Thank You, COTHers

[Pico_Banana]

It’s the owner who’s at fault here, not the dog. Some dogs are reactive (mine can be) and it’s the owner’s obligation to manage the situation. I know when I go to the vet I have no more than 2 with me and I keep them on a short leash (it’s a 6 ft leash but I wrap it shorter around my hand) and I find a quiet, out of the way spot for us to wait. I then am vigilant about others approaching. The vet staff should be policing this kind of behavior for everyone’s sake.

If there’s not enough room for us to be at least somewhat separated, we wait outside or ask to be put in the room right away.

[StarPattern]

As someone with a dog who is not the best with cats, it blows my mind that people aren’t more careful. I am well aware of my dog’s dislike of cats, so I will always call the vet when I’m in the parking lot to make sure there’s no cats in the waiting room. If there are, I wait in my vehicle with my dog until they can send us right to an exam room. All it takes is a little common sense and pre-planning and a lot of heartache gets avoided.

[OverandOnward]

And one more thing that might help with a reactive animal at the vets – one who might be aggressive, or one that might be fearful …

My vet has a back door into the exam room area! They finally started suggesting people coming in car-to-exam-room go to the back door and never pass through the waiting room at all.

They implemented the back door only a few visits before my dog passed away, but glad they finally put it to use.

The car-to-back-door decreased vet visit stress exponentially, for me and my reactive dog. Such a simple solution.