Can anything be done to correct a dog’s sloppy drinking?

Our problem? He is the SLOPPIEST drinker ever. I bought one of those bowls with a floating disk that slows his drinking. The problem is that he keeps water in his mouth, and it runs out as he walks across the floor. I keep an old towel handy and am constantly wiping up his mess. Is there any way to train him not to do this? He responds very well to treats, but it's so hard to always be present when he decides to have a drink. Thank you for any advice you can provide. — Beverly, Juneau, Wisconsin

Dear Beverly: I'm afraid there is no way to train a sloppy drinker. Dogs can't close their wide mouths securely enough to contain the water, so some of it is always going to spill out. Mouth size and shape can vary from dog to dog, which means some dogs will be sloppier than others at the water dish.

They do make several bowls, as you know, that slow down their rate of consumption. But since that hasn't worked for you, maybe try a doggie water fountain instead.

Place the fountain level with his head when standing. He will use a slightly different technique to drink water coming down in a stream than lapping up it from below, and maybe that will help. You also could place a carpet near his water dish to absorb the water as it falls to the floor. I wish I could offer you more suggestions; but some dogs are just sloppy drinkers.

Dear Cathy: My little shih-tzu had a terrible outcome from a dental cleaning when she was 12 years old. When she woke up from the anesthesia, she was deaf. I searched for connections between teeth cleaning and deafness on the internet, and found that small, old dogs can lose their hearing from dental work. My vet didn't believe me, but he looked it up as I had and found it to be true. My precious little dog spent her last year very depressed and sad, and I suffered along with her. This is rare, fortunately, but something to consider. — Nan, Allentown, Pennsylvania

Dear Nan: I am so sorry to hear what happened to your dog. A survey conducted by the National Institutes of Health focused on “post-anesthesia deafness in dogs and cats following dental and ear cleaning procedures.” In the study, researchers determined that “deafness may occur in dogs and cats following anesthesia for dental and ear cleaning procedures, but the prevalence is low. The hearing loss appears to be permanent.”

The survey said there were 62 reported cases of hearing loss in dogs and cats between 2002 and 2009 following ear and dental cleaning. Forty-three cases occurred following dental procedures, while 16 cases occurred following ear cleaning. They noted that there didn't appear to be any relationship between the deafness and the dog or cat's breed, gender, size, or anesthesia drug given.

The study concluded that senior animals are more susceptible to post-anesthetic, post-procedural hearing loss. While extremely rare, pet owners should discuss this with their veterinarian before these procedures. Thank you for sharing what happened to you.

Dear Cathy: Thank you so much for answering the questioner who provided Audubon's article on feral cats. It is heartbreaking to see so many abandoned cats. I feed six myself, and there are more in the next block — at one time 10 more.

People can be heartless and cruel. It is gratifying that you have placed the blame where it belongs. Animals are not toys, and they go about their business minding their own business until they become inconvenient for us. We have power, so we have responsibility. — Diana, Valley Stream, New York

Dear Diana: Thanks for sharing your thoughts. Studies have shown that when cats are removed from an environment, other cats move into that territory. So, removing them and killing them doesn’t solve the problem.

Trap-neuter-return (TNR) offers a way to halt reproduction, so colonies can be wheedled down through attrition, which produces better results in reducing the population.

I am a proponent of TNR and often get flack for that from some of my readers, but the truth is those cats don't abandon themselves. This is not an animal problem; it's a people problem. As a society, we have got to stop abandoning cats.