But I ask you to please consider such things when

the best. I see that more people think the one on the

you are trying to socialize your dog. Actually, a lot ofright is the best. This is a picture that would makepeople who come to us say such things as “I tried hardanyone smile—showing children with beaming faces as

to make my dog get on with other people, but the dog

they hug puppies. Here are the puppies and here arejust became afraid of them.”

our staff. These photos show puppies getting rewards
from the staff, and occasionally the staff members pass

Recently, so much information has become available

the rewards to children so that they can give them toand many more people are aware of the importance ofthe puppies.

dogs being socialized. However, some of them run into
trouble when trying to follow this trend. The reason isThis is the right way. Indeed, this way isthat, knowing of the need for socialization, the owner

overwhelmingly better. In my opinion, the photo on theand their dog may participate in a dog run to train theright side shows that it is best not to do this training

dog to be unafraid of other dogs. But this experience intoo suddenly. Humans are animals that only hold small

itself can result in the dog coming to dislike other dogs.

children in the course of raising them. They also like

Another problem, as encountered by many owners

to hold stuffed animal toys and small live animals. So

and dogs, is that an owner may let their dog be petted

these children enjoy holding puppies. However, fromby many other people in an attempt to socialize them.

the puppies’ standpoint children are strangers who are

Instead the dog may start growling. So when owners domuch bigger than them as well as being monster-like

attempt to socialize their dogs, they have to do it right.

in their behavior. Some are very loud and some treat
animals roughly. In most cases, to be lifted into the

If any of you have dogs that will not accept rewards

arms of such children is a terrifying experience for a

from anyone other yourself, please visit us for

puppy.

consultation. If you let other people touch your dog
without proper knowledge, the results could be

So, don’t pick up the animals. But how about reward-

counterproductive.

giving? Getting treats is a pleasant experience for dogs,
of course. In this photo, first, the staff member tells

This photograph shows our dogs in contact withthe child that the dog is allowed to eat the reward,

children. As I told you earlier, most dogs don’t like toconfirming also whether the dog should eat it when thebe surrounded by a group of children or by children

reward is handed or after being held by the child. It iswith loud voices wanting to pick them up. In the caseimportant to do things in this order.

of large dogs bigger than the children, this is usuallyOK, but small dogs and puppies generally don’t like to

I often explain it to pet owners as follows; whenbe treated this way. Whatever the case, I urge everyone

somebody moves in next door, if they say “nice to meetto ensure that the contact between dogs and children

you… this is just a small token” and bring you a present

is a pleasant experience for both sides. For instance, ifof something nice to eat, you are likely to be pleased

you let a child give your dog a reward, check how he orwith them.

she is reacting. You can also let dogs demonstrate any
special tricks they know, or let children play with them

Conversely, if the people moving in next door comewith the help of a toy.

up to you and touch you without warning, you willprobably not like it at all. In a similar way, a puppy

These photos show our dogs enjoying contact withwill regard a pat on the head or a food present from achildren. Here the dogs are performing. This is fun for

stranger as very different things.

them, and for the children, because they get a reward.
So our dogs love children. But if this play ends up like

From a human standpoint, some may wonder “whythe example I showed you earlier, there might be the

2nd Live Love Animals International Conference on Animal Care in Kobe 2012

253

opposite effect, so please be careful when trying thiswould really hate it. I have had many cases where

out yourself.

owners cannot stand the idea of their pet being undersuch heavy stress. So they hesitate to bring the animal

It is ideal if puppies have the opportunity to attend ato the vet and let matters rest until the animal develops“puppy kindergarten”. This is our puppy kindergarten.

a more serious condition.

Recently, the number of such facilities has been
increasing and they can be very effective if run on

The main reason why dogs can become aggressive

the basis that they exist to provide various kinds of

isn’t that they are spoiled or that they think they arecontact opportunity. If you have a puppy that can’t

superior to others, as is often said, but simply because

socialize with other dogs, or a puppy that has excess

they are scared. First, a dog’s trusted owner suddenly

energy, I recommend you to take it along to a puppy

takes it to an unfamiliar place, where a person dressedkindergarten.

in white pushes it down on a table and places astethoscope on its chest. The dog has no idea why thisAnother purpose of puppy class is to help dogs become

is being done. It’s the same with an otoscope. The dog

accustomed to being examined and remain calm. Most

doesn’t understand what it is. Then, right after that theydogs don’t like going to an animal hospital. Now, I will

are likely to experience some painful procedure. It isshow you a video about some dogs that have visited our

only natural that some dogs become aggressive in these

hospital.

circumstances due to fear and insecurity.

