sammybeans Posted January 30, 2014 Report Share Posted January 30, 2014 So Champ has a vet visit tomorrow for his annual DHLPP vaccine and his heart worm blood draw and I'm nervous about it because he doesn't like the vet and has gotten rather aggressive with them on a few occasions. I do my best to make sure he's calm for the experience but the second we set foot in the building he is anxious and will stay between me and the wall unless there's a dog he wants to get at. He gets treats and I sit on the floor with him while the vet exams him so that he stays focused on me instead of on what she's doing with his back legs and what not. Well, my concern is that last time he got his lepto booster he took a warning snap at one of the vet techs that was holding him and I don't know how he's going to react to them taking blood. I'm worried that he'll try to bite someone, which will get him in trouble, but I know he's basically saying 'ow! stop that!'. I did mention to them that he may need to be muzzled for the blood draw, but I have never had to muzzle him before so I don't know how he'll react to that either. Any suggestions on how to make this visit easier? It should be his last visit until May when his rabies vaccine comes due. I'm also curious as to if he should get the lepto part of the vaccine since he just got it not that long ago, I don't really want to give him the same vaccine that he just got in August, seems pointless pumping him full of stuff that he already had...opinions? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chula Posted January 30, 2014 Report Share Posted January 30, 2014 I don't do the lepto vaccine and it pisses off my vet but I don't care. I'd check what the prevalence of lepto is in your area, and at the least ask them to break up vaccines. Lepto can be given separately. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sammybeans Posted January 30, 2014 Author Report Share Posted January 30, 2014 My main concern is his reaction to getting poked twice tomorrow, I think I'm going to ask them to leave out the lepto since he just had it in the last five months and that seems like it would be overdoing it and I really don't want to give him a double dose of the lepto vaccine when it's not entirely necessary in the first place. I can't seem to find any information about how prevalent lepto is in my area either which is kind of frustrating cause I was curious if the vet talked me in to a vaccine that he didn't need. The rescue I got him from didn't vaccinate for it and they're just ten minutes up the road so I'm wondering if I didn't need to vaccinate him for it in the first place... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jay Posted January 30, 2014 Report Share Posted January 30, 2014 I definitely would not get the Lepto if you just had it 5 months ago. They say it is an annual vaccine, and like Emily said, it's not needed in some areas. Our area is not really high risk. Also, if your dog comes in contact with wild animals, goes in lakes, ponds, etc often, then there is a higher risk. If you live in a more urban or suburban area like me, the risk is lower. Also, sometimes the side effects are worse than the actual disease. Vets are going to recommend it though, and I went ahead and had Yukon vaccinated, but I don't plan to get the shot every year They are now saying that most vaccines stay in the dogs system for up to 7 years, and annual vaccines are not necessary. Rabies is the only one that is required by law, and most vets will do the 3 year shot Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tatipu Posted January 30, 2014 Report Share Posted January 30, 2014 For future reference, (since you asked yesterday which means you're at the vet today) As for the anxiousness, I would suggest trying to make the vet a happy place. Bring something he likes to play with, while you're waiting, play with him a bit. Don't feel anxious yourself. Just act like the vet is the most awesome place in the world. As for the blood drawn, Jelly was scared too and half the time they kept pricking her and not finding a vein ( -____- ) But because she's a "scary looking" dog they put the muzzle on her. Slightly offensive but whatever better safe than sorry. If you have a bag at home (plastic or paper) I would suggest cutting a hole on the closed side and slipping it onto his muzzle as a game. This would make him feel more comfortable about things being put on his muzzle. We taught Jelly this and to put her muzzle in the hole as a "trick" except in our case it's to put her head collar on for walks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sammybeans Posted January 30, 2014 Author Report Share Posted January 30, 2014 I've been doing my best to make it a happy place, I try to stay calm and I ignore the other animals to try and set an example for him to follow, but our last vet visit was two hours long when he had coccidia and he laid at the door of the exam room crying the entire time. He doesn't really like to play with anything but his ball but I'll take his sock monkey with just to see if he'll focus on it instead of other things that are going on. I'll definitely have to work with him on the muzzle, we'll see how it goes here soon, got about an hour and a half before I have to take him in. Usually he's okay with getting his shots as long as I sit in front of him, one vet tech