Restraint of dogs.

Dr. Marie replied:

Hi and thanks for your question. I'll see whether I can help out or not...

Many dogs don't like to be restrained, but need to be, for everyone's safety. There are a few methods that can be used for restraint.

One common thing that we use is a muzzle. This really, in my opinion, does not cause discomfort to most dogs. However, I have heard of situations where a muzzle was left too long on a dog that was really struggling and the dog was unable to pant and ended up in respiratory distress. Fortunately this rarely happens.

The most common type of restraint would be manual restraint where a person holds the dog down. A trained person can usually do this without causing too much discomfort to the dog.

Another method of restraint is chemical, where drugs are used. There are many different types of medications that could be used. Most are extremely safe. However, any type of sedative in an older or sick animal could have negative side effects.

Hopefully that's the type of information that you need. I hope you do well with your application!

Dr. Marie.

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