Any suggestions as to how we can make trips to the vets with our 5yr old rotti go less stressful?
It only happens when we go to the vets, she becomes distressed and agitated, this becomes worse (they can become nervous of her) if we can't see our usual vet that knows Bo and can manage with her. I no people joke about it, but it can be a real pain, when she can't be seen when it's needed. Our vet did say for us to watch the dog whisperer, which we did he (ceasar) suggested (to a dog owner like our's who was also not fond of the vet) to take them for a long walk, to tire them out before going. This has had a good effect, except when Bo get's a strained leg and this then doesn't work,as we can't exercise her for long periods. Any help readily received!
Diane

Hi Diane74,

Maybe you could try starving her so rather than giving her breakfast, take her there on an empty stomach. Cook up some sausages and take them with you in a bag give her a stroll and when she is good give her a little bit of sausage [any yummy snack she adores will do] take her in to the vet reception and give some bits of food to the staff, vet nurse's, people on the desk basically any random person in there, praising her all the time she is focusing on the snack and being cool- Recondition her mind that vet place is where lovely sausage is to be had!
 
Is she a bit worried about strange people in general ?  My friend had a GSD who was a handful at the vet and with anyone she didn't know, when the vet came out of his office to greet us and Mica growled and cowered behind me, the vet instantly took off their white coat they were wearing and didn't make eye contact which calmed her down a lot.

If she does start spinning about and generally acting like a loon be matter of fact with her [ i know its hard under the pressure of a vet visit] and tell her to sit. If she does sit for you- out comes a whole sausage! :-) 
Stroking her or talking to her will make her freak even more. 
The vet should be understanding of you doing all this with her and not rush you- in the long run you are doing this to make their job easier so ignore them too LOL 

When we got our youngest, the vet suggested that we visit as many times as we can to help him get used to going.  I don't know if this is true of all vets but they were very happy to see us and if a vet was there she'd come out between appointments to say hello, otherwise we'd sit and chat to the nurses or get weighed (very useful when trying to keep track of a growing puppy!).  There is a park, and the beach is very close so we tend to go there after the vets visit so 'all in all' he thinks the vets is a good thing :)

There was a labrador in there yesterday with a bandaged leg but the owner was just visiting.  She said that he has had a lot of painful treatment recently and he has started to get anxious about going through the door.  She said she has been calling into the surgery for the last week on her way to get the papers, for the nurses to feed him chicken!  He was quite happily rolling on his back for attention

I'm sorry I have no other suggestions, other than just to suggest you try and ask for the vets last appointment each time.  You may find that if your vet doesn't have the next appointment waiting they might be able to take things a little slower to allow Bo an opportunity to relax before hands on.  Depending on the type of treatment they may also be able to take a look at her in the car first or in the waiting room maybe.  Lots of dogs will happily go in the front door but not into the vets room...  Good luck.

The best ways I know and have seen friends try with success is to...

1 - Take her to the vets even if she doesnt need treatment, take her a few times a week if you have the time just to sit in the waiting room with her on lead and take some tasty treats (As long as she isnt going in for a op or anything)and when she is being good and focused on you and not acting nervous etc then give her a treat and praise her to the hilt for her good behaviour, hopefully then after enough times of repeating this going in to the vets for no reason apart from to sit in the waiting room and get used to it with treats she should hopefully start to calm down and realise its not all bad being there so she is used to going to the vets :)
Probably best to stay for 5 mins at first and then leave when she is being good so your not leaving cause she is acting up but because the session is over and getting the nurses to give the dog treats works wonders too :)

2nd way is to take her for a long walk before you go in so she is nicely tired and wont be up for acting up and will be more relaxed and hopefully wont be as alert and wary.

Always take treats to the vets tho as I do with my 2 and it keeps them under control beautifully as they focus om me and my treats rather then other dogs etc.

Hope this helps and good luck :)

First of you need to identify Bo's 'comfort zone', ie the point before she starts to get nervous - ie, the grounds outside of the practice, approaching the main door, the waiting room etc. Once you've pin-pointed that you need to start making positive associations and building her confidence up there, slowly move on to the next step, never pushing her past her comfort zone.
Eg, if she is fine in in the grounds outside the vets then take her there often, maybe play a game with her or just have a walk around going through a few basic commands and giving her a treat for that. You could try approaching the door and reward any positive behaviour from her but if you think she is getting too nervous then move away before that happens and distract her with something (ie food) then give a command and treat her for it.

If you need to muzzle Bo when she's in the vets, work on positive association with the muzzle while at home or out on her walk, so she doesn't think of it as something scarey that is done to her in the vets.

Stay calm and upbeat yourself and use lots of praise for all positvie behaviours.

