She arrived for her appointment and her puppy was super excited to be there! He pulled her into the hospital lobby. He's new to being on leash as she'd previously carried him inside for his appointments. Now he's too big to pick up! Once inside, he jumped on a woman seated in the lobby with her elderly dog; he also kind of pounced on her elderly dog. When she pulled him back, he started barking, and that's when he noticed the cat in the carrier on the front desk. He proceeded to twist away from the client, and race toward the counter where he jumped up, startling the cat, who jumped back in the crate, knocking the crate over onto the front desk, knocking over a computer monitor! The client got a hold of her puppy's leash and sat down to wait for her appointment. Not surprisingly, the staff immediately put her into an exam room to wait for the vet. When her vet friend walked in, her puppy immediately began barking again and yanked his leash out of the owner's hand and proceeded to throw himself at the vet with utter delight. She managed to get a hold on the leash, but while doing so, was getting repeatedly mouthed and chewed on by the puppy. The vet tried to stand on the leash and mark good behavior with treats, but the puppy was just too over-stimulated at this point. The vet opted instead to call a technician into the room who then was able to pick up the puppy and carry the wiggly bundle into the back treatment area for his exam and next round of vaccines. Upon return, the client was told she needed my help and given my card.
I was exhausted just listening to this story! I felt bad for the veterinarian (who is also a friend of mine!), her staff, the cat's owner, and the poor owner of the elderly dog. While the story may have made you want to laugh and say, "that's just how puppies are!" then you missed the point entirely. While puppies can indeed be exuberant, there is a time and place for that kind of behavior and the vet hospital isn't it.
Pet owners must be in control of their animals at all times during their vet visits. This means crating/confining cats and dogs who are small enough to do so. If you have a medium to large sized dog, you must have control of your leash at all times. This means you should not be using a retractable leash for veterinary appointments, instead opting for a 4-6 foot leash for better control. Puppies should be on harnesses so their sudden exuberant pulling does not result in a neck injury. Adolescent dogs and adult dogs can be on head halters, regular collars, etc. Smaller breed dogs should remain on harnesses to protect their delicate tracheas from the damage of a sudden collar pull. If you know your dog is going to be rambunctious at arrival, walk them before your appointment, or simply tell the veterinary staff that you will wait in the car until your appointment time to enter the building. You can even ask if it's possible to wait in a room so that your dog isn't disruptive. If you are inside the lobby waiting for your appointment, keep your dog close to you. Don't allow your dog to approach other pets and their owners. Just because your dog is friendly doesn't mean that other dog is. They are likely anxious about their appointment too. If there are cats, rabbits, or pocket pets awaiting their appointments as well, make an effort to give them plenty of room. All of those animals are, by definition, prey species and your dog is the predator. Do not allow your dog to stare at or hassle those smaller pets. If you need to step outside to give your dog a break or let him sniff, absolutely do so! Sniffing is a natural stress reducer for dogs and a welcome distraction for them from the tension of a vet hospital lobby.
Once you are in the exam room, hold onto your dog's leash and stand on it as well if you know your dog will jump up on who ever enters the room. Bring treats to reward and mark good behaviors like sitting or laying down, making eye contact with you, etc. You can even bring a toy or chew to occupy them until their appointment. If your dog barks at the vet when they walk in, correct that behavior. Tell your dog to quiet and give them an alternate task. If they can do that, only then can they be rewarded with attention and a treat from the vet. You want to be rewarding good behavior, not bribing them into compliance. If your dog is mouthy, be proactive! Give your dog something else to hold onto. This is especially important with puppies who are learning bite inhibition. If you have an adolescent or older dog who is frightened or aggressive at the vet's office, muzzle train them in advance (see one of my previous blog posts on how to do this quickly and easily) to make appointments as fast and painless as possible.
I know I've talked about cooperative care in the past. In a nutshell this refers to you teaching your pet to allow basic body handling without getting afraid, anxious, or aggressive. You teach your pet how to tell you when they are starting to get overwhelmed BEFORE they actually are over the top. Show your veterinarian how you handle your pet's feet, ears, etc. so that they can use your methods to make those exams safer. I know teaching your pet cooperative care is a tedious process, but it is well worth the investment in time. And if you have a puppy or kitten, teaching cooperative care right from the start means that they won't know anything different! Cooperating with groomers, veterinarians, and their staff will just be something they do automatically.
Finally, when it's time for you to pay for your vet's services and leave, don't forget that it's okay to tell the staff that you're going to take your rambunctious/overstimulated/overtired/stressed out pet to the car and then come back and settle the bill. This gives you a break, allows you to hear any after care instructions, and pay for services rendered without any distractions or unfortunate incidents.
When I went over all of this with my client, she said she'd had a similar discussion with her daughter's pediatrician years ago at an office visit where her daughter was, quite literally, climbing the walls during an appointment. I asked her how old her daughter was and she said 35! I laughed so hard and then told her I meant to say how old when she was climbing the walls at the pediatrician's office! We both got a good laugh out of that one.
We are meeting in person to work on manners as the client now realizes that her puppy isn't just exuberant at the vet's office, but anytime she takes him outdoors, whether in her yard or out in public. He's a sweet, smart dog, so I know he's going to get this quickly, but then it will be up to his owner to continue to work on good behavior across situations (what I refer to as context proofing). Golden Retrievers are notorious for being puppies long past their first birthday, and given their large size and jovial dispositions, it's imperative that we get a handle on this pup's behavior now before he reaches adolescence and boundary testing becomes the norm.
As always, if you have questions about your pet's behavior, you know where to find me.
It's hard to get mad at a puppy as cute as this one. But they sure can test your patience!
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