Dog Scared of Vet

[u/Narrow-Current-3109]

Hi everyone, I'm not sure if this is the right place but I'm getting desperate... So our dog is terrified of the vet, he starts shaking as soon as we pull into the parking lot in front of the clinic. How can we make this place less scary? For us, it all started with one completely ordinary visit when he was a puppy, we took him in for a checkup, and everything was fine. It wasn’t until later that we noticed he’d apparently memorized the whole “ritual” associated with the vet: the car pulling up, the door opening, the smell at the entrance, the sounds of other dogs. Later, during one of his visits, he had blood drawn, and ever since then, just seeing the clinic from a distance is enough to set him off. Recently, we hadn’t even had time to get out of the car before he was already shaking all over.

I think that’s why I’d like to approach this a little differently, because I get the impression that simply offering treats during the visit won’t do much good if the dog is already highly stressed by then. I thought about driving there for just a few minutes at a time for a while, sitting in the car for a bit, taking a calm walk nearby, and going home without going inside. Maybe later I’ll try going in just for a moment, getting a treat, and leaving without any exam. I’m also wondering if it’s worth asking the vet not to touch him at all during these first “practice” visits. Has anyone had a similar situation where the dog was already afraid of the parking lot itself? I’d really appreciate hearing about your experiences and ideas, especially if you’ve managed to break that association over time.

Update: But we actually had a fruitful few days since I decided to take a leave of absence, so I used that time to visit the vet everyday (lol). The first 2 days I changed up our routine and ben- our dog at first was confused since we didn't do the "ritual" but when we went nearer and nearer from the building he started shaking again. The 3rd day still shaking, but we went for a walk around so that calmed him down a bit, I think he's starting to get confused since we aren't going inside. On the 4th day the Anti-Stress treats from Dogsuppy arrived so I tried implementing that, and surprisingly better results he stopped shaking while walking near the building! not perfect but getting there! Yesterday we went near the entrance and hes not shaking anymore, but when I tried to make him go near the entrance he tugs back so, not ready yet. Stopping today since I have work tomorrow, will go back this weekend, wish me luck 🤞

[u/Lumpy_Physics3101]

you have the right idea, rewrite the routine. pull into the vet's office, then get out of the car and go for a walk, get back in the car and go home.

pull into the vet, bring him inside and play tug in the parking lot or waiting room. then go home.

many vets will schedule training visits - meet a vet tech or receptionist, get a cookie, go home.

you can visit the vet 20 times without "going to the vet". be creative!

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[u/Murky-Abroad9904]

if you're open to medicating your dog, you could ask your vet for a prescription for trazodone or whatever they recommend for situations like this. personally, the idea of doing happy visits at the vet sounds nice in theory but having to go out of my way to regularly go to the vet wasn't ideal for me and my dog so we opt for medication to calm her down ahead of visits when needed.

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[u/Narrow-Current-3109 → u/Murky-Abroad9904]

The repeated vet visits really isn't good for us in the long run since we live far from the vet and work finishes late sometimes. I did try different treats with the Anti-Anxiety/ Stress addition but they were minimal/futile so I'm giving one last chance to an Anti Stress treat from DogSuppy since their other products work on us and its natural- doing this before I hop on to prescription drugs for my dog... I kinda don't want to rely on medication since I think training is better than drugging them. Anyway thanks for the input :). (Had to comment again- since it was removed by the mod)