holds him while the other gives him the shot and I have a treat for him to chew on while they do it. We discovered this after he tried to snap at one of the techs once so the shot I think we can get under control, it's the blood draw I'm most worried about so we'll see what happens, hopefully I'm worried about nothing. Thanks for the advice, I will definitely work with him on the muzzle so that it's not such a big deal if they do want to do it next time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BingBlaze n Skyla Posted January 30, 2014 Report Share Posted January 30, 2014 Do u have a head collar? That could work out better for u , you can keep control ov his head then instead ov putting a muzzle on him , tried to train my girl to wear a muzzle but it just makes her worse Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sammybeans Posted January 30, 2014 Author Report Share Posted January 30, 2014 I don't have a head collar, and I've heard that muzzles can make things worse so I'm hoping that things will go better than I think they will and he won't need one, but we'll see what happens. They never get to take his temp either because he refuses to let them, I don't blame him and they never force the issue but maybe I'll look into getting one, would probably help with some of our walk issues too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sammybeans Posted January 30, 2014 Author Report Share Posted January 30, 2014 So his appointment went really well, when we got there he started whining and making a lot of fuss over another dog and the owner of the other dog was responsive to that and asked if it was because he could see the other dog so she moved her dog behind the counter and Champ quieted down. We had to wait for them to leave before we could go back to the exam room because they were in the way and last thing I wanted was to test Champ's responsiveness to another dog in such a small space, I was able to keep him distracted for the most part with the other dog in the room. They actually took him into another room to do his blood draw so I wasn't there to see how he reacted but the vet tech said he did really well, that he made more of a fuss over his temp being taken than he did the blood draw, I was really proud of him for that. Then the vet did his exam and I sat on the floor with them, keeping him preoccupied and he didn't even flinch when she gave him his DHPP vaccine. They didn't want to give him the lepto either so there was no argument over that thankfully. They also let me pass on the kennel cough vaccination with just a quick question about whether I ever board him or anything and they were more than happy to let me pass on that as well. The vet commented on how much better behaved he was on this visit and she said I was doing really well with him, which made me really proud and happy that the vet even saw an improvement over the past few months. While we were there whenever he just sat or laid quietly next to me and relaxed I would praise him and treat him so that he understood that's what I wanted, I ignored him when he cried and paced around the room. He got really interested in another dog on our way out and again I had him sit every time he tried to lean around me so that he understood that I wanted him to sit and ignore the other dog. He didn't even growl at anyone this visit, I'm really proud of him. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jay Posted January 31, 2014 Report Share Posted January 31, 2014 Way to go Champ! We are all proud of you Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tatipu Posted January 31, 2014 Report Share Posted January 31, 2014 Congrats ! Sounded like he did really well! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bambi92 Posted January 31, 2014 Report Share Posted January 31, 2014 Sorry for the silly question what's Lepto? Way to go Champ xx Sent from my Nexus 5 using Tapatalk Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jay Posted January 31, 2014 Report Share Posted January 31, 2014 It's leptospirosis. It's a vaccination most vets recommend, sometimes given with the distemper vaccine. I don't think it is common outside the us tho Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Removed #5 Posted January 31, 2014 Report Share Posted January 31, 2014 Very good Sammy, it does seem as if they can calm down a lot as their trust in their human increases - that sounds like a great bond you've got going there! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mazz Posted January 31, 2014 Report Share Posted January 31, 2014 Sorry for the silly question what's Lepto? Way to go Champ xx Sent from my Nexus 5 using Tapatalk Leptospirosis is a bacteria that is passed in the urine of animals. Deer, rabbits, skunks, raccoons, coyotes, squirrels, and others, are all potential victims as well as carriers. It can be lethal and is fairly contagious. We live in a rural area, so we have all of these and other animals that enter our yard quite often. If an animal that has leptospirosis, urinates in the yard, and one of our dogs when sniffing, crosses over that spot, good chance that our dog will contract the disease. So we have ours vaccinated yearly for Leptospirosis. In our area, the infestation is critically high. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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