Vet takes animal 'to the back'

[Casey09]

[QUOTE=coloredhorse;7168614]
While it is unlikely that he will bite, being restrained by an unknown individual, however competent, ramps up his stress level and he DOES struggle, making treatments/exams take longer and be more stressful for everyone. Fortunately, my vet works with police/military dogs, knows this breed and is comfortable with me restraining him [/QUOTE]

My own vet does take dogs to the back for certain procedures. Usually not for shots or an exam, but for certain things. I understand that as there is more space for helpers in the back and more equipment in the back, and I have used the clinic for many years and know them very well. I don’t feel that they would tolerate an employee that wasn’t handling animals in a professional way. I have had to leave every dog I’ve ever owned at the clinic overnight due to surgeries or other illnesses requiring IVs, and I would think that a lot of dogs do have to stay at a vet clinic alone at some point. I would think that if something shady is occurring, it’s probably more likely to happen when the owners aren’t on the premises rather than while they are waiting in the exam room.
I do totally understand what you are saying, though. I think that just about any breed with a little bit of a stranger danger tendency gets uncomfortable with someone they don’t know getting in their space to restrain them. I do think that some dogs are better when the owner is not present, but there are definitely dogs that are going to fight a lot more when it is a stranger that is restraining them. It is a tough balance. I’ve heard that not letting an owner restrain the animal is partially due to some owners being incompetent at it and vets getting bitten, and partially due to lawsuits over the client being bitten by his or her own dog. Personally I think that is pretty ridiculous - it’s part of the risk.

[Arrows_Endure]

I am a small animal tech. And I do NOT like it when they take my animals “to the back”. Yes, I know the reasons. Yes, I know the excuses. However, when I say “I prefer that my animal be treated and examined here with me”, that it be done. I am the paying client, and therefore, my animal gets treated in front of me.

My old greyhound mix was an abuse case. He was burned with acid as a puppy, and had huge mental scars. I spent a LOT of time and money training him to be a solid member of society, but in the end, I was the only person that dog trusted. When you took him away from me, he panicked. Badly. I argued (nicely???) on more than one occasion that he does not get taken away from me for anything. The one time I let them talk me into leaving him for a couple of hours (he had a bug bite that swelled his head up), I was called before I was a mile down the road to come get him, that they couldn’t get him out of the kennel. Not pretty.

I realize not all dog owners are created the same, but I know my dogs, I like to be active in their care, and I want them treated/handled in front of me. If you need other equipment or people, I’ll allow it, but it’s on a case by case basis. The normals (blood draw, vaccs, exam, etc) need to be done with me in the room.

[cowboymom]

I’ve worked at clinics and I’ve seen how the animals are sometimes treated in the back and it’s not always what the owner would want to see. I’ve seen the techs yapping about dates or lunch or days off while some cat is scruffed down too tight or cut by the clippers by a distracted tech or tossed into a cage for a moment while they do something else.

I realize that owners can be a distraction or hinderance but I like the accountability and professionalism that having the owner present can provide.

[Ghazzu]

Sometimes the animal feeds off the owner’s anxiety.
Removing the animal from the owner’s presence can be helpful.

But, either way, owners do not get to restrain in my exam room.
My professional liability insurance is expensive enough without handing off a lawsuit on a silver platter.

[Casey09]

[QUOTE=coloredhorse;7168614]
While it is unlikely that he will bite, being restrained by an unknown individual, however competent, ramps up his stress level and he DOES struggle, making treatments/exams take longer and be more stressful for everyone. Fortunately, my vet works with police/military dogs, knows this breed and is comfortable with me restraining him [/QUOTE]

