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Post by migsy on May 28, 2013 10:15:03 GMT
Skip has been to the vets this morning for his booster vac,PHEW what a nightmare! He will be 11 this year,and has freaked out at the vets from the start.We were amazed at his behaviour at the first visit,as Skip is normally a kind calm sweet natured dog who everyone knows and loves,including small children.One very patient vet said rescue dogs have so many quite unpleasant things done to them by vets before they are rehomed,so don't forget.Another said Collies think too much.(think that's so true!)
We have such a pallaver,I always appologise for spoiling their day,and the vet always makes a joke about it.I couldn't even get near him with the muzzle(the dog not the vet),so I think for next time ,I will have to buy a muzzle,make a game of it,and put it on before his next shots.Calming tablets don't seem to have any affect on him.Oh the flipping trauma of such a simple thing! Friends simply can't believe it when I tell them of the trauma of the visit to the vet.He drags us happily into the vets waiting room,then when it's our turn,tries to bypass the consulting room door.
This is the same dog who will allow me to trim his claws etc,and will allow complete strangers to fuss him.Have never had this experience with any other dog I have ever owned.
PLEASE TELL ME HE IS NOT THE ONLY ONE!
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Post by lotsofcats on May 28, 2013 11:03:11 GMT
He is not the only one. MY 2 current dogs Kobi and Aztec are both very unsettled at the vets. Kobi will not keep quiet and he is a nightmare in the car going there and I get to try to restrain him in the back of the car and I end up covered in bruises. Aztec is a big baby and cries and then will not let the vet look at him, he growls and snarls at him/her. Last visit was when Aztec had a stroke and I took the opportunity of getting his claws trimmed - the noise he made!! When his mum Sacha was alive she was the worse one ever - she hated the vets and we had to wait outside until it was her turn to go in. I decided to try calming tablets once and they seemed to have to effect on her until I was walking her across the busy road from the car and down she went, flopped in the middle of the road! I couldn't pick her up as she was heavy! the tablets made her ill for days afterwards and I vowed not to try those again.
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Post by scallywag on May 28, 2013 11:13:28 GMT
migsy oh dear, well Beau is an angel whenever we go bless him, but our previous Springer Tobi... well like yours.. dragged me into the waiting room, sat on my lap, then when we were called I had to carry him into the consulting room LOL
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Post by BorderTerrier on May 28, 2013 11:42:23 GMT
He is not the only one - this is a common case. I have heard of many, many dogs the same. I wouldn't worry. I assume you understand why some dogs are afraid of the vets - a lot of the time, the vets isn't paradise - quite the opposite for most dogs! My Earl has had two fingers up his anus quite a lot for his anal glands releasing, but funnily enough he is fine about the vets... but you know what I am getting at.
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Post by charlottte on May 28, 2013 12:01:00 GMT
Oh no  I hope Skip is alright and everyone left with fingers intact lol! Jasper is fine going in and only shows mild stress signals in an examination. However, he did seem to have a personal vandetta against one vet at our last practise. He was fine getting jabs or treatment off the other vet but as soon as the Swedish one went near him with a needle he would freak out and try and bite te vet. Possibly, as the vet said, skip had a pretty unpleasant experience before you rehomed him. Your idea of making the muzzle a game is a good one. By putting it on before entering the vets it will lower the stress of having to wrestle with him to get it on  |
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Post by CollieSlave on May 28, 2013 12:55:02 GMT
I think it is very interesting how different dogs react to the vets. Our Nell was always brilliant about going to the vet until she had to have a tick removed from in her ear. This hurt, and she yelped. Thereafter she never seemed obviously scared but as the vet approached her she would give one very, very deep, quiet growl (amazing for such a small dog) and then everything was OK! Bryn has only had one serious visit to the vet which was last Christmas after he was bitten on the eye and this swelled up alarmingly and he was obviously in distress. We had to take him to a strange vet (we were on holiday) and this proved to be a man - and Bryn is scared of men and frequently used to growl and lunge if a man spoke to him or stared at him (this is now sorted, more or less). Bryn was put on the table and the vet approached and carefully examined his eye from close up, also using an instrument to look into the eye. And Bryn was absolutely fine, showing neither fear nor the slightest aggressive tendency, despite his pain. This amazed us. Do vets have some magic quality that calms dogs??
Lots of dogs simply recognize the smell of the surgery, which brings back painful memories - and they can pick up stress pheromones from other dogs at the vet's.
We once met a man with a GSD that was terrified of going to the vet - and had to be carried in, he would not walk. And he was a VERY big GSD!!
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Post by migsy on May 28, 2013 13:14:17 GMT
Thank you sooo much everyone,it seems mean to say I am relieved Skip isn't the only one to show such terror,because I feel sorry for anyone with such a problem.My daughters big Lab has to be hauled into the vets,one vet came to help son in law saying it wasn't a very good advert(hee hee!)but once inside,his legs shake but he behaves well.Thank goodness Skip only ever needs to go for his boosters,but I do make the effort of taking him with me to pick up his Logic Gel, to try to get the message through to him that something he finds unpleasant isn't always going to happen.I think he must sense our dread of taking him too,knowing it's going to be one heck of a rocky ride.Ah well,the ride along the Marine Drive afterwards was nice,quite calming....could have done with a stiff drink!
