Acorn House Pet Advice

Reducing stress

when your dog visits the vet

Lots of dogs look forward to visiting the vet – any attention is good attention and there are often lots of tasty treats on offer! But some dogs find the experience very stressful. What can we do to help?

Prevention is better than cure

It is important to do everything we can to make the first few vet visits a positive experience for our dogs. Consider taking your new dog into the surgery without an appointment, just to be weighed, give him some tasty treats and then leave again. This will help your dog to associate the vets with a place where good things happen. Unless there is a medical reason not to, your vet will also offer your dog treats during routine visits.

Choose a quiet time if your dog is nervous

Ask for an appointment at a quieter time of day, if your dog is nervous at the vets. Booking the last appointment in a consulting block will also mean that the vet can go slowly and take more time building your dog’s confidence.

Consider the location

Nervous dogs may feel more comfortable being examined in the garden of the practice, than in the consulting room. Book an appointment during daylight hours and let the receptionist know if you would like to try this.

Consider anti-anxiety medication

For pets that already have a fear of vet visits, it can often be a great solution to give anti-anxiety medication an hour or so before a vet visit. This medication is an anxiolytic but not a sedative - it should help your dog feel calm and relaxed during the journey and examination at the vets. This is not only good for your dog on that occasion, but will also help to teach your dog that he/she can go to the vets and not have a scary time. This should prevent nervous behaviours from getting worse with every vet visit, and should lead to an increase in confidence over time. Anxiolytic medications need to be prescribed, so speak to your vet about this.