(Explanation while showing video)

I talk in various forums, so some of you may alreadyThis dog is so angry that we can’t get it onto thehave heard what I am going to say next. About ten

examination table. They use an “Elizabethan” collar andyears ago, I learned a lot from the experience of one of

make every effort but the vet and nursing staff cannot

my patients, a Golden Retriever. This dog, a bitch, came

get it up onto the table. Even the owner is unable to put

to our place for counseling because she had a problem.

the dog onto the table by carrying it. Although we tried

She would growl or become aggressive whenever

hard, we didn’t succeed in getting this dog onto theunfamiliar people or dogs came too close. The reason

examination table. So you can see how tough our job

was that she had been entrusted to a breeder to be bredcan be.

from. Her behavior had become like that after the timeat the breeders. We knew this because she had neverThis next one is the same. We have to muzzle this

acted like this prior to that time. So we know that she

dog because it bites. But things don’t go smoothly.

must have had a very traumatic experience while she

Nowadays we tell owners to first get their dog used to

was at the breeder’s.

wearing a muzzle and then bring it to the hospital. Thatway we can avoid this kind of trouble.

Of course, the underlying problem was that this dog
had not been sufficiently socialized. I felt a lot of anger

The dog at the bottom is an in-patient. Whenever I

toward the breeder with thoughts that the breeder must

tried to open the door before treatment, the dog would

have done something bad, although I didn’t know what

get angry like this. If things remained as they were, I

it was. As a result the quality of life for the dog and also

would not be able to make a thorough examination. As

her owner was severely eroded.

was mentioned earlier, when a dog is under long-term

254

stress its immune function can be compromised and it

But then I had a sudden “aha” moment and the scales,

loses its appetite. This undermines the effectiveness ofas they say, fell from my eyes. I realized that we mustthe medical care we provide. Moreover, I think it is very

be doing the same thing at our hospital. Working

hard for an owner to watch while their pet is placed

as a veterinarian, although what we were doing wasunder this much stress. If I were in that situation, I

ordinary veterinary medical practice, we were also

りぶ・らぶ・あにまるず 神戸アニマルケア国際会議 2012

causing trauma to our animal patients.

stitches removal after spaying surgery. I was careful
not to turn the patient over suddenly and remove theActually, quite a few pet dogs are brought to us forstitches. Instead, I took a little time to give the dog acounseling because they begin to behave aggressively

treat which only took 30 seconds or so. These dogs

as a result of their experiences while being treated at

don’t like to be handled quickly or roughly.

the animal hospital. For example, there was a Border
Collie that suffered bleeding when it had its nails cut

This dog has come to a standstill in front of our hospitalin hospital. Ever since, this dog had become aggressive

during a walk because it actually wants to go into theso the owner brought it in for counseling. The dog

hospital. The owner had only been taking it for a walkshown here is a male Labrador Retriever puppy. He had

and passing by the hospital, but the dog is determined

been neutered but when it came to the time for the vet

to go inside. So I told them they had better come inremoved the stitches he became violent. He would not

and let me at least weigh the dog. That is how muchturn over, so had to be overpowered and held down

the dog wanted to come inside. Conversely, in the oldby several male vets. Since that time, this dog woulddays, owners would often tell us how their dog would

habitually attack whenever he saw unknown males. He

freeze when arriving near the hospital and realizing

was brought to us for counseling too.

that this was the destination. Such dogs would even try
to go home, so it was hard work just to get them into

Dogs can’t understand what we do in the course of

the hospital building. Nowadays we have the opposite

medical practice. They interpret any kind of physicalsituation with the dogs so eager to come in that theirdiscomfort we cause them as abuse. In many cases theowners have to stop them. I’m glad to see this change.

medical treatment itself is experienced as a form ofabuse by the dogs. I now realize that, depending on how

This dog has moved away, but I received a New Year’

we treat our canine patients, we may well be inflictings card from the owner. The message on the card said,

trauma on them.

