@cobondservant My boy hates the vet. He has been so bad there that they insisted on sedating him for all of his visits. I finally called the vet and ask if there was some middle ground between knocked out and trazadone. She prescribed us gabapentin and holy shit he was better behaved than my girl who loves the vet. He even went willingly in the back to get shots and let everyone pet him. It made him super sleepy the rest of the day, but I'll take that over him post sedation pooping in the middle of my bed.
I can’t wait to be able to join my dog at the vet’s office
- Thread starter cobondservant
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@cobondservant My pup was terrified to go into the vet without me. I also can’t wait till we can be in there together
@cobondservant I guess I should feel lucky that our vet never stopped letting owners in (just had to wear masks). They just asked we wait outside or in a vehicle until the room was ready. Ours does great with the vet themselves, it's seeing other dogs in the waiting area that is what sets her off (now that they relaxed rules). That was my biggest frustration during the pandemic is that as she was a growing puppy there was little to no opportunity to socialize her and get her used to other people / dogs / cars / inanimate objects (she freaked out seeing her first garbage can, lol!)
mandyanddave
New member
@cobondservant The vet requested I come in last time even though they’re not doing that yet because he was being so difficult. That was after he took off into traffic!
iamremnantband
New member
@cobondservant It might not be a horrible thing. You would not want to be present and reinforce the fearful brain by offering comfort and or praise/pets while the dogs brain is unstable. It sounds cruel, but isn't. I mean of course you would want to try positive reinforcement while at the vet, but since you do not have control of the situation, it might be better you are not part of that trauma (of the vet visit). My vet never lets me or my wife hold or be near our rescue cattle dog when she gets her shots. The dog hates it, like she's dying, and my vet remains the sole bad guy in that attack. I mean we don't comfort her after, and don't acknowledge the incident, and when she does calm down - we then give treats, and praise - especially if she lays down on her own while the vet is talking to us.
I'm not saying its the greatest scenario you are absent, but it's not as harmful as it seems.
I'm not saying its the greatest scenario you are absent, but it's not as harmful as it seems.
@cobondservant I also adopted Pup 2 during the pandemic and she’s had to go a few times (she was spayed right before we fostered her but went into heat anyway which was bizarre and worrying because Pup 1 is a dude). Judging by how after the first time my husband had to literally carry her in (they let us in for a couple of minutes because they’re on a main road and there was no other way to get her in) she’s not enjoying them. She’s not reactive though, just terrified.
Pup 1 is reactive and his reactivity has increased during the pandemic. I can’t wait to start socializing him overall again. The vet is a lost cause for us, he has fear aggression but his fear takes over. He had to have surgery during the pandemic and they said that he was an angel—I do question them like it’s a law and order episode afterwards. What I will say is that there have been times when he’s been very nervous and stressed when they’ve had to do a blood draw and he either hides between my legs or tries to climb over me to escape. Maybe I give off anxious vibes but there have been some occasions where they take him to a back room instead and said that he does much better when I’m not around. So, all that to say it might not be as terrible for your pup as you think.
Overall my vet has always been supportive, he was just terrified of everything until he was about 18 months, at which point the reactivity started coming out. However they’ve always been great at telling us to come by whenever, and have been totally open to us bringing him in, getting him on the scales, walking him up the hall and then getting lots of treats without an appointment. It didn’t make much difference for him unfortunately (though I wish we had tried when he was younger) and I had an incident where he got out of his harness trying to escape and almost got hit by a car. (No we have a front clip harness that we clip to his collar as well, tested many many harnesses and settled on one from PSP that he can’t slip out of easily, although I’m thinking of having one custom made.) But my husband doesn’t have the time or inclination to take him regularly and I, at 5’1”, 120lbs and weak as hell, am afraid to take him on my own. I can handle all 60lbs of him when he’s angry and reactive and lunging forward, but when he starts doing his backward-slip-out-the-harness escape trick I’m afraid I’ll lose him again.
Also, you likely know this already, but after one reactive event his stress levels stay high and he’s more likely to be reactive to things he might have given a pass to. When I was trying to work on his vet fear, it made him more reactive in general to other triggers. With the escaping, pandemic and increased reactivity I gave up on the vet being a pleasant experience. I hate it, and hope yo revisit it in the future, but for now it’s on the back burner. We do have a xanax prescription for him that helps a little when going to the vet. We only use it for that.
That said, there are vets that advertise as “fear free” or something like that, who have had training in making the whole experience more relaxing. If there’s ever a situation that makes you or your pup more uncomfortable, please don’t be afraid to question it and ask for a different way of handling it. Any good vet will understand that your pup has issues and should accommodate training requests etc. if they don’t, don’t be afraid to look for another vet. I love ours and wouldn’t change them for anyone.
One example is that for surgery, any animals that are scheduled for surgery should be checked in and dropped off by 7.30am. They are crated and checks over and taken in for surgery when scheduling allows. I also live within walking distance (which is why we were popping in whenever, I also don’t drive!) so instead of checking him in and crating him for the day, they call me last minute and I run him down. That means he spends less time in his crate there and less time stressing. (On that note if you can crate train your pup it’s definitely useful for having maintenance round, and things like vet visits, grooming, boarding etc).