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Post by puppypal on May 28, 2013 14:20:37 GMT
Barley is the exact opposite he loves the vets, if we are walking past it he wants to go in, the only time he has had to be muzzled was when he licked his paw red raw and that was very painful for him. the vets and nurses love him and always make a fuss of him when we come in, they know him by name probably cause of the amount of times he has had to go to the vets especially when he was younger, it was like a vet visit every month for him
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Post by tonib on May 28, 2013 14:48:50 GMT
I've not had experience of this myself with dogs but can sympathise. Penny can be a nightmare for the vet, who had to give up clipping her claws for risk of being badly scratched or bitten, she'd be fine but slightly grumpy until then - Penny had to go to the hospital where they had gauntlets or could sedate her - typical she was fine with the vet nurse so she goes their each time now & all four sets of claws are clipped in less than 5 minutes!! She may only be a small, late middle-aged cat with arthritis & not too many teeth but you don't get on the wrong side of her - even our larger cats know that!!. She also doesn't travel well.
Jenny, I wonder if Aztec's issue is also the fact that he's blind so I suspect his sense of smell may be greater, or was he like this before?
Vet premises & the the staff probably smell quite different to animals compared to humans. All the other animals, medicines, cleaning fluids etc. Never mind the treatment the pets get as well! Can we really blame them.
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Post by caz2golden on May 28, 2013 19:28:44 GMT
Does your vet have weighing scales in the waiting room?
You see my two go in once a month (sometimes more regularly) are weighed and come straight out again.
This means they are not fussed about going in waiting room.
If I sit down then they know vet is on way, Gypsy turns into a wimp ears down, handing paw and trying to sit on your lap though once called in she is fine going in. Phoebe does not seem to think ahead so continues to act the clown all the time!!
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Post by migsy on May 28, 2013 19:48:04 GMT
caz2; He LOVES the waiting room,Skip happily pulls me through the vets door,straight into the waiting room.Then it's his attempt to body swerve past the vets room that starts the fun.Then Mr Hyde appears......
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Post by cazypops on May 28, 2013 19:53:42 GMT
I'm not sure how Jasper will react as it's nearly a year since he's been and was only a few weeks old then, but I'll let you know tomorrow.
I used to have a GSD cross and she was terrified. As soon as we got in the waiting room she'd poo and try and get under the chair, then when we went in to see the vet she'd cower in the corner, he always had to examine her on the floor.
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Post by bectil on May 28, 2013 19:58:49 GMT
I'm not 100% sure if Tilly has to be sedated or not when she goes to the vets. The last time I went with my parents to take Tils, I think she was having her KC jab, so she had to have a bandage wrapped around her nose (my dad was sorting the bandage, and the vet was telling him to make it tighter, tighter!). My dad was holding her, though Tilly was putting up a fight, and ended up scratching my dads arm, which he needed to put under some running water!
I do think how the vet comes across (whether they're calm, loud, ECT.) affects the dog too. We usually ask for one vet in particular for Tils, as we know that that vet is quiet and Tilly is happier with her.
bectil
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Post by migsy on May 28, 2013 20:41:09 GMT
Aaah these poor dogs.I have owned quite a few dogs,and never had one frightened of the vet before.There is no question of Skip having the kennel cough one,I think it could have been that which set him off to start with,you wouldn't think a puff up the nose could be hated so much.Then he had to have anal glands emptied and he screamed,that sounded horrible.His change to JWB Veg Kibble sorted that out thank goodness.We have three vets,and they are all absolutely lovely.One vet was awarded the Pet Plans award one year,and there was one of the lovely Paul O'Gradys certificates on the counter last year.They have been our vets for over 20 yrs now.
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Post by BorderTerrier on May 29, 2013 17:17:49 GMT
Aaah these poor dogs.I have owned quite a few dogs,and never had one frightened of the vet before.There is no question of Skip having the kennel cough one,I think it could have been that which set him off to start with,you wouldn't think a puff up the nose could be hated so much.Then he had to have anal glands emptied and he screamed,that sounded horrible.His change to JWB Veg Kibble sorted that out thank goodness.We have three vets,and they are all absolutely lovely.One vet was awarded the Pet Plans award one year,and there was one of the lovely Paul O'Gradys certificates on the counter last year.They have been our vets for over 20 yrs now. I really feel for Skip! That sounds like a pretty painful, uncomfortable, negative experience he has had a the vets - it is no wonder that he is scared of the vets! When he get's his anal sacs releasing, does he pull a face of sorrow at you, as the owner? Earl does that! He pulls the most 'mardy' face I have ever seen before on a dog... |
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I hope Skip is alright and everyone left with fingers intact lol!
