pennyw74 Posted February 18, 2008 Share Posted February 18, 2008 Not sure if this was the right forum to ask this but here we go... Ok, it's Izzy's first time at the vet this Saturday coming. She'll be 12 weeks, so going for her vaccination and check up, etc. I can just see it now, tail between her legs, shaking, soooo not wanting to be there. How can I make this experience less traumatic for her and me? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cavandra Posted February 18, 2008 Share Posted February 18, 2008 Cavaliers are Gay & fearless, she wont have her tail between her legs & be shaking!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pennyw74 Posted February 18, 2008 Author Share Posted February 18, 2008 She is very scared of the car and we carried her up the street to try and get her used to noise but she hangs on so tight and shakes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blue Fox 001 Posted February 18, 2008 Share Posted February 18, 2008 Not sure if this was the right forum to ask this but here we go...Ok, it's Izzy's first time at the vet this Saturday coming. She'll be 12 weeks, so going for her vaccination and check up, etc. I can just see it now, tail between her legs, shaking, soooo not wanting to be there. How can I make this experience less traumatic for her and me? You are already going into this with a preconceived (sp) idea and YOU obviously have a fear of going to the vets! The pup will pick up on this the minute you load her into the car and YOU have created the traumatic experience right from the word go. Going to the vet is not a big deal, she won't even know the needle has been given and the basic check up consists of nothing more than temperature (maybe), a feel all over and looking into her mouth and ears - none of which hurt or require any stressing about . A trip to the vet should be considered a fun outing as any outing which starts with a car ride should be; she is going to see other animals and meet new people all of which makes for a great day out for a pup - why would this be traumatic? If you go into this with the right attitude your pup will not have a problem - if you do not, nothing you can do will make any difference and you will condemn you pup to hating the vet surgery when this is not necessary. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pennyw74 Posted February 18, 2008 Author Share Posted February 18, 2008 Perhaps I've watched too many TV shows then. It's hard to make fun trips when she's shaking. I try to make things fun for her. As soon as we take her into the garage, she tenses up. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
koolietas Posted February 18, 2008 Share Posted February 18, 2008 Make it fun for her and she should enjoy it. Give her treats - get her to sit, and reward her for calm behaviour etc. In the future, one of the best things to do is to take her to the vet for no reason (or just a weigh in for eg) - so that she's doesn't see the vet surgery as a place where she's always poked/prodded. I take my sheltie in whenever I take one of my other dogs or cats in - and he thinks its great...he gets lots of pats from the staff (and the odd liver treat) - so it's just like any other normal outing for him. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blue Fox 001 Posted February 18, 2008 Share Posted February 18, 2008 Make it fun for her and she should enjoy it. Give her treats - get her to sit, and reward her for calm behaviour etc. Great advice - just keep in mind that when you reward her you are rewarding the behaviour you want (not because she is frightened). Don't baby her and pat her when she is scared or you will be reinforcing this behaviour and all your doing is telling her there is something to be worried about. It sounds like she is a nervous dog and once fully vaccinated you should take her to lots of different places, with strange people/things and all the time ensuring she doesn't get any unneccessary frights and rewarding the instant she shows that she is interested/calm etc.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wylie Posted February 18, 2008 Share Posted February 18, 2008 A lot of puppies are scared of the car. Take her on lots of trips with you even if she never gets out of the car. OR put her in a crate for all car travel. I have an 8 week old litter atm they have been on about 6 car rides already and some of them have been for a whole 5 mins as i go up and back from our local shop. They dont carry on in the car they are actually becoming more and more curious as to what we pass. The 10 week old pup gets shunted in the car all the time. She normally goes wherever i go. She never comes out of the car as her vaccs are not completed. She loves going for car rides now. Her first couple of times it was i have to be on top of you. Now she sits and watches or falls asleep. And none of my pups have ever had a bad experience at the vets and i am sure your pup has already had 1 visit to a vet for her initial vaccination. She is a dog treat her matter of factly and do not put human emotions on her. It sounds to me like you are treating her like a baby and she is picking up on your fears and concerns. Have fun with her and all will be right with the world Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sezy Posted February 18, 2008 Share Posted February 18, 2008 The first time I took my girl to the vet, the vet nurse took her under her arm as she was so cute. I went in with the vet and my bunny had his shots then I had to go find the vet nurse to get my dog back. My dog thinks the vet is great. You get pats and treats. