New and bad behavior at vet
Took Merlin to vet for 1 yr old heartworm blood test and nail trim. He has been for numerous visits for other things and has not been problem. However he came unglued last week. He fought the vet tech repeatedly - twisting, growling and being generally uncooperative. We tried a muzzle which he let me put on pretty easily but escaped from before tech got him back on table. I tried to help hold him and we could not keep him still enough to get blood. Vet came in and we decided to sedate him. After waiting 40 minutes for sedation to take effect, the vet said he fought just as hard requiring him and tech to get blood drawn and nails trimmed. They now want me to sedate him more heavily before future visits. While I am not liking this idea I certainly don't want anyone to get bitten. Ideas and advice about what is going on??
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Jennifer Markley on
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Hm. Not sure why it would be new behavior, unless it's just the teenage years. I'd start with this:
1) Start the NILF program. Reinforce your being the leader, and when you say no, it means stop.
2) Take him periodically to the vet for just a fun visit. For example, I buy Seanna's heartworm pill individually every month. We go to the vet, and she gets a "treat". It's funny because she runs straight to the scale the minute we enter the door, knowing that 11/12 times all that happens is she gets a nom.
3) Every day, do things to him that the vet would do. Give a treat after each one, praising for good behavior. Start small, and work your way up to a full exam.
4) Some dogs do better if they get blood from a back leg instead of a front. This is how Jackson is. Fights tooth and nail for a front leg, but will tolerate a back leg. Also, sometimes less is more. Maybe if they try to restrain not as much, he would do better? This is also true for Jackson.
Other than those, I can't think of anything else to tell you. Hope it helps--but I'm sure you'll get other great info!
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Permalink Reply by Beth on
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Jack will not tolerate being restrained. Less is more, but there's only so much he'll take. Jack is trained through TDI/CGC. He certainly respects me. He loves people and does not growl but screams and fights. My vet says he's absolutely panicked, not misbehaving. Last time they tried to do a blood draw he was so terrified he released his anal glands, sooooo no blood draws for him. I do his nails at home and it took me 6 months of working 2 to 3 times a week to get him to let me do front nails and he's still bad.
This is not a dominance thing. He's scared. You can use clicker training at home to get him to stand for an exam, but not sure you'll ever get him to stand for a blood draw.
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P.S. By "less is more" I mean they get farther with him by NOT restraining him. The more you restrain him the more he wigs out.
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Permalink Reply by Melissa and Franklin! on
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Corgis are notoriously bad patients at the vet. Many vets don't like the breed if their only exposure to them is in the hospital. Best thing you can do is play with is feet, ears, mouth, and practice restraining him at home so he gets used to the same kind of handling they do at the vet. Take him to the vet weekly if you can just to get a cookie. Go around noonish because this is generally when the doctors break for lunch or surgery and you can maybe arrange for a technician to come out and say hi and give him a cookie then leave. Do this for a few weeks until he is excited to go to the vet and get a cookie then see if a tech is willing to help you work with him by restraining him in a room, don't do anything to him just hold him, then give him a treat. Again do that for a few weeks. Eventually he will start to associate the vet more with treats and less with fear and pain. I have dealt with multiple corgis who it took 3-4 people to restrain for blood draws. Another thing that may be helpful, they generally get blood from the jugular in the neck or from a front leg, for him it may be more comfortable if you teach him to lay on his side and draw from a back leg instead.
As for sedation, its kind of pointless to give once the dog is so totally worked up so really the vet should have had you come back later for the blood draw once he had relaxed. You can give 2-3 times the normal dose of a sedative to a panicked dog and get almost zero response, all the receptors the drug works on are already used by the body's chemicals that are released with the fight or flight response. It is likely that you won't have to give him as much sedation if you give it about 1/2-1 hour before the vet visit when he is calm and resting. A thing to remember is many sedatives that the vets give out prior to exams really don't work all that well with stimulation (such as acepromazine). It'd probably be better to give him a valium type drug like alprazolam because these tend to work better even with stimulation.
