Barney is a 3 year old Westie, who suffered a lot when he was a puppy with demodex.  A result of this is that he is terrified of the vet.  When he had his booster last year he reacted quite aggressively, growling and baring his teeth.  This year he also had to have his rabies vaccination.  The veterinary nurse took him from me and I waited outside.  Same reaction, but this time so terrified he also peed and pood.  Does anyone know if there is an alternative to the injection ie oral vaccination so that I dont have to put him through that again.

No, I'm afraid not - it's injections or nothing, I'm afraid.

It is a good idea to build a positive association with the Vets.  I did this with my first dog by taking her in regularly just to have a pat from the nurses/receptionist, and then for weighing.

It might also be worth asking the vet if they'd consider removing their white or green coat (many animals associate this with unpleasant experiences) and come outside to vaccinate the dog in your car or just outdoors. And always ask the vet to offer a treat afterwards. :)

Poor Barney!

There are lots of things you could try.

An idea if your vet has another branch a bit further away, visit a few times and sit in the waiting room feeding Barney treats. Get the nurses/receptionist/vets to feed him treats if they have the time and visit as regularly as possible just for food. If he associates a different building with nice things it might be easier for him to relax but he'll probably still be very worried because the staff dress and smell like vets and the whole place will smell like a surgery.

If he's far too distressed in the waiting room then feed him in the car park until he's okay there (a few visits), then work on going inside.

If he only goes in the car to get to the vets or knows the route try going a different way or taking him out more often.

There are things like rescue remedy and DAP sprays which calm some dogs down a little bit.

Can you examine him yourself, lifting his tail, looking at his teeth and ears, etc. You could do it every day at home with lots of rewards to make him more comfortable being "groped", and most dogs only get a bit of their scruft lifted up to have a needle stuck in, so do that every day too (gently as a vet would do, obviously don't try pulling him about or lifting him up by it).

If you find it really upsetting to watch he'll pick up on it and get even more worried, if you have a friend/family who you trust 100% they could take him for you.

The last thing I can think of is if he has to be muzzled get him used to it at home so he doesn't associate it as another horrible thing they do to him.

Hope some of it helps but like a phobia with us he'll probably never completely get over it.

Thanks for all your replies.  I have tried most of the things that have been mentioned, but Barney really is quite highly strung.  It doesnt help that this vet actually puts the needle in his hind quarters where he is very tense.  They did actually take him from me to do it as I thought it may have been me that was making it worse.
I have been looking into getting a DAP collar for him, have tried Rescue Remedy before but it didnt really seem to make much difference.  It may be worth trying again though.

When I say he is highly strung, he reacts to every single noise he hears, barks at every dog he sees, chases traffic... I could go on.  I know you will all think that he hasnt been socialised too well.  I did take him to puppy training when he was small  but he would just bark all the time at the other dogs.  However, he did learn things as when he was away from the other dogs he responded fine!  I had to stop taking him to puppy training as the demodex he had was so extreme, he couldnt walk as his paws were so sore.  He then had to have biopsies, and the skin on his neck was just bleeding and it smelt awful.  Add to that the baths he had to have, he was one poorly puppy.  So all the experiences he has had with the vet have been bad.  We tried taking him to the vet just to be in the surgery and feeding him treats etc.

Like you said, I dont think he will ever be okay with the vet now, but I think I will give the DAP spray a try.

If you look on the internet, you can find examples of animals being taught to accept all sorts of things - I'm talking big animals such as gorillas, elephants, and smaller ones :) as they all need treatment at some stage, some may need regular medication.
I forget what to look under but there are some short videos on Youtube.

You may be able to desensitise him. Here's a video of a dog who was a handful when having his nails clipped, who learnt to accept it happily with clicker training:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bgEwiH8CeUE

T Touch is good for helping dogs relax. My friend uses it when we tattoo & microchip puppies. I have used on many rescue dogs to good effect

Thanks Moonmaiden, I did actually buy the book about Ttouch.  I have tried some of the touches but really need a one to one with a practitioner.  Only problem is, we are living in Cyprus at the moment as my husband is in the RAF, and so far havent been able to find anyone.  I have just put a DAP collar on Barney today and a diffuser in the living room - so far no difference but I will persevere!  Have also found my clicker so will try enforcing that as well!!

You can do just simple massage starting quite lightly & gradually increase. It doesn't have to be firm & it can be just smallish circles, my dogs & cats love it, it's one of the few things that mt bitch will chill out with