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Poodle wrangler Posted February 18, 2008 Share Posted February 18, 2008 Make the car a happy place. Wait until she's hungry and put some of her favourite treats in the car (engine off), then work up to treats with engine on, short drives etc. Agree- NEVER reward her for shaking/ nervous behaviour. Give her something easy to do like a sit and reward her for that. Ignore the nervousness, but give her something else to focus on e.g. sit followed by treat. Start socialising her about 10 days after 2nd vaccs. Both nature and nurture maketh the dog. All dogs pick up on your emotions very quickly, so your nervousness will rub off. Start doing Triangle of Temptation (TOT)- http://www.dolforums.com.au/index.php?showtopic=64101 Great program and takes no more than 5-10 minutes when you feed your dog Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stormie Posted February 18, 2008 Share Posted February 18, 2008 I also teach my boy to 'stand' for 'check' and offer him treats when he is being examined. Obviously it's easier for my because I work in a clinic and orb comes with me every day, but he still loves running into the consult rooms and standing for his examination!!! He thinks its great fun! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HeartandSoul Posted February 18, 2008 Share Posted February 18, 2008 I like to take my dogs to the vet for a "visit" so that they dont always think they're going there to be poked and prodded. For instance if i got to buy flea meds, there is usually a dog attached - they come, they get cuddled, they leave Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chuckie500 Posted February 18, 2008 Share Posted February 18, 2008 Use the high pitched excited-isn't-this-so-much-fun voice. IF you are male you will have trouble doing this in which case use the i'm-in-control-calm-good-fella voice. Mine like going I think coz of all the other doggie smells around. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scarlet Posted February 18, 2008 Share Posted February 18, 2008 Lots of short trips in the car are great. Even put the dog in the car, back it out the driveway and get out. Even do this 5 - 10 times a day so she get to learn that it is a normal thing to do. Sounds like it is the car rather than the vet you are worried about. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pennyw74 Posted February 18, 2008 Author Share Posted February 18, 2008 A bit of success. Last night, I asked my fiance to put her in the car to pick me up after work. I told him to not pat her if she was scared but make it fun. When I got in the car, she was still quiet but her tail started wagging and I did the high pitched isn't this exciting and fun thing. She ws fine. I mean, she's not jumping around but that's good but she doesn't seem scared. We took her out again after dinner and for the first minute, she wasn't sure and wouldn't sit right down properly. She looked awkward but after that she cuddled up and closed her eyes. We drove for about 20 minutes, stopped and drove back home and she was looking out the window but still laying down. One thing, though, she kind of pants - does this mean she's thirsty? She sticks her tongue out and makes strange noises. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HollyMilo Posted February 19, 2008 Share Posted February 19, 2008 Keep up with the drives in the car. Make the car a fun exciting thing. Even though we live at the beach, I sometimes drive a couple of kms down the road to a great walkway on the beach and Holly loves going walking at a different place than our "usual" route. She has been coming for drives since she was a small pup and now loves the car as it means she might be going somewhere exciting. She even jumps into the car when I'm cleaning it! Also my hubby will sometimes pull up in the driveway and get Holly to sit on his lap just to drive into the garage - she thinks this is great fun!!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kateykateykatey Posted February 19, 2008 Share Posted February 19, 2008 If you get anxious, for example when you look at her and worry that she looks scared, try singing nursery rhymes. You'll feel really silly, but that's kind of the point. It's hard to be nervous when you're feeling a bit dumb. Our behaviourist told us to use this technique with our dog-reactive dog so that we weren't inadvertantly encouraging anxious behaviour by being anxious ourselves. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kateykateykatey Posted February 19, 2008 Share Posted February 19, 2008 Make it fun for her and she should enjoy it. Give her treats - get her to sit, and reward her for calm behaviour etc. That's an excellent point. This article on calming signals tells you about yawning and lip licking that dogs use to calm themselves and those around them. Body language can make all the difference to an anxious dog. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Danois Posted February 19, 2008 Share Posted February 19, 2008 I made the vet a fun place from day one for Angus. We stopped in for a check up when I picked him up and they made such a fuss over him. We would drop in weekly for weighing etc and he always got fussed over so when we had to go for something he thought it was a fun place. Now when we go into our old vets he goes straight up and puts the paws on the counter for a treat! It also helps if you get him used to other people touching him - running hands down legs, picking leg up etc. Since you only have a short time, I say drop in for a first visit and make it special with treats, pats etc - that way, next visit will not be so 'scary' for him! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pennyw74 Posted February 19, 2008 Author Share Posted February 19, 2008 (edited) Make it fun for her and she should enjoy it. Give her treats - get her to sit, and reward her for calm behaviour etc. That's an excellent point. This article on calming signals tells you about yawning and lip licking that dogs use to calm themselves and those around them. Body language can make all the difference to an anxious dog. So I'll start yawning too then. I'll be sure to let you know how she goes at the vet. Edited February 19, 2008 by pennyw74 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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