Missy's First Vet Visit...

southerngirl

Honored Member
Missy had her first vet visit in her nine years. Yeah it didn't go so well.:( She had to have a quick exam to get comfortis flea pill.
Right when we pulled into the parking lot Missy was already getting anxious, so I took her and Piper out of the car to help chill them out. To go into the office my mom took Piper and I picked up Missy hoping it would help... Nope she wiggled out of my arms. Behind us was a women holding a Pomeranian and Missy actually didn't care. THEN we went into the tiny room with Piper, Missy and Me and my mom. That is when Missy started freaking out the longer we waited the worse she got. She was panting her fur was just falling off... And the noises started. She was whining and barking I tried to calm her down. She sounded like she was laughing. When two vet techs walked in she started barking at them and backing up. They told me to just pull her over to them because there was no calming her down. So I did and I felt bad for how scared she was. They were holding onto her and she just started swinging her head around trying to bite. I was able to stop her but I could tell one wrong move and she would go for it. They found her heart beat and let her go. Told me I should go outside while they looked at Piper's ear. My poor baby HATES the vet...:( I've never seen her act like that. She loves people.
When I took her outside and walked her around she did calm down and went back to herself. A vet tech walked by and she politely and happily greeted her.
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Oh and Miss Piper did great as my mom bragged.:rolleyes: Umm hello mom I am the one who trained her... I do believe the bragging rights belong to the trainer/caretaker not the owner.:)
Piper has an ear infection and has to take 2 benadryl a day, ear drops every day for 7 days and clean ears every three days and after any bath or swimming. The vet also suggested to feed her food with salmon for her skin allergies and said Not to feed her food with chicken.
 

running_dog

Honored Member
Poor Missy and poor you. Have you any idea what caused that reaction? Once I saw Gus freak out with a vet nurse (maybe "tech" in the States?) when he had been fine with her moments previously. I figured out that she had washed her hands in between and the smell of the soap scared him.

Is the vets too far away for you to pop in with Missy now and again? Mum used to take Gus in a couple of times a month, weigh him and come out again just to get him used to going into the scary place - she also changed vets because Gus had a bad experience with the previous one. Obviously Missy's fear is much greater than Gus's ever was but you would just start by driving in walking her round the car park and going away again.

I know you might not have the chance to work on it at all, but if you do it is worth doing - that level of stress she was under could make the difference of life or death if she had an accident and was already in trauma.

Well done to you for training Piper to be so well behaved.
 

southerngirl

Honored Member
Poor Missy and poor you. Have you any idea what caused that reaction? Once I saw Gus freak out with a vet nurse (maybe "tech" in the States?) when he had been fine with her moments previously. I figured out that she had washed her hands in between and the smell of the soap scared him.

Is the vets too far away for you to pop in with Missy now and again? Mum used to take Gus in a couple of times a month, weigh him and come out again just to get him used to going into the scary place - she also changed vets because Gus had a bad experience with the previous one. Obviously Missy's fear is much greater than Gus's ever was but you would just start by driving in walking her round the car park and going away again.

I know you might not have the chance to work on it at all, but if you do it is worth doing - that level of stress she was under could make the difference of life or death if she had an accident and was already in trauma.

Well done to you for training Piper to be so well behaved.
It's just up the road, but with me still looking for a car I'll have to try to walk there during the weekends. And no I don't know what happened. She was a little bit anxious in the room at first, but she wasn't barking or whining. I was petting her and talking trying to keep her chill. Than she started her whining and I couldn't get her to calm down. Than when the vet techs walked in she was barking, crouched down backing away from them. When I pulled her to them she just flipped out. I have NEVER in 9 years of having her seen her act like that. She has nipped a child.. but never has she bit or tried to bite someone. She LOVES people. Like I said when we entered the vets she was a bit anxious, but fine... When I took her outside she calmed down and was fine.
 

running_dog

Honored Member
It's just up the road, but with me still looking for a car I'll have to try to walk there during the weekends. And no I don't know what happened. She was a little bit anxious in the room at first, but she wasn't barking or whining. I was petting her and talking trying to keep her chill. Than she started her whining and I couldn't get her to calm down. Than when the vet techs walked in she was barking, crouched down backing away from them. When I pulled her to them she just flipped out. I have NEVER in 9 years of having her seen her act like that. She has nipped a child.. but never has she bit or tried to bite someone. She LOVES people. Like I said when we entered the vets she was a bit anxious, but fine... When I took her outside she calmed down and was fine.
That's good that it is close enough for you to work with Missy on it. It sounds like it might end up taking a little while to get Missy comfortable with the whole vets experience. Maybe you'll have the car before long and then it might be easier to call in more often. It's good that she calmed down once she was outside. It could be that she will freak out as you approach the vets though she calmed down when you came out - because when you came out she had escaped the scary experience whereas when you walk towards it she will think she is going to be forced into it.

It's horrible that you had to force her into something she was so scared of. That must have been very very hard for you. As you said there is no reasoning with a dog that has flipped like that. You did what you had to do at the time when you had had no time to prepare Missy for it, it is great you are going to try to stop it ever happening again like that. If anyone can get through to Missy I know you can.

As you work on it I'm sure it'll become more clear what it is that Missy can't cope with. As with Gus the time that I described it could be something very simple like the smell of the disinfectant might have a bad association for her.

Do let me know how you get on with this... I plan to steal your ideas and insights to work with Zac, he's not freaked out like Missy but even low level stress makes him ill so even just feeling anxious at the vets is bad for him.
 

southerngirl

Honored Member
It's horrible that you had to force her into something she was so scared of. That must have been very very hard for you. As you said there is no reasoning with a dog that has flipped like that. You did what you had to do at the time when you had had no time to prepare Missy for it, it is great you are going to try to stop it ever happening again like that.
Yeah I really hated having to pull her over. She was scared and I forced her to face something that was terrifying her. An
If anyone can get through to Missy I know you can.
Thanks for all your input, advice and encouraging words.
 
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