“I feel sorry for Kei-chan (the dog’s name) because she
can’t visit your hospital any more.” It made me happy to

To prevent this, it is very important to establish athink that the hospital is loved so much.

positive environment before we do anything that a dog
may find unpleasant. To experience such a positive

This is a dog that graduated from our puppy class. He

environment, it can be very effective for a young dog

is visiting the hospital to make a blood donation. The

if they attend puppy classes first. While there they

dog thinks the hospital is a pleasant place, so he is well

can spend time pleasantly with the staff of the animal

behaved as we collect the blood. Owners would not findhospital. Next, I will show you how delightfully dogs

it acceptable if we had to collect blood by putting theirvisit our hospital.

dog under anesthetic or forcefully holding it down.
They would be less likely to allow their dog to donate(Explanation while showing video)

blood for the benefit of some other dog. But in this case

I was very glad to see this dog come to our hospital

we have won the owner’s full cooperation because thewith such evident pleasure. Since we don’t have a lot ofdog visits the hospital so happily.

time, I’ll skip through this quickly. This dog also cameto visit us very happily. In the case of Japanese dogs,

So far, I have talked about the desirability of socializing

unless they attend puppy classes regularly, they arepets and getting them used to visiting an animal

liable to grow up as ‘hospital haters’. This puppy is a

hospital. Another important thing I would like to bring

Rottweiler and, as you can see, it voluntarily goes up

to your attention is ‘handling’. By this I refer to training

onto the examination table. With the English Sheepdog

pets so that the owner and the vet can touch the animal

I showed you earlier, we had to try very hard just to

anywhere. People should train their pets so that it can

get it on the examination table. This dog came in for

accept necessary care. This is also a very important

2nd Live Love Animals International Conference on Animal Care in Kobe 2012255

consideration.

brought along to the hospital. The dog has alreadydeveloped quite severe periodontal disease. It is aThis shows the English Sheepdog puppy introduced

little difficult to see in this picture but this part here isearlier undergoing sedation. The dog had slipped on aa tumor. The owner had discovered it the day before

wooden floor and hurt its leg. As it needs to undergo

and brought the dog to the hospital. In the case of thean x-ray we have to sedate it in order to keep it still.

Japanese shiba dog breed, this part is not normally

The hair on the soles of its feet had grown long whichnoticeable in healthy individuals. So unless the owneris why it had slipped. But because the owner had been

regularly touches their dog or checks its tummy

unable to touch the dog’s feet, they had been unable toby turning the animal over, a disease may remain

cut the hair.

unnoticed until it develops to the stage shown here.
Accordingly, in order to detect a disease at an early

Here, we are cutting the dog’s nails. With this dog, evenstage, it is very important that owner and dog have time

nail cutting requires sedation. The dog’s ear had also

for real contact which should include touching the dog’

become inflamed with Otitis exterma due to a fungals body and various forms of care.

infection but the owner had not even been able toapply eardrops at home. If a dog gets into such a state,

Unfortunately, in the case of the previous dog, theboth the owner and the dog are bound to be distressed.

cancer had already spread to other parts of its body.

According to the owner, when the dog was small, theyThe question is, in order to make the early detection

had been able to do anything to the dog. The ownerof disease easier, how can we train dogs to allow

had forcefully carried out ear cleaning, nail cutting, etc.,

people to touch them more thoroughly? This is actuallyeven when the dog disliked them.

unexpectedly easy to accomplish. So I would like puppy
owners to try it. And even if you have an adult dog, you

It is obvious that if an owner forcefully does certain

can still train them if you take a bit of time. The method

things to a dog when it is a puppy, which it finds

I often use in puppy class is to use dry food. Generalunpleasant, it is more than likely to challenge its owner

nutritional food is OK. You should practice touchingwhen it grows bigger. It may even start threatening

your dog’s body while giving it dry food. The dog ispeople who attempt to do these things. After a dog

concentrating mostly on the food so does not mind

learns that it can protect itself by showing its teeth andbeing touched at the same time. In this way, the dog

growling, it may habitually bite people when placed

gets used to being touched. The next step is to deliver

in an unpleasant situation. So we shouldn’t encourage

the food after the touch and with practice you will bedogs to learn to do that sort of thing.

able to touch the dog anywhere.

That is why it is important not to do things forcefully.

Here, an owner is using food as a reward after touching

Instead we must gently accustom dogs to accept things

the dog. Many dogs dislike having their ears, eyes, tailwhile they are still puppies so that they learn to accept

or feet touched. But if you practice, it is very easy to

the daily care they will need as pets.

condition the dog to allow you to touch in these places.
This method is introduced in detail in my book A Mind

This dog has come in for dental scaling. Because it

Vaccine. Please read it if you are interested.

would turn angry when anybody touched its mouth theowner had been unable to brush its teeth. So we had toFirst, practice touching the dog, and then provide theput it under anesthetic, at which time we noticed that it

dog with food. In this way, the dog won’t care about

had a tumor.

being touched at all. During handling, touch the dog’s body to let them get used to being touched. Do this,256

This dog is a similar case. The owner couldn’t touch

not by forcefully holding them down, but by pleasantly

its mouth, but it was losing its appetite and so it was

and gently associating touch with their favorite things.