My own vet does take dogs to the back for certain procedures. Usually not for shots or an exam, but for certain things. I understand that as there is more space for helpers in the back and more equipment in the back, and I have used the clinic for many years and know them very well. I don’t feel that they would tolerate an employee that wasn’t handling animals in a professional way. I have had to leave every dog I’ve ever owned at the clinic overnight due to surgeries or other illnesses requiring IVs, and I would think that a lot of dogs do have to stay at a vet clinic alone at some point. I would think that if something shady is occurring, it’s probably more likely to happen when the owners aren’t on the premises rather than while they are waiting in the exam room.
I do totally understand what you are saying, though. I think that just about any breed with a little bit of a stranger danger tendency gets uncomfortable with someone they don’t know getting in their space to restrain them. I do think that some dogs are better when the owner is not present, but there are definitely dogs that are going to fight a lot more when it is a stranger that is restraining them. It is a tough balance. I’ve heard that not letting an owner restrain the animal is partially due to some owners being incompetent at it and vets getting bitten, and partially due to lawsuits over the client being bitten by his or her own dog. Personally I think that is pretty ridiculous - it’s part of the risk.

[Manahmanah]

Oh, man. You have been through how many vets and admit to screaming at one?

Crazy person sirens are going off already.

Most vets out of school make less than a Walmart greeter… With decades of debt in tow. I have never ever felt the need to scream at one of these long suffering animal lovers, even when I knew they were wrong. Not even when I was sure it was a mistake that they killed my favorite animal.

Sometimes animals need to be restrained. And sometimes, this is not pretty. They need to be restrained for the safety of the human and the animal itself. A lot of times its not pretty. The animal cares less about this and is far less offended than the human is which is probably why everyone wants to take your animal in the back.

Giving a shot or taking a blood sample can be really easy on a difficult animal if you just restrain it completely beforehand and get it over as quickly as possible.

Especially true with horses. If I have a bad actor, he will be twitched and maybe a lip chain if that is what it takes to make him stand stock still so the vet is not being tossed around a stall with needles in hand.

If u wearing out your welcome at every vet in a 100 mile radius then you are probably more than a little more than crazy.

[toady123]

I can totally understand a vet wishing to take an animal to the back - often it is less stressful for the owner and the animal. Owners can be tougher to deal with than the animals!! And if the owner gets upset than it can cause more stress on the animal.

My vet clinic does this for sometimes. I think it depends what they need to do and how invasive it might be. Exams and shots have always been done in front of me, while some things like bloodwork and wound cleaning have been done out back. My one lab does get a little worried and seeks me out when she is nervous so I prefer to keep her close, but if they need to take her to make things safe for all then I understand.

I think the bottom line is trust - they have the years of education and training. I have a good relationship and trust their judgement. Who am I to ‘supervise’ the proceedings?!

[fivehorses]

Have not read thru all the posts, but want to comment on chachie’s post on page 1 or 2. Wow, that attitude sucks. Its about the animals, not the owner, and I would not be boasting that no one would help the difficult owner’s horse when it was colicking. talk about arrogance. UGH.

I have noticed the out back too. It happens here in NH and also in Aiken when I am south. I don’t personally like it, but have learned that it does not pay to be challenging…its your pet or you that suffer.

In NH, my vet comes to the house, and we sit on the floor and she has been super helpful in trying to get my SC ditch dogs accustomed to strangers. The Aiken SPCA are great too, come out to the car to do vaccines.
But most vets want to bring the animal out back. It just feels very clinical and not a caring environment.

[Hannahsmom]

I have switched vets for this reason. Shrug. It’s the vet’s rules and my choice. I search until I find that combo that works. Sorry, I’m an old fart and I have had years where the vets did all this in front of me in the exam room. I pay my bills promptly.

[mvp]

[QUOTE=wendy;7168120]
that’s nonsense. You should never blindly trust anyone- would you let your infant be taken “into the back” to get a shot? doubt it. Who knows what is going on? your pet can’t talk, so it’s up to you to be there to protect if necessary. You might trust your vet, but I bet you haven’t even met most of the vet techs, who seem to come and go and have rather sketchy training.
Of course this is from someone who asks for the muzzle and puts it on the dog, and who once wrestled her dog to the ground and sat on his head so they could take out his stitches.[/QUOTE]

Good point. And dollars to donuts, some kids are much like the animals: They get more stoic when they don’t have a momma there to bail them out.