Finally please don’t be disheartened by me giving up, that’s a personal choice I wish I didn’t have to make. We’ve been working super hard recently on his dog reactivity and I’ve been taking him for longer walks and avoiding other people less. It’s working for sure, so I think if we did work at it popping in to the vet and going through the motions without an actual vet visit would be beneficial.
Good luck and let us know how it goes!
Pup 1 is reactive and his reactivity has increased during the pandemic. I can’t wait to start socializing him overall again. The vet is a lost cause for us, he has fear aggression but his fear takes over. He had to have surgery during the pandemic and they said that he was an angel—I do question them like it’s a law and order episode afterwards. What I will say is that there have been times when he’s been very nervous and stressed when they’ve had to do a blood draw and he either hides between my legs or tries to climb over me to escape. Maybe I give off anxious vibes but there have been some occasions where they take him to a back room instead and said that he does much better when I’m not around. So, all that to say it might not be as terrible for your pup as you think.
Overall my vet has always been supportive, he was just terrified of everything until he was about 18 months, at which point the reactivity started coming out. However they’ve always been great at telling us to come by whenever, and have been totally open to us bringing him in, getting him on the scales, walking him up the hall and then getting lots of treats without an appointment. It didn’t make much difference for him unfortunately (though I wish we had tried when he was younger) and I had an incident where he got out of his harness trying to escape and almost got hit by a car. (No we have a front clip harness that we clip to his collar as well, tested many many harnesses and settled on one from PSP that he can’t slip out of easily, although I’m thinking of having one custom made.) But my husband doesn’t have the time or inclination to take him regularly and I, at 5’1”, 120lbs and weak as hell, am afraid to take him on my own. I can handle all 60lbs of him when he’s angry and reactive and lunging forward, but when he starts doing his backward-slip-out-the-harness escape trick I’m afraid I’ll lose him again.
Also, you likely know this already, but after one reactive event his stress levels stay high and he’s more likely to be reactive to things he might have given a pass to. When I was trying to work on his vet fear, it made him more reactive in general to other triggers. With the escaping, pandemic and increased reactivity I gave up on the vet being a pleasant experience. I hate it, and hope yo revisit it in the future, but for now it’s on the back burner. We do have a xanax prescription for him that helps a little when going to the vet. We only use it for that.
That said, there are vets that advertise as “fear free” or something like that, who have had training in making the whole experience more relaxing. If there’s ever a situation that makes you or your pup more uncomfortable, please don’t be afraid to question it and ask for a different way of handling it. Any good vet will understand that your pup has issues and should accommodate training requests etc. if they don’t, don’t be afraid to look for another vet. I love ours and wouldn’t change them for anyone.
One example is that for surgery, any animals that are scheduled for surgery should be checked in and dropped off by 7.30am. They are crated and checks over and taken in for surgery when scheduling allows. I also live within walking distance (which is why we were popping in whenever, I also don’t drive!) so instead of checking him in and crating him for the day, they call me last minute and I run him down. That means he spends less time in his crate there and less time stressing. (On that note if you can crate train your pup it’s definitely useful for having maintenance round, and things like vet visits, grooming, boarding etc).
Finally please don’t be disheartened by me giving up, that’s a personal choice I wish I didn’t have to make. We’ve been working super hard recently on his dog reactivity and I’ve been taking him for longer walks and avoiding other people less. It’s working for sure, so I think if we did work at it popping in to the vet and going through the motions without an actual vet visit would be beneficial.
Good luck and let us know how it goes!
@cobondservant I never had any trouble with my dog at the vet until the pandemic. The waiting room was always a little stressful (great training opportunity), but she loved the people and was very cooperative during the exam. Now she has to be loaded up on trazodone and gabapentin to go in otherwise she tries to bite and they can’t do anything with her 
she needs a physical and is overdue for a shot but i just can’t put her through that again. We won’t be going back until they fully reopen.
she needs a physical and is overdue for a shot but i just can’t put her through that again. We won’t be going back until they fully reopen.billyinlights
New member
@cobondservant Oh yah. I got my pup when he was 8 weeks old, end of December 2019. He came to us with a LOT of body sensitivity (seems like he was dropped or maybe just handled too roughly by the foster family? Not sure). Vet visits were already rough, made tougher by the fact the vet we were going to SUCKED.
When covid hit, he had finished his shots, thankfully. But then when he hit a fear period at 6 months, we had to bring him in for anal expression and holy cow, he was scared! It has stuck with him, and now he is terrified of the vet. He refuses to go inside the building. When he had to get his boosters, the vet had to come outside and do them on the curb, and when he saw her he tried to run away! We have to give him traz and have him muzzled. He was visibly shaking the whole time, and I have NEVER seen him so that.
We have since switched vets, and are hoping when we can start going in for visits again, that we can make him feel more at ease. He may always need traz and a muzzle though.
When covid hit, he had finished his shots, thankfully. But then when he hit a fear period at 6 months, we had to bring him in for anal expression and holy cow, he was scared! It has stuck with him, and now he is terrified of the vet. He refuses to go inside the building. When he had to get his boosters, the vet had to come outside and do them on the curb, and when he saw her he tried to run away! We have to give him traz and have him muzzled. He was visibly shaking the whole time, and I have NEVER seen him so that.
We have since switched vets, and are hoping when we can start going in for visits again, that we can make him feel more at ease. He may always need traz and a muzzle though.