Vet phobic dog - so stressed

[ThelastRolo20]

Hi all - really grateful for some advice/ thoughts/ sympathy.

I have a JRT cross who is 5, like a typically JRT he's not really a fan of being handled but having had him from a puppy I could trim his nails and get a harness on etc etc.

When he was 1.5 he got neutered and being COVID time I couldn't go in with him. Since then he hates, and is terrified of, the vets. We'd only go once a year for vaccs but they'd either sedate him (home medication did nothing), or towel over the head and jab.the sedation one was so they could also cut nails including dew claws which I found difficult to do.

Last year a different vet (but same practice) said I shouldn't have had him sedated - even though the vets suggested to do this! And he needed muzzle training - they had put one on him in one session.

So now, I have a dog that won't even let me trim his nails, hates a muzzle, hates the vets. I have tried weeks long of slow positive reinforcements, walking past the vets with treats to no avail.

I'm so stressed and stumped. I have no idea what to do now, I could handle the vets and towel over the head but they can't do his nails like that. It's really putting a shadow over having him and the vets have made me feel this is all my fault and aren't interested in helping.

Any ideas??

Have you considered a fresh start with a new vet?

Yes, this.

He now has such a negative association with that place that it'll be easier for you to just totally start again elsewhere.

Get a mobile vet to come to your house. My whippet is so anxious and fearful of the vet I have to go back next month to get a second part of a booster jab done as he was so shut down after the first she couldn't administer it and I was worried he was going to lash out at her which he has NEVER done before to anyone. He sits by the vet door and crys from the minute we get there. It really stresses me out knowing I have to get him there somehow. My friend uses a mobile vet who goes to her house as she also has a fearful dog. After getting the second dose of the injection I am going to register him with the mobile vet as it's not worth the stress for me and him.

How is your dog with visitors?

I used to have a mobile vet visit my cats and it worked very well (he went mobile after moving his practice and realising a lot of his clients didn’t have cars).

They do still seem to be a few around.

A dog trainer might be able to help get him used to a muzzle (get a different one).

My dog is similar only he's massive. I had to take him for lameness yesterday and hes opening doors, clamming up, leaping around -all behaviours on display!
Im going to find a mobile vet to come to the house which will cover most problems

I’d agree with a new vet, I have a Labrador who was terrified of the vet in a similar manner. Had bitten when being vaccinated would have to be muzzled with me holding her down to get an injectable sedative in for any procedure.
moved house 12 months ago and consequently moved vet, she’s like a different dog. I did call the new vet and explain in advance, they told me to bring her in during clinic hours a few times and she just said hello to everyone got treats but nothing was done. She still doesn’t love going to the vet and cries when we arrive etc (I have one weirdo who considers it a great day out) but she will sit calmly while I hold her for vaccine and nail trims now. She recently injured herself badly and even let them shave and clean the wound an do stitches under local anaesthetic without me present, I cannot believe what a difference it’s made.

I have a foster dog with similar issues. He developed a massive phobia after being castrated.

Yep to a new vet and one that understands how to deal with the situation.

excellent to help with cooperative care and building up your dogs resience. It gives the dog choice and more control.

In the meantime do very little husbandry (if nails need cutting look at getting a scratch board to take the stress away from that situation)

Go to a new vet and just sit in the waiting room treat and leave etc
Hopefully the new vet will allow you to move into the surgery with maybe a vet nurse treat and leave.
Do this frequently and very slowly build up tolerance of what the dog can do.

With a smaller dog eventually it may be worth only doing any handling eg injections etc whilst on the table. The dog can then be relaxed as soon as the procedure is over and learn the surgery is ok but short time on the table indicates the handling.

The vet was wrong to make you feel it is your fault - if anyone is too blame they are as your dog also feels it was his fault and feels very pressured in the situation.

We can now happily go and get fussed by the vet nurses and trot into the surgery happilly. He will still wag his tail when the stethoscope is being used with head on bucket (see above) He is happy to have the scruff of his neck handled and a blunt pen pushed onto his neck.

Extra practice at vets by Mutty Professor using chin rest instead of bucket game

How to prepare for vet procedures using chin rest rather than bucket game

Thanks everyone, really appreciate all the thoughts and advice. It's just nice not to feel alone. Will look for a new vets as a starting point x

I agree with PP to change vets who are more understanding.