Here is a link that is worth reading, it's about fear agression, but you can get the idea about changing Bo's behaviour and making the positive association you need to, obviously you'll need to make some adjustments but it should give you some ideas.

Thanks for all your replies, theres some interesting points made and a some excellent tips to try.

> is a link that is worth reading

i read through this thanks most helpful!
Bo does have to wear a muzzle at the vets, but she is quite happy to help slip it on as it usually means she going out, although she doesn't wear it all the time when she is excersied as people often then think she is unapproachable, we have had the odd comment or owners dragging their dogs away, with an omg expression. Bo generally behaves outside the vets (it is on a busy main road) and is ok whilst in the waiting room, we normally stay outside and walk her untill it is her time to be called in (as she likes to drag her heels as it were when going into the examination room) then whizz her straight in. we allways remain calm and positive i no this is key, but we will try some of the suggestions and see how we go. Thanks again,
Diane

> Is she a bit worried about strange people in general ? 

She can be a bit jumpy more so of men especially bigger men, which is weird coz my dad is not a small guy height or build wise.

> Stroking her or talking to her will make her freak even more

We learnt this the hard way! Talking whilst holding her in the room is a no no, we now, on our vets instructions tell her the problem drop the lead turn away from Bo and don't speak unless of course the vet needs to ask questions, but we remain with our backs turned against Bo and don't speak to Bo at all untill its all over then praise her like mad when she's done well.
Forgot to mention she (apart from the two last trips) allways pee's whilst in the exam room, regardless if she has been for a walk and relieved
herself, any significance?

Lots of luck :)

Even if you only manage to make tiny steps of progress it will be steps in the right direction. My Buster (Mastiff) is still not happy about getting into cars so I know how completely not-funny trying to handle a frightened big dog is :(

>Bo does have to wear a muzzle at the vets, but she is quite happy to help slip it on as it usually means she going out

ahh, bless her :)

As she is fine up untill going into the vets room itself, it may be worth taking her in with you when your other dog needs to go in (as long as the other dog is happy to see the vet), that way she can practice being in the vets room but without all the attention being on her.

> allways pee's whilst in the exam room,

Either marking behaviour or fear - fight or flight response means evacuate bladder and bowels ready to run.

Thanks lol

> it may be worth taking her in with you when your other dog needs to go in (as long as the other dog is happy to see the vet),

Ah bless Fudge (masstiff X) he doesnt mind (especially since he just came out of hospital,) we had thought of this, i hoped it would have a good effect, and Fudge will need to see a fair bit of our vet after his brush with parvo, and him being not quite 11 weeks we will regularly take him up for visits for awhile.

> ahh, bless her :-)

I no she can be such a sweetie

> fight or flight

I no this expression to well with my eldest daughter it was described for her behaviour.

Hi
with her having a wee in the room she is nervous bless her...

I know exactly what you mean about a muzzle I had to put my EBT with a basket type on for a while and people at the beach would look as if I'm walking a lion by grabbing their children and giving me evils ! At first I would try and explain to these people that it is other dogs he has a problem with and loves all people but it went right over the top of there heads...so I gave up, it is difficult far more with your girl being nervous and people instantly giving her a vibe. Have you thought about a training class local one on one to help her out ? More Importantly help you with her. 

> it is difficult far more with your girl being nervous and people instantly giving her a vibe.

They really do my head in not only do they judge her, and i'm guessing its because of her breed and size, but they make this assumption she is gonna eat them, (when she'd far rather eat a carrot or her fav's strawberries lol) I generally can distract her with a treat, and yes as you said in a previous post above, sausage does the trick as does a little cheese!

> Have you thought about a training class local one on one to help her out ?

It is a thought taking her back to training she is such a clever girl and picks things up very well, i will have to have a google for a good training school near us. I do hope when we put into practise some of the above metioned ideas she won't have such a problem at the vets.

A little off my subject but when we took her took a country side day a few weeks ago, (and she was perfect really well behaved i was so proud of her, i took her with a positive attitude knowing she would have a good time and behave fab!!) which has lots of doggy stuff there, we were inundated by people saying omg look at that dog, and the look of why have you brought your dog here, i would say there was about 100+ dogs at the event!, and there was dog show duh!! Thats why lol!
Diane

You would think that doggy people at an event like that would understand why you have a muzzle on her and that you are being more of a responsible dog owner than loads of other people who could just shout at strangers saying don't touch she/ he might bite!
Really cool that she was loving her day out and was a perfect girl.

You mentioned about your girl being good with your Dad it is because he knows her and is not nervous.. a dog can smell fear and apprehension in a person so having them muzzled can cause more problems ...Maybe a halti lead around her mouth might be an idea to take her out then strangers wouldn't be so weird and you can tell them if they do start to chat to you that you are training her and that she has some issues with trust ?