If this is your first visit, be sure to check out the FAQ by clicking the link above. You may have to register before you can post: click the register link above to proceed. To start viewing messages, select the forum that you want to visit from the selection below. |
|
|
Thread Tools | Display Modes |
#1
|
|||
|
|||
Dog sooo stressed by vet visits
"Supergoof" wrote ...
Does anyone have any advice on how to reduce the stress of vet visits for my 11yo girl, Murphy? Thanks everyone for the advice. I think I might have to ask the vet for some sort of relaxant for her, and hopefully if we make a few "dummy runs" without anything scary happening she might learn to relax a little. We have to go there every month for her arthritis pills, and I've been trying to remember to pop a few treats in my pocket that I can give her when I come back out of the vet's office (Murphy waits in the car). I think it's really the being left behind that she's so afraid of, so even for her annual checkup if I gave her some happy pills first hopefully she'd calm down a bit. I'm sure it doesn't help the vet much when a dog's shaking so hard she has major problems hearing her heartbeat! It also elevates her temperature a bit - I'd had for a real problem to be neglected because we assumed the raised temp was just stress. The vet didn't want to give her any sort of sedative yesterday as she was having a general anaesthetic. But our vet is so sweet, by the time I got to work there was a message waiting for me from the vet just to let me know that Murphy had calmed right down with the pre-med. So obviously sedation works! In the afternoon she was good until about 5, then she woke up enough to start fussing again, fortunately my parther was home sick and he could go and get her (last time we could actually hear her howling in the background). My poor baby was all wobbly and glassy-eyed all evening, didn't quite know what she wanted and just staggered around the lounge a bit, but had a fierce thirst and hunger - I was able to give her tepid water little and often, but she wasn't allowed food until this morning. LOL knowing Murphy, maybe her greatest fear with the vet is that after she gets left behind she always gets deprived of food afterwards!! The labrador force is strong in this one! ) Thanks again folks Rachel (New Zealand) |
#2
|
|||
|
|||
"Supergoof"
wrote: I hate seeing her so frightened, is there any way (short of sedation) to help her get over this huge problem - as it started after the first time she was left there, I'm guessing she's afraid of being left every time we go ... and occasionally all her fears come true! Take frequent trips to the vet with a bag of her favorite treats. Ask the receptionists/vet techs/anybody who will help to give them to her. Then just take her home. In other words, make the trips fun and rewarding for her. PetsMart Pet Trainer My Kids, My Students, My Life: http://hometown.aol.com/dfrntdrums/m...age/index.html Last updated June 27 at 10:00 a.m. |
#3
|
|||
|
|||
"Leah" -OFF wrote in message
... "Supergoof" wrote: I hate seeing her so frightened, is there any way (short of sedation) to help her get over this huge problem - as it started after the first time she was left there, I'm guessing she's afraid of being left every time we go .... and occasionally all her fears come true! Take frequent trips to the vet with a bag of her favorite treats. Ask the receptionists/vet techs/anybody who will help to give them to her. Then just take her home. In other words, make the trips fun and rewarding for her. While I understand the concept of desensitizing her to the vet and agree that this is a good method in general, I don't think its a good method for an 11yo dog and more would depend on the degree of her anxiety. For dogs who get very anxious and scared in specific circumstances, sometimes its better to not force the issue but to avoid the trigger when possible and manage the reaction otherwise. I think management medication has unfairly become some kind of monster to dog owners. When used correctly, at the right doses and with accompanying behavior modification, I think its a major help that more dogs could benefit from. I just can't see repeatedly (whether once a week or once a month) placing a dog in a situation that causes it extreme stress and expecting it to endure when there is something immediate available to assist the dog's state of mind. In this particular instance, since the dog will only see the vet once per month, I'd think that desensitization exercises w/o the benefit of a mild sedative would be less successful than with one. -- Tara |
Thread Tools | |
Display Modes | |
|
|