りぶ・らぶ・あにまるず 神戸アニマルケア国際会議 2012

This is an effective way for you to train your dog formouth of their pet, it can make an enormous difference.

handling.

Simply doing this can enable them to discover ifanything abnormal is going on at an early stage.

This dog has developed periodontal disease. The ownerhadn’t noticed the problem yet even though it had

This puppy was forced to submit to having its teeth

reached this stage because the owner never touches thebrushed by its owner, with the result that it became likedog. By contrast, this dog has clean teeth. Do you know

this. To avoid having your pet become like this, practicewhat percentage of dogs and cats over three years

touching the pet’s mouth using food. In order to brushof age have periodontal disease? How many people

the teeth, you will need to pull back the animal’s lips,

think it’s 50%? I’m sure you already know this, but it’ssomething which needs to be practiced properly. Whenactually about 80% or more. Unless pets receive proper

the pet begins to allow you to do this with ease, youdental care, we can consider that almost all dogs andcan start using the toothbrush for the first time. Pay

cats will develop periodontal disease.

close attention to this. Limit the time you apply the
toothbrush to the teeth to just one second. Don’t scrub

Periodontal disease is not only a problem for the mouth

the teeth suddenly. Brush for just a second. Then givearea. The bacteria causing the disease also spread via

the animal a reward. If you try to brush the pet’s teeth

the bloodstream. These can have a variety of negative

insistently, the pet will hate it. So perform brushingconsequences for the internal organs including thelittle by little and associate the brushing with a reward.

liver, heart and lungs, as well as on the joints. So, andDon’t keep brushing for a long time.

this applies to people as well, periodontal diseaseaffects much more than just the teeth. This is why

Next, this video shows animals that will consent todental care is very important. How many of you here

being brushed more. These are our own dogs. They look

today keep a dog as a pet? Please raise your hands. And

like they enjoy having their teeth brushed very much.

how many of you brush your dog’s teeth? Thank you. I’

If your pet tries to run away when it sees a toothbrush,m happy that so many of you are doing this. Brushing

you are brushing in the wrong way. It is very importantyour pet’s teeth is also a good way of helping preventfor pet owners to perform tooth brushing in a way

zoonotic infections, which we have been hearing a lotthat their pets accept happily. If the pets can accept

about at this conference.

it happily, then tooth brushing becomes a peacefulexperience for the owners too. Owners should not

In our profession we cannot avoid being bitten by dogs

let tooth brushing become an occasion for fighting.

or cats from time to time. But if we are bitten by an

Although I am very busy, I love this time. When I brushanimal which has periodontal disease we may develop

an animal’s teeth, I become calm, relaxed and happy.

a fever and the area around the wound can swell up.

Perhaps the oxytocin is flowing.

This is because large numbers of bacteria live on the
animals’ teeth and gums. So please try to give your pet

If we practice little by little, anybody can brush anproper dental care. However, even the owners who areanimal’s teeth. Perhaps those of you who put youraware of the importance of dental care often find thathands up when I asked if you brushed your pets’ teeth

their pet will not allow them to brush their teeth. But if

are enjoying this activity, and your pets are enjoying

the owner can get the pet used to teeth-brushing fromit too. Neither owners nor pets can continue doing

the time when they are a puppy or kitten, then mostsomething indefinitely if they don’t enjoy it.

pets will consent.
Although this video only last for two minutes, I actually
It is not an easy thing to brush an animal’s teeth

perform tooth brushing for approximately five minutes.

perfectly. It is a technique that requires continuous

This is our puppy kindergarten. Our staff are telling thetraining. If the owner can at least take a look inside thedogs that they are about to get their teeth brushed. The

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dogs look as happy as if they were going to be given
food. This is how it should be when dogs are shown atoothbrush. The dogs are eagerly awaiting their turn for
the treatment, as if to say, “My turn! My turn!” That’s
because they find brushing to be a pleasant experience.
This is my dog getting its teeth brushed by mydaughter. The dog is completely relaxed. It is not goodwhen a dog doesn’t trust its owner. But when there is a
total relationship of trust between owner and pet, thepet can relax. In that way, the time they spend together
will be a comfortable time for the dog and a happy time
for the owner. So it is extremely important to establish
a relationship of trust between owner and pet.
This is the final picture for today. These are my pets.
As I said regarding socialization, by giving pets theexperience of contact with other animals and people
while they are still puppies or kittens, we can help bothpeople and pets live together in a friendly atmospherelike this. So, while it is still a puppy or kitten, please
give your pet the education it needs. That way it canlive happily within human society. Or, in other words,
give your pet a mind vaccine.
Thank you very much for listening.

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