Dear Growling: You don’t mention how old your dog is or if this problem has been escalating. I suspect, however, that the first time you took your dog to the vet it was for his puppy shots and perhaps it wasn’t such a pleasant visit for him and his anxiety has grown since then.

He may have been afraid of the tall examination table, he may have felt threatened when restrained by a vet tech at a previous visit, or something may have happened at the vet when you left him overnight for a procedure. You have no way of knowing what might have initially set him off which makes it difficult to identify what you are trying to desensitize him from.

First Impressions Count

I have found that many times owners don’t make their pup’s first trip to the vet a positive one. Ideally, the first visit should be to say “hi” to staff, hang out in the waiting room and go home. Just letting the pup get used to the weird smells and sensations that bombard the canine nose, ears and eyes at the vet’s is enough for one day. Making sure your puppy meets a friendly vet tech with a treat is paramount before leaving. The next visit, stay a little longer and maybe just enter the exam room, give a biscuit and then leave, gradually adding more time and activities to the routine.

You really want to do a desensitization program with your dog, but your vet may not want to work with you on all this visiting and disrupting the normal office routine. It is far easier - and safer for your vet and his technicians - to just drug the dog and be done with it.

However, by just sedating him enough to be dealt with by the vet doesn’t address the underlying cause of his anxiety. Ask your vet if you can visit without an exam and maybe try a different vet in the practice or different vet tech for starters.

Other Tricks In Bag

I don’t blame most dogs for not liking the vet’s office since it’s usually filled with bad stuff for them. One trick I do, since I own multiple dogs, is bring along a “visiting dog” on the trip. Often the visiting dog relaxes the other dog as well as not experiencing anything “bad” on his visit. So the next time, when the visiting dog becomes the examined dog it is no big deal. He never knows when it’s his time.

Another option might be to buy your own muzzle and put it on him at home. Make putting the muzzle on a game for him with rewards for letting you put it on him. Make the treat really tiny and soft as it’s hard to chew with a muzzle on. Then eventually take him for visits to the vet with muzzle on. This might work in a pinch and then he won’t associate the muzzle with the vet, but with you as a positive experience instead. He may learn that it doesn’t always mean a shot in the rump!

Working With Your Vet

As the owner of your dog you can demand that your pet not be sedated for vet visits. If your vet won’t work with you to try and calm the savage beast and take a more subtle approach, then perhaps you should find another vet. And if you do, then take this opportunity to treat your pet as a new pup and make that first visit to the vet’s office just a fun visit to the waiting room with a few treats from the staff and then be on your way home.

If all else fails, perhaps you might find a vet willing to make house calls. Or a mobile vet unit that offers the services you need, such as rabies clinics, without going to an actual vet hospital.

 

Lisa Peterson, a long-time breeder of Norwegian Elkhounds, is the Director of Club Communications at the American Kennel Club. Contact her at ask@lisa-peterson.com or Dogma Publishing, P.O. Box 307, Newtown, CT 06470.