I have the same issue with vet visits caused by the same problem with the Covid restrictions, the dog was triggered going into the consultation room and would be panic stricken as soon as the door was closed , new vet now and we get the last appointment on the day the vet sits on the floor spends time with the dog to put her at ease the consult is done in the waiting room at my request dog definitely a lot better during the vet visits and definitely loves the new vet who spends a good 45 minutes playing ball with her when I think she was restrained before which is what caused the fear

Get a mobile vet to come to your house.

Just tried calling a new vet to have the worst receptionist on the phone giving me the bloody Spanish inquisition! Why do you want his registered? What do you mean vet phobic? What's he doing? Etc etc. couldn't have been less warm or welcoming on the phone.

Absolute nightmare

Oh no that sounds awful. Any other vets you can try? I am in the process of moving and when I enquired in one vets nearer my new home the receptionists didn’t seem very welcoming so I have stuck with my old ones for now despite a long drive so I know how that initial contact if not positive can make you feel.

@BiteySharkthank you - it felt very much like pointed questioning and I didn't understand why I had to get past her to speak to a vet.

As it happens my current vets has a different branch in another town, I might see if I can transfer so to speak. May be the easiest tactic.

Definitely try a different branch. My vets have several and I just phone which one I want to go to and there has never been an issue doing that and they never ask why either as I tend to pick and choose based on what I think needs to be done or who I want to see.

could you walk past the vet daily and give him some chicken or sausage, then slowly progress to taking him in to weigh him with treats?

Hi OP I have a JRT and she is terrified going to the vet . She genuinely looks as if she is going to collapse with terror and the shaking is off the scale.
She has sedation every year to have her mouth and teeth examined/ extracted..no enamel on her teeth . The vet always cuts her nails whilst sedated and I road walk her daily to keep her nails as short as possible until her next vet trip.
I always get husband to take her because I cannot bear seeing her so stressed 😩

That’s a really good idea . I shall take your advice with my JRT !

@Worriedmamma19thank you - I have tried that but he gets so stressed even the other side of the road to the vet he refuses all treats! If we change branch I'll try and go in advance and give him some nice food there x

Would he enjoy a dog grooming session, they'd cut his nails, doesn't help with the vax though.

My dog is terrified of the vets. To the extent that last year, while he was under anaesthetic for various scans, he still wouldn’t let them clip his nails, and bringing him round was a nervous time too.

My vet surgery have encouraged me to bring him in often to get used to sitting in the waiting room, and even into one of the treatment rooms if they’re not in use. I also make sure to take him for his annual review at a different time from his injection, so he doesn’t assume the worst will happen as soon as we’re there. They also give him lots of treats to build positive associations.

Rather than a muzzle, we are working on a cone plus liver paste, which will distract him from more or less anything. Injection due next month, so we’ll see! He does have arthritis, and at some point the best treatment for that is regular injections, so it would be good if he could get used to it.

I would definitely ask around for recommendations of vets who understand the problems of anxious dogs. There’s a lot they can do to help.

My DC is the same, I'm sorry to say.

In humans it's called PTSD. The problem apparently is that when a person has a very traumatic experience, the memory is not fully processed and can get stuck in the amygdala part of the brain. When it's in that part, if the person sees something that triggers the memory then they remember how bad it was, but also experience all the physical symptoms of the fear as well, so they then become afraid of the fear. The memory cannot be processed and forgotten but comes back just as strongly every time.

In humans the answer is to talk about what happened, which enables the memory to move from the amygdala to the cerebral cortex. Once it gets there, it can be processed and forgotten.

I've no idea how you get your dog to talk about what happened. I don't really know much about dogs. I'm not sure if him sitting outside the vet howling while you administer tea and sympathy would do it. It might.

One thing that might be worth being cautious about is having medics coming to the house, because if the dog doesn't like that, then it might get really twitchy about people in general coming to the house and that could be bad.

We have to go incredibly carefully with my DS because it all happened before he was 2 years old so has no visual memory of the incident that started it all. It's a really difficult thing to cope with.

Things have got a bit better since he's been able to take control of medical appointments. Getting a sense of control is really useful. Again, I have no idea how you give that to a dog.

Sorry - I know this sounds ridiculous, but we're struggling with the same problem and it really is very hard.

Edited to add that my DC was not neutered by a vet. It was adenoids and a surgeon.

Also I intially misread your thread title as "dog-phobic vet" which made me chuckle a bit. I bet there are some of those too, bless them.

@MissMoneyFairy I'm going to try some groomers over the next couple of weeks to see if they can do his nails - I've explained he's nervous so fingers crossed :)

Can you not take him to a groomers just for his nails. That way if you explain to them you can go in with him and calm him down.