[beowulf]

@GraceLikeRain;7168061

Do you think they were beating your animal?? Cats scream. It’s not a big deal and it certainly does not mean the vet was doing anything wrong. Trying to get enough blood for some tests can be challenging with small rolling cat veins and a screaming thrashing cat.

agreed. cats are terrible, particularly for the vet and technicians. how many people take their cats on socialization walks? unlike dogs a cat does not have the same socialization and experience with people and as a result acts very differently.

FWIW, cats can be the most difficult patients. in addition to already being hardwired to be mistrusting of strangers, cats are notorious for being super-flexible and slipping out of the good ol’ scruff and attacking/biting/clawing the handler. most owners don’t understand that these are preventative gestures – the sweetest cat in the world can be bathsheba in a handbasket on the table.

if you don’t have a vet where you’re comfortable leaving the pet?? um, move. there are plenty of practices out there and every one i’ve met has been replete with compassionate, caring people. none of my pets have ever been abused by a vet/technician…

[beowulf]

PPS- five horses… who is your NH practician?? i have 4 SC ditch-dogs (all from aiken!!) myself, and am from a town 10 minutes from the NH border - we’re practically neighbors!

[GotGait]

Do you techs still have “the cat bag” where only the head sticks out and you can unzip different parts to get at a leg, etc…? I can’t imagine how flipped out owners would get if the saw their cat in one of those. We only used it for the nastiest cats. Most didn’t need it, but the biting, scratching ones went in the bag. I saw a cat nail one of the other techs bad and she got an infection and had to be on antibiotics. A lot of nice kitties turn into raging bobcats at the vet.

[Ruth0552]

I worked for a vet for years and I understand why pets are taken to the back for procedures. That being said, I think you have to be confident in your vet’s abilities and professionalism. I have seen some pretty bad restraint techniques- in cases where I though sedation might be best- but for some reason the vet I worked for wouldn’t sedate anything unless it was going under general.

Since the vet I liked at that practice left, I recently switched vets. I told them right off the bat that I used to be a tech and I was happy to help, hold, etc. They didn’t even ask to bring my cat to the back for a cysto. They still wanted their tech to hold him, but they did it in front of me in the exam room. If they wanted to bring him in back, I guess I would have a discussion with the vet about it- I would not feel comfortable with it NOW because I just started going there, but if I saw the back first (the set up, make sure it’s clean, etc.) or if I was able to go back there with my cat, then it would be fine. And in the future I see it being fine as well, but I do want to look out for my cat to start with.

[Hannahsmom]

I don’t mind if they muzzle my dogs. I don’t mind the techs holding them. I prefer they work on them in front of me. Whether in the room or in the back. I know this may not be fast or convenient but its what I prefer.

[GraceLikeRain]

[QUOTE=wendy;7168120]
You might trust your vet, but I bet you haven’t even met most of the vet techs, who seem to come and go and have rather sketchy training. [/QUOTE]

What kind of vet to you use?! I would never frequent a vet with high tech turnover with “sketchy” training.

I worked at a vet’s office for 7 years and knew everyone by first name. We had 2 full time techs and 3 part-time techs. Our most recent tech at the time I left had been on staff for 5 years. Every one of them had continuing training and years of experience. They all used the lightest touch necessary to restrain an animal and were absolutely professional even with the worst behaved animals.

The vet I used now is a small practice with 2 full time techs. I know both the vets, techs, and receptionists very well. If I need shots done and my schedule is tight I have no problem dropping him off and letting him hang out there all day. I know he will receive professional care and lots of personal attention.

The comparison to an infant is absurd. How many infants are at risk of biting an employee and potentially jeopardizing their career? It is a liability issue.

