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Hi Beth- I wrote back on your wall about the sedation. But just for anyone else reading this post and looking for answers I'll re-post some of the info here.
We don't sedate him, but the vet does. Po has to have an empty stomach when he goes in, just as if he was having anaesthetic. I'm not sure of the name of the drug, sorry.
Also, with Jack freaking out on the table you may want to see if your vet will examine him on the floor- this helps with Potus. He doesn't have anything to jump off and try and escape. (yes- Potus is that freaked out he will try and leap out of all pairs of hands and risk plummeting to the floor in a bid for freedom). He is less stressed, though still hesitant to allow thorough examinations, on the floor. Good luck with Jack- I understand his and Potus's fear- I'm the same at the dentist!
Beth,
I know the feeling....Wynn is like this and he would need to be sedated for anything more than just shots. I am trying to remember which of mine had a blood draw from the neck as they were fighting the leg draw also. It went much better.
Maybe check with Therapy Dog Inc. also. Sage and I are having a wonderful time with them. It does require 3 tests/observations but I really like the local group we belong to as well as the larger one:)
Good luck!
Did they try to get blood from the jugular? Often a jugular draw requires very little restraint. Corgis have hard veins to hit even when they are laying calmly and letting you poke poke poke. Is an in-home vet an option? Or a blood draw in the car? Sometimes they FREAK when they are in the hospital but do fine in the car. Also, I know you don't want to hear about the importance of heartwom tests, but it is important to know that not all the medication is 100% effective. You can give the dog his dose same time every month and they can still get heartworm. The companies that manufacture the medications will pay for treatment if you have an annual heartworm test. I've been working at a vet for 3 years now and have seen on 3 occasions dogs come up positive for heartworm even though they are on monthly medication. This is in California where heartworm isn't that prevalent. In the Midwest, Gulf states, and some parts of the east heartworm is HORRIBLE. I'd work at home with restraining for a jugular draw, its minimal restraint and if he gets used to it at home he may be better at the vet. Also ask for an attempt in the car or have somebody come to your house. And last, a mild sedative may take the edge off and allow him to be restrained. Since its only every 2 years and in most cases sedation is very safe, I'd go for it. Does he ever let you hold him? Like pick him up? Sometimes it works well just to pick him up and lightly press him against you while the tech draws from a back leg. Just some ideas.
Also, you can try to give him a dose of Ace and home and see how he reacts. I had to give Ace to Franklin for several MONTHS when he broke his foot. After about 2 weeks of it it quit working. First dose made him VERY sleepy though which was nice. Give it an hour to kick in and see how he's feeling. Alprazolam worked much better on Franklin for sedation. Dogs on Ace still react to stimuli in many cases but Alprazolam seems to help totally take the edge off. How old is Jack? May be worth just sedating him and having lots of blood drawn for not only heartworm, but health screening, and tick borne disease screening as well. Get it all done at once so it makes the sedation and stress a little more worth it.
I asked at the desk about the jugular draw before you gave your answer and the woman at the desk claims the jugular can be hard to find in some dogs. Not sure how true that is and I don't know if I was talking to a tech or to the receptionist, so I'll ask again. I had also already talked to the behaviorist there and she suggested trying in the car. I asked if they had a picnic-type table out back or anything and she said they do have a regular table with a rough top. We are going to do some dry runs with the clicker and treats and see if we can come up with something. I am going to work with him at home on a picnic table. Funny thing is he's fine on a picnic table; it's just all the people gathered round him. Next time I don't want two techs, just me and one to do the draw .
As far as holding him in my lap, he will have none of it and never would. Sometimes he'll lie next to me and rest his chest and chin on my lap, but if I even start to lean forward he jumps down. When he sees me coming with the bathroom scale he runs off because he knows he'll be picked up, and he hates being held. I have worked like crazy to get him to tolerate having his paws handled. Since he so rarely sits in my lap, I won't do it there. Instead I have done it while he is lying on his side half asleep, or when we play fetch in the house. Throw the ball, dog brings it back, dog gets paw held, throw again. Dog comes back, dog gets abdomen gently palpated, throw the ball again, etc. It has helped and he allowed a much more thorough exam this time than last. But she examined him on the floor and by the time she was done he was whining and looking very worried.
I do think if we went in, took him out back, put him on a table and went right for the draw without the whole exam thing first it might be more within his tolerance level. By the time we went for the blood draw this time he'd already reached his limit.
He's only four, so outside of the snap test for heartworm/lyme/etc he really wouldn't need any routine bloodwork at this point.
Thanks for your help.
Why the BLEEP does TDI care if your dog is heartworm+ or not? Can a dog pass heartworm to a person?
Have you asked TDI for an exemption? Explain the situation. Can't hurt to ask.
Humans can get heartworm but it's very very rare. Like, nearly impossible, because the human immune system kills heartworms pretty quickly. However, the people most at risk, people with compromised immune systems, happen to be the kind of people therapy dogs come into contact with pretty often.
It's still pretty ridiculous though.
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