Canine Anxiety

Things were looking good when I took Lucky for his annual visit yesterday.There were no other dogs in sight to antagonize him, he seemed to be quite a bit calmer than usual only barking every couple of minutes. I was wise enough to bring a bag of carrots to distract him, and hopefully keeping him a bit quieter than usual.

And then, we went to the examination room. Oh boy! As soon as they enter the room, Lucky runs for the door-attempting to escape. Then, he runs to me, trying so hard to get in my lap and even under my chair.

Finally, the crab their "choker" rope to put around his neck and tie him to the scale. Of course, the assistant had to go get help, because Lucky will not stand still in this situation.

The assistant comes in, holds Lucky tight, and he freezes. I ask her where is this special spot she is holding to make him freeze, and she says "no where in particular." But it truly looks like she is holding his "you know what." Seriously? Gosh, I hope not. Yuck!

He gets even more angrier when they stick the thermometer up his anus to get his temperature. They take his blood too, which isn't pleasant either.

There's still no sign of the vet, so they set him free. And we wait. and wait. and wait some more. I peek my head out, asking them if they forgot about me, and they assure me she will be a couple more minutes. About 20 minutes later, the vet finally returns. They tie him up to the table again, and try to look at his tooth. His tooth has cracked, and he had to have a crack toothed removed last year too. However, there's no way he's letting her look in his mouth. So, he immediately snaps at her ferociously.

UH OH! This means they are going to muzzle him.

I told her that I took a photo of the tooth last year, and emailed it. I knew there was no way they were going to be able to look in his mouth. And I was right. So, I will take a photo of his tooth again this year.

So, I end up having to put the muzzle on him, and he immediately starts pawing away at his face, trying to get it off. It takes THREE of us to hold him sort of still, so she can listen to his heart, check his ears, feel his legs, etc...All the while he is staring at me like I am the holiest person ever, and I need to save him from this horrible torture chamber.

Eventually, he is set free completely exhausted and thirsty. They did offer him a bowl of water, but of course, he refused to drink it if any of them were in the room. He would not let his guard down. I had to encourage him for a few minutes that it was okay, and he eventually took a few drinks.

This is why I HATE taking him to the vet. The only reason I take him is because these stinken shots they say he really should have up here because of wildlife, the Lyme and the Lepto, only last a year.

And we have to go back, because he will have to have this tooth extracted.

My poor Lucky. I feel like such a bad dog mommy.