I hope I get some insight wether or not I have a legitimate concern with my vet? My 19/mo old male rottie has always visited the vet (never muzzled)with enthusiasm. Nothing is worse than having a dog that hates the vet. He has been through exams, shots, micro chip, suture removal, etc. without ever doing more than licking the vets face (they call him the goofy rottweiler). An associate vet saw Jake the other day and without even approaching the dog, she threw me a muzzle to put on him, I refused. I complained to the owner who sided with the associates actions. I can appreciate the concern of safety of course but, I am also concerned how the dog may act at subsequent vet visits. Should this be a concern or am I over reacting.
Jerry

If your dog has a good history with the vet, as you say he has, I would not muzzle! In my opinion, muzzling him will create a bad experience that will affect future visits, not just at the vet's but other places such as a kennel or groomer! If this is about breed discrimination, I would respectfully request your regular vet. If your request is dismissed, I would let them know that you will be seeking professional care elsewhere. JMO...
BTW... did you muzzle him for that visit?

Tammy,
I did not muzzle the dog, he was seen by another associate vet. I feel that if one chooses to be a vet, they shuold know every dog is not a little FiFi (they bite too). The answer should not be muzzle any dog over 80 lbs. and has German heritage. If I did't want to put my hands in bad places I would not have become a plumber. That may sound silly but, a vet needs to learn to evaluate a dogs temperment. I guess there are vets and there are good vets.
Jerry

Absolutely! Find a Good vet and stick with him/her! The clowns they are graduating from the colleges these days scare me!! Imagine using a clicker to get your dog to behave while cutting his nails??? True story!! Vet student brought his dog to us for nail trim because he hadn't clicker trained him to hold still yet! <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/mad.gif" alt="" /> I don't know what I'll do when my vet retires! He also docks and crops which the "new generation" won't do! <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/frown.gif" alt="" />
Glad to hear you didn't muzzle! Hope the other associate got to see/hear how well he behaved! <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/laugh.gif" alt="" />
Tammy

Tammy
Thanks for the supportive comments, I felt I was within my rights to not muzzle the "big goofy guy"
Jerry <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" /> <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />

Having worked as a vet assistant for one year ( several years ago ) I can look at this from so many different sides that my head will spin.

Bites hurt. The worst bite I took at the vet's was from some psycho sheltie that should have been euth'd years ago due to it's bad temperament - another vet tech lost control of that dog and it bit me right through the thumbnail. Ouch. And I saw more temperament issues with small dogs than I ever saw from larger ones, because stupid owners would tolerate those extremes of behavior with a variety of lame excuses.
Note to pet owners of foo foo dogs with severe temperament issues: if your dog won't allow you to groom him, or even put a collar on him, you need to do something about it, not make lame jokes about it. The problem there is you, not the dog.
:rolleyes:

That being said, large breeds obviously cause more damage from a bite than a small dog does - hence the Vet's caution regarding a muzzle.
And remember, vet's actually get very little training about dog behavior in school. *Many* vet's don't even have a basic working concept of dog obedience in their minds.

But ultimately, you as a consumer have the power of the wallet. If you have a "goofy Rottie" ( <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/laugh.gif" alt="" /> ) with a great temperament, I can totally understand how you felt there - and you can always change vet's over that incident ( and let them know the reason that you're leaving the practice as a client ) . Most vet offices are sensitive to losing clients, especially those with easy to handle dogs ( there were nasty dogs at the old vet practice that I worked at that we would have *paid* to go elsewhere )

Will
I totally agree that if the slightest danger exists, the vet staff should not be subjected to an unmuzzeled dog. I'm sure that a dog's temperment is or should be noted on his chart. That being said, do you think putting a muzzle on a passive dog (so far) at the vet can cause problems down the road? I am anxious to hear your reply.
Jerry

I wish I had had that problem with my vet. A few years ago, I rescued a VERY dominant lab/dobe cross. When I brought him to go get checked out, my regular vet wasn't in, and the replacement vet insisted the dog be lifted onto the table.

This dog was around 100 pounds, about 4 years old, and as far as I could tell had never been picked up. He was tough as nails, he'd "smile" if you so much as told him to sit without a cookie in your hand.

I explained all this to the vet, and still she insisted that he be picked up, that he needed to learn his place (I don't disagree, I just didn't think the vet's office was the place to start).

Long story short, the vet ended up on her back pinned in the corner, my dog daring me to try and take the cloth muzzle out of his mouth.

Now I like to get my dogs used to wearing a cloth muzzle so that it isn't too traumatic if they need one at the vet's office. Keep in mind that even a "goofy" dog could get touchy if it came in with a bad injury.

Jerry,
I think that most dogs will adapt to a muzzle, but it's best to put the muzzle on at home and get the dog used to it, as opposed to putting it on the first time during a stressful vet visit.

Because I train my dogs for muzzle attack work, they get to do obedience in a muzzle for a few weeks before hand - so the muzzle becomes no big deal for them.

A few years ago at the GSDCA/ WDA Nationals, they had the Police Canines out on the field muzzled, and a few of them were fighting that muzzle in an embarrassing display. Just a little training could have prevented that, it was not a good display for Police Patrol dogs to the general public, let me tell ya. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/frown.gif" alt="" />

I agree that vets and staff should not be put at risk, and dogs can learn to accept a muzzle. We also do muzzle training in the civil aspects of our bitework, and the dog must learn to leave it alone. However I think that the situation Jerry experienced was unprofessional and he had every right to reject the muzzle in this instance.
Sorry Jerry if my reply was single dimensional! <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif" alt="" />
Tammy.