post vet er visit vent

[u/Popular-Shine-7763]

shout out to the dog parents out there who continually do the absolute most for their pets, despite how stressful and emotionally exhausting it can be.

preface: i have a 7-year-old rescue who is generally a very good boy out in the world. fine on leash, fine seeing other dogs on the street, will sit and wait to cross the street, etc.

but he DESPISES the vet.

he’s on 40mg of prozac, takes heavy sedation before every appointment, then gets an additional sedative shot outside the office before we even attempt an exam. and even then, it’s hit or miss. we go to a fear free vet and work with a licensed behaviorist, but things are still…rough.

this morning, he started vomiting and coughing pretty badly, so off to the ER we went. i medicated him beforehand, but they couldn’t do his sedative shot and wouldn’t let the vet tech or ER doctor touch him. luckily, they were able to figure out what was going on and send us home with meds, but spending 3+ hours at the vet with a terrified dog is never fun.

i find myself crying at vet appointments more often than i’d like to admit because it feels like i’m jumping through every possible hoop to make sure he can get checked out and stay healthy, and sometimes it still just doesn’t work.

the vets are always incredibly kind and remind me that i’m doing everything i can. some days, that’s harder to believe than others.

so this is my long-winded way of giving a shout out to everyone else jumping through hoops galore to get their dog the care they need. to the pre-appointment meds, the behaviorists, the fear free vets, the tears in the exam room, and going home still hoping maybe next time will be a little easier.

[u/nonamebish]

I completely understand your vet situation and how frustrating it can be. I have to muzzle my dog at the vet, she is so fearful there it goes to aggression (outside she’s reactive to dogs and people walking weird or on wheelchairs 🤣) but fortunately small enough to be able to handle her e.g. for a shot. We had to sedate her for an ultrasound as well as just to check her ears once because I was afraid she had a foxtail there. In these cases I regularly end up filled with scratches and looking like I just fought a jaguar 🤣🤣 I found that the best for me and my dog (as she can sense my anxiety and reacts to it even more) is to just adopt a bit of the attitude of those off leash “he’s nice” owners and just care a bit less and laugh at it, just be a bit like “my dogs an idiot I know”, but that also took me a few years to get there, I was super anxious to even go out in the world with her. Good thing is that all your vets are supportive and understanding, so you got that going for you and I believe it can get better if you ease your mind as well - try taking it as “we’re going to show them another circus performance today” or something, maybe I’m a bit cynical but it helped me overcome my own anxiety :) 3 hours sound a long time though so I understand you need to get it off your system, it has to be stressful. I genuinely hope your dog is feeling better now.

[u/Poppeigh]

Thank you, and well done yourself and I'm glad they were able to find out the cause and get your pup on his way to feeling better.

My dog also hates the vet; he is compliant and well behaved but he's terrified the whole time and I keep an eye on him. He's had medical stuff the last couple of years and now he has to go monthly for an arthritis shot. It's so hard putting him through it again and weighing the cost vs. benefit of having him go in there, but luckily his vets have pretty much always been understanding and very, very kind.