Need to get reactive dog to the vet urgently

[frbrian]

Posted in another dog subreddit but thought it worth trying here as well. I have a small (18 lbs) senior dog who is fear-reactive, historically to certain types of touch/handling and with predictable triggers. Last week he pretty abruptly escalated to a very scary and unpredictable level of aggression towards us in the home (e.g. snapping any time I try to put his leash on, doing what looks like confused resource/territory guarding, which is new), and we have no idea what triggered it. He bit me hard during the worst of this new phase (level 3 or 4, I’d think), and he does have a bite history.

We are desperate to get him to the vet to see if there is something physical/neurological going on, but they (understandably) said they won’t see him without a muzzle. He is not fully muzzle trained at this point and I am not able to get him into a muzzle without resorting to force, which I know will only worsen things. My partner doesn’t feel safe around the dog under the current circumstances and we can’t properly care for him as things stand.

Any advice on what to do at this point? I am at a loss—he needs to be evaluated by a vet, but without the muzzle I’m not sure how to make that happen. Would appreciate any thoughts or suggestions that folks have, especially if you have dealt with something similar.

 

[rhondasl]

@frbrian do you have an established relationship with a vet? they should be able to prescribe some anti anxiety meds with sedating effects to help things out. regardless, the vet will have to muzzle him. it won’t be a positive experience but the other issues trump the muzzle training at this point. the vet staff should be trained to able to place a muzzle on him safely.

 

[frbrian]

@rhondasl Thank you so much—yeah, so the regular vet won’t see him without a muzzle, and suggested we take him to our local emergency vet which he said should be able to help with that. I called them and explained the situation and they also said they won’t see him without one.

He does take gabapentin and trazodone (and just started Prozac last week to see if that works better, but takes several weeks to work), and I gave him extra trazodone not too long ago to try to calm him enough to either get the muzzle or convince the er vet to help.

 

[bipolarskepticbeliever]

@frbrian So his issues started at the same time as starting the Prozac?

 

[frbrian]

@bipolarskepticbeliever No—his regular vet suggested we get him started on Prozac in response to the increased reactivity as a longer-term treatment. The addition of prozac had definitely not made anything worse.

 

[bipolarskepticbeliever]

@frbrian Ah ok, darn was hoping to help

 

[frbrian]

@bipolarskepticbeliever Thank you for trying!

 

[rhondasl]

@frbrian as in they require you to put on a muzzle before the visit? vet staff should be able to handle putting a muzzle on a dog. Often owners can’t muzzle their own dog, so it’s a pretty essential skill. i’ve assisted in the process as a vet assistant. perhaps call around and see if another clinic can help you out.

 

[frbrian]

@rhondasl Yeah that’s what they said. This is super helpful to know though—thank you so much. I was honestly surprised by their response since it’s the biggest emergency vet in the city I live in. I’ll try calling around to others. Really appreciate your thoughts!