So i took my Rayne in to have her stitches removed, this is only her third time at the vets office,,shes 5.5 months old and is nervous about car rides. So she gets in the office and barks a ilil bit and is being a lil bit nervous and the staff is telling me she shouldnt be so scared and nervous. Well big dogs scare her ,, because my neighbors 10mon old great dane mix charged our fence towards her. I was there and reassured it was ok. But what do you say when the tech are telling you that they shouldnt be nervous and scared. They are telling me she is gonna be aggressive. but she is not aggressive with my other two shepherds. I just didnt know what to say. Any advice with the car rides and charging dogs and vet techs would be appreciated.

Tell them you are working on it, but thank you for your concern.

With any service that you pay for, if voicing your concern isn't enough, speak with your money.

Thats what ill have to start doing. Not good at voicing my concerns, but am working on it though. thanks

I agree with Michael. I wouldn't give money to people that made me feel bad. (or vet techs that thought a 22-week old puppy nervous at the vet's office was somehow unusual or a bad reflection on you.)

The "reassuring" you mention...were you reassuring Rayne, or the vet techs? Nervousness in a puppy is natural enough--but they shouldn't be coddled when they are nervous. That would send them a signal that there is, indeed, something to be nervous about.

My last bad experience was with a vet tech telling me that my dog would have to take oral prednisone for life when I said that I'd rather not give him an injection.

This tech was always "advising" me on matters with my dog that they had no business in. I brush it off, because in the end, the advice was harmless and really didn't matter.

That last time was different. That is not advice a tech needs to dwell in. She was dead wrong, and harm could come from that little nugget she gave me.

I told the vet, very non-confrontational and now when I go in, she does her job and nothing more.:smile:

Don't be afraid to speak up.:smile:

 Quote: tracy collins

The "reassuring" you mention...were you reassuring Rayne, or the vet techs? Nervousness in a puppy is natural enough--but they shouldn't be coddled when they are nervous. That would send them a signal that there is, indeed, something to be nervous about.

+1 Tracy.

Forget the deal with the techs. Now we know how to handle that.:smile:

Lets work on what to do and not to do with a fearful puppy.:smile:

thanks for you input ,,so what should i do with a fearful puppy. My first time having a puppy the other two were 2yrs when i got them(RESCUES) . And i was reasuring rayne when the neighbors dog charged the fence,,telling her its ok ad i was between the fence and the pup.

My advice would be work on engagment training, if the dog is focused on you its much less likely to be concerned with environmental stresses and distractions, as mentioned before tho deffinitly dont coddle or "praise" nervous behavior, that is telling the dog its ok to be scared, This is something i am currently working on as well not fearfulness just lack of engagment when in new places it takes time and patience, dont get frustrated just keep at it, if you dont have any maybe check out the Micheal Ellis Leerburg DVD's there exellent....
Also if you can get the dog in the car and go on short trips and then extend the time in the car that will help with car rides, if the dog only goes in the car to go places that make them nervous ie. vets office they associate the car with nervous behavior. Make it random take them for a ride and then home dont even stop anywhere and then vary it from there.
Good Luck

Work on desensitizing the pup. Put her in the car & give lots of treats, take her out do this many times...when she acts comortable with it....put her in the car & drive a bit up the drive way...give treats..take her out...do this mnay times....put her in the care & drive to the end of the driveway..take her out...You get this idea. Only move to the next step when you see that she has not anticipation anxiety & is not stressed.

As for the vet...once you can drive around with the pup comfortable in the car...I would make visits to the vets, just to walk in & maybe weight the dog, give treats & leave. My vet's scale is in the side of the waiting area & accessible.

I have also taken pups in & had one of the vet techs go in a room with me & just pet & talk to the pup & I feed treats. Although I make many visits to the vets just to use the scale with young pups(not office visits) I just as a matter of socialization take pups all kinds of places, but with one of my pups that was very nervy I made extra vitist to have him work thru some of the issues another pup just didn't like to be touched by strangers...so I made extra visits with him too. I usually call ahead to see when one of the techs might be free so that I can get them to work with me. Other times I just walk in & out. Most vet offices are happy to help...because it is in their interest to have dogs that are easier to work on if they have to in the future. Just my 2 cents.

And yes no coddling, just be matter of fact about it all. You don't want to encourage the behavior by telling him it is ok...just ignore their resoponse & remain business like. Keep the dog's focus on you.

Teach a 'watch me' command & use it when you are in a situation where you think that your dog may react negatively to something. My female can be very dog aggressive & when in the vets I stand over on the side out of the main flow & put my dog in a down. When a dog needs to pass by me to go in or out of one of the exam rooms, I give my dog a sit command & a 'watch me' command & her focus in 100% on me as this other dog passes by. Just what I do.

I was typing the same time that Joyce was.

All very good advice from Kyle, Michael and Tracy.
Vet visits can make many dogs nervous, they can smell the fear from the many dogs and cats that come in there. It is not uncommon for many dogs to be nervous when at the vet.

I just had my 3 year old female in to the vet and for the first time she started to shake when we got into the room to wait for the vet.
I just made her lay down, ignored her behavior and she started to relax.
I do think it helps to make sure that you are relaxed as well because they definitely pick up on your energy as well.