QUOTE from Mike: My vet always told me "take his leash off so he can sniff around the exam room", ofcourse, he seems to be able to sniff thru the walls n smell the dog in the next room so he spends the whole time sniffing the wall lol. END

Yes, one of mine too. As soon as we "wait" at the doorway and check out any possible inhabitants, he also gets the leash off and checks out the whole room. It's hilarious how on "OK" he'll put his nose right down to the crack under the door to the kennel area and inhale -- like it was a beautiful flower.

Well I took her to get her stiches out and she was fine with the female vet. However, when the vet opened the door and called us in she barked with hackles up and ran up to her and sniffed. I told her to "say hi" and then she quieted down and stopped barking. Sometimes she stops barking and takes a step back and barks again. She is hard to figure out??? Vet took the stiches out with no problem. I have never seen her be agressive to anyone, but she sure likes to bark and raise those hackles <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/shocked.gif" alt="" />

QUOTE: Well I took her to get her stiches out and she was fine with the female vet. However, when the vet opened the door and called us in she barked with hackles up and ran up to her and sniffed. END

Sniffing is what they do; it's how they inform themselves about people/animals/everything.

On your earlier post to this thread you mentioned lunging at the tech while barking with raised hackles.

Is this only at the vet's office?

If so, is there any way you can take her to the vet's office for a sniff-and-meet, with you accompanying her for the whole visit? I mean, just to acquaint her with the idea that the vet's office isn't necessarily a scary place.

It is a place where the rooms and the people are often riddled with smells of different animals, blood, death, and also, I'm sure, fear and anxiety that the dog can smell and sense.

If the lunging/barking/hackles raised is something she's doing in other new environments as well, then I'd start to consider it a more important issue. Just my opinion, and I'm hoping others will weigh in too.

If the lunging/barking/hackles raised is something she's doing in other new environments as well, then I'd start to consider it a more important issue. Just my opinion, and I'm hoping others will weigh in too.

She is kind of hard to figure out. For instance yesterday my husband was in the pool and Maya knew it was him. When he would jump in or go to get out she would bark with hackles raised and lunge. Not trying to bite at all, just seemed like an excitement thing. That was the same kind of behavior she displayed at the vets <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/confused.gif" alt="" />