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Permalink Reply by k g read on
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They gave him acepromazine and gave me some to have for future visits. I am not sure what is going on with him though. He just now got really aggressive with me when I was taking a shoe from him that he took. ( We have been working on drop it command with a bit of success, but not enough). This was really bad though snarling and snapping. He has not been neutered and I will be calling the vet tomorrow to talk about this and about a referral for some obedience training. This is really not like him. I know they are stubborn but this aggression is new.
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It could be his teenage stage. They sometimes go through a stage of testing you. Has anything changed in the house? New people, new pets, anything? It may be enough just to do an obedience refresher course with him to re-inforce that you are in charge and not him. I wouldn't be concerned about his behavior at the vet because that is quite common, but the behavior at home is another thing all together. Obedience training will help. Good luck!
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I am hopeful it is just teenage stuff. Am gonna get more focused about limits and obedience and do some of the desensitizing things suggested here. It is good to hear the vet thing is not so unusual for them. He is my first corgi and all stubborn, bossy, and demanding and if I had a fenced yard I'd get another tomorrow. Thanks to all. CORGIS ROCK and this website is excellent!
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Permalink Reply by Elizabeth Throneberry on
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This is normal... The vet is scarey and your dog can sence other dogs stress and fear. A lot of dogs get traumatized by the vet whether it's as simple as getting nails clipped. They know the place and what happens there. Like I said other dogs fear and stress can play a huge role. Also some dogs react to certain scents. The tech could have ha a scent of another dog or animal your dog didn't like. I wouldn't worry about it because it normal.
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Permalink Reply by Chris, Kadi & Brodie on
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Play 'vet' at home as much as possible and ask guests to help you. You restrain him, lightly at first, then gradually build up. When he relaxes then immediately reward him by letting him free. Gradually increase the period of time you restrain him, just like you would on teaching the 'stay' command. Learn how to trim his nails at home and 'practice' even when they don't need trimmed, simply by holding his feet close to the clippers and making the clicking sound with them. Food rewards are good, but don't always reward with food. Reward with giving him freedom after he relents and lets you be the boss. Make it a fun game for him. Definitely take him to the vet when nothing happens. Just ask the receptionist to make over him and give him a treat. Trust me--they will know it's in their best interest to help him get over this and they'll work with you on it!
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Permalink Reply by Bev Levy on
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Sparty is a disaster at the vet also ,he has a damaged nail bed that about once a year the nail has to be removed (very painful) so he has good reason. However, he is a very touch sensitive dog anyway, I muzzle him to brush him. I did find that one of the vets (the owner of the clinic) seems able to handle him without too much drama. He just has a very calm, mild persona that Sparty seems to relax around so I always ask for him when I bring Sparty in. I find that he accepts the muzzle very easily and has no hard feelings after. I sense that it is all fear based and the muzzle actually seems to calm him a little but he is used to it since I use it at home too. One of the vets suggested many years ago that I tranquilize him for visits (released anal glands etc) but the one I use doesn't seem to need it. I would also try stopping in once in a while just for a treat and weigh in, my vet encourages it and then try different people to see if one is better for your dog. My other two corgis both are always very sweet at the vets so it really isn't true of all of them. I do think herding dogs typically have a more sensitive temperament so may be more likely not to respond well at the vet compared to some of the other breeds.If you keep him on heartworm all year you can probably get by without the annual blood draw (although that is not what the vet will recommend). I always tell them to muzzle Sparty just as a precaution for shots etc. but again he is used to a muzzle and it doesn't frighten him. He has never bit anyone but he sure throws a fit!!
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Permalink Reply by Napolean (Joan and Gabby) on
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I think his behavior is caused by all the stress and fear energy that circulates around the vet. I'm pretty sure some dogs just get really nervous in general over people touching them and that energy can easily be detected by other dogs. The more scared dogs, the more likely the second Merlin steps into the vet, he'll feel uncomfortable and maybe fearful. I remember the first time Napolean went to the vet he was very fearful of the vet, which was very unnatural because he LOVES people. I'm guessing he became nervous (therefore very protective of his people) because he was able to pick up on all the fearful energy in the vet. To solve the problem you should make the vet seem like a "happy" place where there is no need to be fearful. Maybe treat him when he's calm or maybe bring a bone and/or toy along to take his mind off things.
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