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Vet visits ..What are your techniques to make your dogs comfortable ?
This is such an important topic to me. Before I was educated through CATCH I just took my dogs to the vet not even thinking about if they are comfortable. I also was lucky to have confident – bullet proof dogs. Then came Mack…then came Covid. Mack was tolerate of the vet, we could walk in and get things done. When Covid hit- like many vets- you could not go in with them. Mack was a learning growing puppy and that was it. No support no like lol. I am sure many dogs were affected by this. So I had to slowly train at the vet. Play in the yard there and make it a better place that wasn’t all about shots. I have to continue this skill all the time. Mostly when I know his yearly visits come up I really start to visit often months before to build up that savings account. We worked just yesterday and we are at step Walking up to door and running back to car to his safe spot. This will continue with baby steps until we walk in and we will walk right out. We play find it games in their mini yard when I see he is comfortable and run around the whole parking lot. My vet is great at letting us do this, which I am so grateful. When I had my golden in the other day the front desk said they have watched me over these 2 years and tell clients to do the same. What a compliment! I now also talk about this in my puppy work up and how important it is to try to have “fun” visits. Does anyone else have things they work on? Do you talk to clients about helping a puppy “enjoy” or should I say tolerate the vet? This will be a long life commitment with Mack I know. But if it helps him at least little bit I know it’s my responsibility to get him to that place of comfort!
Two rules I learned..
Go at the dogs pace- not what you think it should be. There are times we just sit in car and observe with treats..
Make sessions short, and end on a positive note..
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8 Replies
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What a great topic, @pawsup ! And so important to talk about with our clients so they have the best chance of preparing their dog for the realities of vet visits and handling.
I’ve had so many dogs of my own, and even 2 cats, and never once had an issue with their behavior at the vets: they cooperated fully and were a dream to handle. Mostly, all I did was pair regular and then weird handling with treats to keep them primed. But then along came Bond… I adopted him at 2 years old. Last year, at a regular vet visit, he was so squirmy and stressed the vet literally couldn’t do what she needed to do. For the first time ever, one of my dogs went ‘to the back,’ and I was told he was ‘fine’ there. Totally don’t believe that, but I vowed to do the handling work Bond needed so he’d be cooperative in future visits. Even got friends to do some of the handling. (A video of one of our earlier sessions is below.) Fast forward to last month, and he was AWESOME at the vet’s, even for a very long blood draw.
The time it takes to build cooperation and confidence can be long, but it’s so worth if for our critters!1:17
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@virginiad I love when we get to enjoy the wins!! Congrats to your hard work and creating that trust. This is a great video. I also have a cue we call “check” which is a head test on my hand like you and check items on the face. So so important- rehearsal of things before needed so we create predictable patterns for out pups! Thanks for sharing!!
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You know what’s hard about this — it’s the time commitment when there isn’t necessarily a concrete deadline. I’m always urging clients to do this work well ahead of a vet visit (or grooming visit), but when I had to do the same work, I had a hard time staying steadily committed. It has given me a lot more empathy for folks in the same situation.
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I totally agree. I find it hard at time to find the time too sometimes… also I am lucky my vet is pretty close by, I am sure others don’t have that luxury.
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I totally agree this is an important field and Krista, amazing work with your big boy! I agree with your vet, you are really doing the miles in the comfort plan for Mack!
My Berner wasn’t afraid of the vet, but didn’t necessarily like it. His worst part was not the handling, but stepping up onto the scale! It took so long to get him up there (they had it in the corner by the busy entry way) and he would either lean against a wall (I think Berners are notorious “leaners”) or pant (and gain or lose 5 pounds, LOL). Also, I always made clear to my vet and handlers, at both vet and grooming that I didn’t want them to be moved onto a table. To please examine on the ground. They were more than happy to do so.
He knew how to “Go to Place”, but I never thought about using that with the scale. His place was cumbersome to move, but I love to suggest using a yoga mat for Mat work. It’s versatile, easy to roll up and move, smells like the dog’s own scent and can be cut for smaller pups. They seem to love yoga mats. My Lab and Berner would covet mine, if I didn’t roll it up instantly.
I love the chin rest, using Chill with duration, touch and treat exercises…I think touch and treat exercises can be easily used daily in any training regimen. I think we all assume “my dog doesn’t mind being petted “, but touching and holding a tail or ear is different.
Keep talking! I love this topic and it can’t be discussed enough!
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@bernerlabreclectus What a great point about telling the staff what you would like up front! I forgot this incredible key factor. I do the same. Exam on floor, breaks when needed and I also ask for appointment right before my vet goes on lunch ( less dogs and people) just one less distraction and I can really focus on his needs. I literally go in with almost a workout k belt. With lick mat , different value treats, a fav toy he doesn’t see much, a towel for place if I need to settle in waiting’ room or get on scale.:) I’d rather bring too much then not enough!
Love how you said panting add or loose a couple. Too funny!!????
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I love this topic. I have two dogs with some aggression issues and I really love working with dogs who struggle with reactivity and aggression and so this comes up a lot. First step for me is finding a vet that I feel I can communicate with and who feels safe and comfy for me to work with! I like to bring my dogs mat to lounge on, toys and treats. When one of my dogs goes in the other comes along and gets to play In the yard when we are done and that’s how we fit in “fun visit”. I’m also a big fan of anti anxiety meds and a little lavender oil to help with calmness. Also just making sure I’m calm myself! Cooperative care is a next step for me that I am gonna work on????
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@virginiad made a whole video demo series for us awhile back, on this very topic! Take a peek… it starts ▶here with this first video◀ and the rest are linked in each post that follows. Great stuff.
Ya’ll are reminding me that while I practice handling my dog daily… I’ve not really had others handle her! EEP! Better get on that one. She’s 18 months old. At her last vet visit, she was none too happy about the blood draw for her heartworm test and I am to blame. In the midst of all the other things, I’d not prepared her for that. Gotta get on it! Thanks for the reminder!
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