Hi, I wanted to share this story because I wanted to see the opinions of others basically about the part where we end up at the vet. Ill try and keep this short. Please feel free to provide any feedback. (I know I was wrong to let her off lead when there were other dogs.)

My husband and I took MoJo, 6 month old GSD female to the school where there is a huge soccer/baseball field. Here is where we make our mistake by letting her off lead to do Zoomies. There was no one there, just us. A little while later a friend and her Bassett hound came but were on the other side of the field. We have played with the Bassett hound before with no problems. Then another couple came to visit the people on the other side of the field and brought a yellow lab and some other small black dog. They were all of lead. They Spotted MoJo and made a B line for us (across the field). They smelled each other and started running around. Then it got a little aggressive and MoJo came running back to me with her tail tucked high between her legs. We put MoJo back on lead and headed home.. She seemed fine. MoJo went to her place and got up and there was blood where she was laying. After finding the spot it appeared she had been
Bit. It was about the size of a dime and deep.

We took her to the emergency vet and she received 3 stitches and antibiotics. She is doing fine. This is the part where I want to see what others say about the vets interaction. When the vet came in the room she came in calmly and sat on the floor to
Meet Mojo. Mojo is a very shy/timid) pup still. I think this bothered the vet as she probably expected MoJo to gush all over her. The vet watched MoJo and said “Poor Mojo, her brain is hurting”. I asked her what she meant by that and she said that GSD’s
Need lots of stimulation and was probably not getting it. So her brain must be hurting.
She kind of said this numerous times. Like we weren’t taking care of the dog or something. The because of MoJo’s nervousness she mentioned Prozac. MoJo was very nervous and anxious and maybe we should consider Prozac. I thought to my self what the !@#$!, this is a 6 month old GSD high energy, yea. But Prozac? Anyway that was our experience with this vet. Just so its clear I exercise my pup for 2 hours in the morning everyday, we walk, we play ball, we do zoomies and we train with basic commands. We are always up and about, she goes everywhere with me. Now, I guess my questions are, has anyone heard about this “brain hurting” thing? Should I be doing something else with MoJo to stimulate her? Prozac??

I know it was my fault in the beginning for letting her off lead and meeting these other dogs. I have totally learned my lesson on that and it will never happen again.

Sorry for the long message.

Your thoughts??

Susan

Susan, I would seriously consider getting a different vet. That they tried to prescribe PROZAC for a canine... *sigh* Well, I don't think that was a wise thing, and apparently you don't either.

As for stimulation, yes GSDs do need quite a bit of interaction. Sounds like you are doing fine in that regard. And NO on the Prozac. *laugh*

Luck!
-J

My thoughts? New vet.

She's 6 months for goodness sake! Ever heard of puppy energy?? Sheesh........ Prozac indeed.

Sounds to me like you're doing ok too.

Another tale to supplement the book of "Dog parks - Why they are a bad idea."

http://www.leerburg.com/pdf/dogparks.pdf

Barring some good past experiences to show otherwise, I'd never go back to that vet. I prefer my vet to stick to medical stuff and skip the psycho-analytical BS.

Is this is the family pet (not a future PPD,etc.), I'd also be checking out his reaction to other dogs when you're walking or out in public. Your dog needs to know now that (1) you won't tolerate any aggression toward other dogs and (2) you're the pack leader and will protect him. You don't want this incident to lead to dog aggression, fear aggression or other issues.

Mike

 Quote: susan brandi smith

The vet watched MoJo and said “Poor Mojo, her brain is hurting”. I asked her what she meant by that and she said that GSD’s
Need lots of stimulation and was probably not getting it. So her brain must be hurting.

Her "brain is hurting"??!! That's a new one for the absurd vet diagnosis folder... How on earth could this woman even know if the dog was not getting enough mental stimulation from a few minutes in an exam room? She thought this because Mojo was shy around her??

It sounds like you're giving your pup a very healthy, full life of exercise, training and "stimulation" in every sense - you only took her in for a bite wound!... don't let this vet sell you what you obviously don't need. Prozac is a money maker for pharmaceutical companies - just because it CAN be marketed for dogs (which still amazes me...) doesn't mean it ever SHOULD. I'd look for a new vet.

~Natalya

Holy cr@p! She sounds like a nut to me. I would not go back to her for anything. Very weird....

I don't know, Mike, I think I would file this one under the "Vet's don't always get it right" article.

http://www.leerburg.com/vets.htm

To the OP: I'd say your pup's brain is fine and you are doing right by her. No Prozac needed.

Any anxiety the pup might normally experience was probably magnified by being bitten by another dog and ending up at the vet. Had the vet taken the time to think about the situation critically, I think it would have been obvious why your pup was uncomfortable. Sheesh.

Don't beat yourself up over it; we all make mistakes that are really glaringly obvious in hindsight. Keep an eye open for the negative results Mike mentioned. Best of luck.

I'm trying to figure out what in the sam *%$# this vet is talking about.

Pass the Jack Daniels,
My brain hurts.
Randy

Edited by randy allen (12/28/2007 12:54 PM)
Edit reason: its to silly for words

 Quote: randy allen

My brain hurts from trying to figure out what in the sam *%$# this vet is talking about.

Actually, I don't think it's the puppys' brain thats hurting.