Preparation for spaying nervous dog - sedative?

[Waynemanor]

Does anyone have any experience of taking a nervous dog to be spayed? The last time we were at vets for her puppy vaccinations and I wasn’t allowed in the room. We are coming up to age for booster vaccination and looking at getting her spayed. She isn’t especially nervous dog now, but certain things panic her. We have been progressively getting her used to being groomed at home. But it is a slow process. I am pretty sure vaccinations etc will be much more likely to have her cowering in the corner. Is it ever a good idea to give a sedative before these appointments? Or is that last resort? Does anyone have any experience?

My nervous (and aggressive) ddog needed surgery for mammary cancer. Vet insisted on sedation as they refused to handle her otherwise.. Worked well tbh. I was there when she went off and before she woke up. She wasn't handled by anyone she didn't know... The faces as we left were ones of relief though!!
Sadly ddog was pts a year later and given sedation first.. Def recommend it used then also. Ddog never saw anyone but us at the end..

Thank you. I am sorry for your loss. Sounds like you provided good care for her.
What was the sedation? A tablet before appointment?

Quick jab in the rump. She didn't even notice. Then they left the room. They have a spy hole in the door to observe and came in when she was very drowsy and we ushered her to a crate out the back. They rang when she was starting to stir and we came and sat til she woke up and took her from the crate and home. She was 10 and too aggressive to risk it. Your ddog is young so make sure things never get that bad. Was a hard 10 years... Good luck.

Thanks I want to get it right from the start. So they admistered the sedative ?

Quick jab then the anaesthetic after I had left...

Speak to the vets. There are a number of oral meds that can be given the night before and or the morning if (without food) to take the edge off.

All dogs get an injectable sedation and pain relief prior to anaesthesia but it might be helpful for your pup to get it whilst you're there. Ask then about timings. Does she need to be there first thing or can you bring her in just before the surgery is scheduled

Hi, my dog has medication the night before a procedure, 2 hours before the appointment and then a sedative before they treat him (or before they give him anaesthetic). The medication the night before and on the morning is just tablets that we give him at home and then the sedative is an injection that they give at the vets. As a previous poster mentioned, the vets will sometimes let you stay with your dog whilst the sedation takes effect - I've sat in the garden at the vets practice with my dog a couple of times and a couple of times he's sat in the car whilst the sedative took effect. I'd suggest phoning your vets and speaking to a nurse in advance. There are different medications that the vets can give you before an appointment - my dog is quite limited on what he can have due to some daily medication he takes but most dogs have more options open to them. Different vets practices take different approaches I have found (we are on our second vet practice), our vets practice specialises in nervous patients and have a few nurses with a specialist interest in it. I would have thought the vets/nurses would appreciate you discussing your concerns with them in advance because you are trying to reduce stress both for you dog and for the staff. I hope that helps.

Ah ok. I didn’t realise they get an injectable sedation as standard. Thank you everyone this is very helpful

You could also consider getting your dog used to being at the vet's I did this by repeatedly taking her into reception and asking the people on the desk to give her a titbit. We eventually got to the stage where she turned in to the vet's tail wagging, every time we passed the door. May not be possible at the moment with Covid of course