[DarkenStormy]

I have been with my vet’s practice for over 20 years. Some of the vet’s have changed but the owner is the same and the philosophy is the same. And I trust this practice. I trust all the vets and all the techs, otherwise I would not take my dog there. They know me and my husband very well, as our other dog was very ill and we were in there constantly. With our other dog, we were involved in every procedure, we saw all his ultrasounds, his Xrays, we were there for blood draws and even when they were examining his urine and his blood - we got to see it all under the microscope.

With our current dog? He’s as healthy as a horse. And the biggest drama queen in the world. Do I let them take him in the back. Yep. You betcha. If I can’t trust them, then why would I go there? They take him in the back for blood draws and vaccines. They do the exams in front of me and discuss any treatments that need to be done. Most recently he tore his dewclaw and had to have it cut down to the quick. I let them do that in the back because again, my dog is a HUGE drama queen. When I am not there, he lays quietly for the vet and let’s them do their job. If I am there, he becomes a screaming, crying mess of a dog. He even does that when he gets a massage. The masseuse isn’t even touching him and he’s crying like he’s in mortal pain. Sheesh.

But if I asked them, I could go anywhere I wanted in that facility. They know I am not a crazy dogmom. They know I care about my dog and that I am rabid about his health. They know that I know what I am doing to the point that when it’s an issue where they would usually hospitalize a dog, they will send him home with me, knowing that I will give him the correct level of care.

I love my vets and I HAVE to trust them or I can’t work with them. We have a mutual respect. That being said, if I wanted a second opinion on a major procedure they would encourage that too… They are good people who care about the animals and not about the money.

[Pookah]

I don’t necessarily have an issue with pets being taken to the back, primarily because I have seen so many that feed off an owner’s nervous energy. I’ve also many times handled horses through colics and other injuries, so that the owner could step away and not panic the horse worse with their stress. Some people just react better in traumatic situations than others, and there are absolutely times when having an owner present is not in the animal’s best interest.

However, with my current dog, who has massive anxiety issues that I’ve posted about here before, I no longer allow her to be taken in the back and it’s been one of the better decisions I’ve made for her. I implicitly trust my vet and I know that she adores my dog (her last set of vaccinations were done with the dog sitting in the vet’s lap on the floor - and she’s a Great Dane); however, my dog has an unfortunate level of separation anxiety that means that despite trying a zillion solutions, training, drugs, etc, she just copes better if I am with her. She was starting to develop a major fear of the vet’s office, refusing to get out of the car when we arrived, etc. Since I stopped letting her go back on her own (which generally also involved dragging, as she would not willingly leave), she still wouldn’t probably choose the vet as her favorite activity, but she is generally happy and copes with treatment. She recently was diagnosed with a heart murmur, and the vets both locally and at the referral hospital were very flexible because of her anxiety - I held her while she was put under anesthesia, then was back there before she started waking up. When she needed a cardiogram, I stayed at her head, and she was surprisingly cooperative. Admittedly, it probably didn’t hurt when they asked if I would be okay with her being muzzled for safety reasons, I offered to get her muzzle out of the car, which she has to wear for regular chiropractic adjustments. The end result is that she went through some fairly major diagnostic work without her anxiety worsening at all, which is huge for a dog like her. And, it also didn’t hurt that two of her regular vets separately called the referral hospital ahead of time and basically said “trust what this owner tells you the dog needs, it really is the dog that’s crazy and not the owner in this case :).”

Everyone should do what’s right for them - certainly the vet has every right as a business owner to refuse the liability of treating with an owner present, and equally as a customer you have every right to find a vet that will work with you.

[yellowbritches]

The best vet I used with my old dog (before using a house call vet) took her to the back. She was FAR BETTER away from me than with me because she was very protective and didn’t like other people getting close to me. That vet figured out that if he took her from me, got out of my space, and did a little “heel, sit, heel sit”, she would be far more compliant. I preferred this to muzzling her and big red stickers on her file proclaiming she was “aggressive.”

[jherold]

The main reason vets take pets “to the back” is LIABILITY. You can’t make much suing a vet for malpractise as most pets aren’t worth anything. But you can make a ton of money for suing the vet for negligence when you get hurt restraining your own pet.