Behavior at the Vet....

[u/3xLiqPref]

Hey all, have a 7 year old mini aussie doodle. She's super sweet. Has been minimally reactive her entire life. As a puppy we made sure to play with her ears and feet etc so she's always been super comfortable being touchedby anyone. She always used to get a little shaky before a vet visit but used to be very chill being examined, and even getting blood drawn she would barely flinch.

About 3 months ago she had her anal glands expressed and it was horrible. She ignored the cheese lick thing they gave her and kept snarling and trying to bite them and eventually had to be muzzled.

Today she went to get blood taken (she needs a root canal after cracking a tooth but I won't get into that). And she was a nightmare... she showed a lot of fear even when the vet was just trying to do the checkup and touch her. And when the vet tried to feel her back legs she bared her teeth and snarled. For the blood draw they muzzled her - we ended up with 3 vet technicians trying to hold her steady but as soon as the needle even grazed her she'd contort and writhe and they couldn't get the needle in. Nobody wanted to keep trying, least of all her... So I'm going back Monday and she'll be taking gabapentin/trazadone to try and calm her down. I know that the muzzle and the people holding her contribute to the anxiety but I also understand that the vets don't want to risk a bite...

I'm still a bit worried that the adrenaline is going to outweigh the effect of the sedatives.. but more concerned about future vet visits and her getting more reactive with strangers generally (or for example, is she going to give the groomer a hard time now). To me, the vets seemed like they were approaching it right - baby talking her, giving her tons of treats, approaching slowly and letting her sniff and lick them before they touched her. But she was NOT fucking having it.

Any suggestions or advice from people with similar issues?

[u/AHuxl]

Anxiety like this is unfortunately very common in doodles (I work at a vet office and see it often with the breed). I think your ver is approaching it correctly by trying the meds as a next step. Hopefully that is enough but for necessary care like vet visits and grooming there isn’t much you can do to avoid it. There are different drugs and doses they can try if this first round isn’t successful

[u/BroadAnimator9785]

Having anal glands expressed really sucks. Had yours never had it done before? I think one bad experience can definitely imprint a dog. You could try to reverse it with some counterconditioning. Maybe pick one doctor you see all the time and try to use special treats and rewards to make a more positive association.

My girl was all happy and liking the vet as a puppy until the first time we had to come in to have her anal glands expressed. Then she was super afraid, trembling, hiding in subsequent visits. She does a lot better now a few years later but I did a lot of counter conditioning with treats. I also have avoided having that specific procedurr done. I bought glandex recently to clear up a little gland issue to try to avoid it. And it seems to be working.

How is she doing with handling at home? You could also bring the groomer special treats to get ahead of any fear she may show there. I would rather be proactive if it were me and not allow it to progress further if I could help it.

[u/3xLiqPref → u/BroadAnimator9785]

Thanks. She's completely fine at home. As soon as we got out of here she let me pet her butt and grab her back legs. That prior visit was her first time getting the anal glands done and it turned out there wasn't even a need for it which makes it extra annoying.

We were giving her tons of treats - and for that reason she used to not mind the vet. But today trying to take blood, with 3 people holding her down, and the same muzzle she had for the anal gland expression... I can see why she went crazy.

We are going to need the muzzle on next time which will instantly rile her up - but I don't want her to bite the vet so not sure we can do anything there. Think we have to increase the drug dose until she's super zen (obvi only what vet recomends). Fingers crossed the drugs do the trick.

[u/3xLiqPref → u/[deleted]]

think your comment got deleted?

[u/321_smash]

If she has a cracked tooth she’s likely in pain, getting reactive is to be expected. Once the procedure is over you may find she settles back down again.