Our lovely Cav girl growled at the vet today as he checked her out.  She was then chipped and cried out, i know that it is a big needle but i was surprised that she growled at him.....  She is shy and needs to get out once her season has finished, do you think this may have something to do with it.  She is 16 months old we haven't had her long.  Maybe more socialising will help her as she does bark at people coming into the house aswell.  Just wondered if her being in season may change her mood....

Do you have any children?  Would you feel the need to send them to a psychologist if they screamed when they were being inoculated or were less than welcoming when they saw the doctor/nurse?

I wouldn't worry about it.  Most dogs don't like the vets anyway and a lot of bitches get a little wary when they're in season.  Try to think of it as a one off and see what she's like when she goes back next time when she's NOT in season:)

Debs

As you haven't had her very long she may have had a bad experience being handled in the past not necessarily at the vets & she is putting up the only defence she has to warn off being upset again

Was she frightened/upset before she saw the vet ?

When she has finished her season I would find a dog training club & a ring craft club & take her not to learn to be a show dog necessarily but to learn to be handled. I used to show a cavalier who was badly frightened by a vet(idiot tried to sex him aged 10 weeks & physically hurt him doing so-wasn't he vet for very long)He did learn to allow people to handle him with a lot of work & treats winning BOB at shows & when he was ill being so relaxed after some T Touch massage he had an X ray with no GA or sedation

the microchipping causes many long screams/howls- one puppy went on for 10 seconds after the chip went in- not nice for them!
the growling was just saying say wasnt comfortable with the situation.

I have found a wonderful vet for my dogs, all puppies and dogs are given treats by the vet (after checking with the owner ;) ) even if they've only had a check up :D  This way they remember the good bits and tend to forget the bad ;)  I've always done this anyway - but it's nice to find a vet that does it too :D

If the vets surgery isn't too far away perhaps they'd let you take her there, just to get used to the place and have a fuss and a treat :)

I wouldn'y worry too much - my eldest (and she is quite a big dog) is terrified of the vet, ever since she was spayed. She hides behind me and shakes and a 5 min check up for a booster can turn into 30 mins coaxing plus treats plus me apologising. The vet has even sat on the floor with her, but no, she is scared and that is it.
The second one just looks at the vet as if to say "you again. I suppose you're going to stick somehing up my bum, wierdo" and then she sighs.
Eddie goes for a check up after his grapes were removed tomorrow so not sure what will happen there.but he is a drama queen...............

Having a social visit is a good idea and many vets do it so it's not too unexpected or a shock when the dog really needs to go..........

Id far rather a dog that growls over one that doesnt.

A dog that growls is a dog that is communicating that he or she is uncomfortable. One that WONT growl when they feel threatened, is the one who will bite without warning and seemingly 'for no reason'.

Dont worry about it too much, just get her out and about and make sure all her associations with people, wherever possible, are pleasant (ie involve nice things, games, fun, praise and food).

Em

Thanks for all the help, we will be able to get her out and about soon, end of the week.  She had to go to the vet as hadn't had any jabs and it just fell in with the time of her season.  I always take treats with me in my pocket for my dogs at the vet and try and distract them.  I shall take her a few times to just sit and spend some time in the waiting room when she doesn't need anything done to try and help her relax.  We shall be starting ring craft in a couple of weeks so hope this will help her with lots of treats. 

My dog loves the vets.  she doesn't like the vet going over her etc and her ears go back but she still likes going. I think this is because I take her at every opportunity i.e. picking up worming treatments.  Yesterday I took her when I dropped off an insurance form. My dog shows off and the ladies in there make a big fuss of her and give her treats from behind the counter.  I am sure the positive attention and treats from the staff far outweighs the negatives for my dog. 

Would it be possible to give the treats to the receptionists so that they can give the treats from behind the counter rather than the treats coming from you while you are there?  When I took my dog yesterday it was the end of the day so no one in the waiting room and the ladies had time to make more fuss of her than usual. 

Just an idea.

I have made it a habit of taking them in to be wieghed on a regular basis so that most of the time nothing major hqappens and they usually get a fuss from the staff.

Mine also goes into the vet's surgery regularly for dull purchases like worm tablets which involve being weighed and fussed over so he has an almost touching naivety about how nice the place is! However, he wasn't thrilled about being microchipped either and I'd have been rather worried if he hadn't let out some sort of squeak. As it was, he howled for a couple of seconds as the needle went in and then looked at the vet rather accusingly as if to say "What brought that on then?"

I tend to work on the principle that visits to the vet are simply part of a dog's life and while I may have been lucky in my experience, I've always made a point of treating the visit on that basis. For sure, if you worry on the dog's behalf then the dog is more than likely to pick up on it and the pair of you end up stressed out!

My dog loves the vets as well he must be the only one pulling to get in when we go by. He has never snapped at another dog but when they were doing free microchipping in our area we took him along he was on the lead and had just been microchipped, and another dog came running up growling and generally being being unfriendly and he did bark back which is very unusual so i think it must have been a bit of a shock to him when chipped. Consequently the guys doing the chipping promptley told the lady to get hold of her dog.