Saw a similar version of this at a human hospital outpatient check-in yesterday, though there was no actual bum sniffing going on.
We had a vet with separate dog/cat entrances, but then his wife, the receptionist, was so unpleasant it didn’t help the vibe in the clinic.
When dealing with the general public this sounds about standard, there will always be somebody behaving badly or stupidly. Manners are pretty much the exception anymore.
:lol:Thank you LBR this is a truly rant-worthy thread:lol:!
When I teach my group basic obed., on the very 1st day, I do a long spiel about basic dog-owner manners:
NO socializing the dog at the vet-its where sick animals go (DUMMY)
DONT let your dogs bark at your neighbors-cannot tell you how many people sling open the back door and let their darlings out to yap at the poor old lady feeding her tomatoes…EVERY TIME OUT>>>>
Your dog doesn’t have to meet every dog he sees on the street!!! JUST SAY NO - to Dog or random doggie passersby.
You’d all be amused at the looks of surprise, consternation, and usually a lightbulb or 2 when I give this speech. I think most people just dont know, and many, unfortunately, just dont CARE about how their dogs can annoy/scare other people.:mad:
I have absolutely NO problem quickly letting an owner know to keep his animal to himself…I once threw my gigantic keyring right at the head of a rampaging crusty male intact Boxer when walking 4 dogs (onlead) at the park-owner 100 yds. away, screaming “HEEEE’S FREINDLY!!!”
Sure. He’s also COVERED in mange. And I have 4 BIIIG dogs, one an inact male.
Keyring hit him smack on the forehead 10 ft. out. My brother the QB would’ve been proud.
I’d do it again in a heartbeat. 
Manners are important.:yes:
[QUOTE=ladybugred;5657263]
it’s their “parents”. A dog isn’t going to act mannerly if never taught.[/QUOTE]
And this is how I feel about children, too. :yes:
[QUOTE=ladybugred;5657223]
As my cat and I are sitting waiting to be shown to an exam room, a young woman comes in with an Am Bulldog. This YW probably weighed 125lb, the dog 130lb easy, and of course Balboa, yes that was his name, had never had a training session in his life!! But that’s ok, because she was using a choke chain, wrong, it was down around the base of his neck and he was at the end of a 6+ ft leash. Did I mention that he barked, constantly.
As we are waiting for the bill, a woman comes in with a big fluffy something that wants to make friends with the other dogs in the waiting room. BFS’s owner let’s BFS sniff any dog it wants whiile she mindlessly chats with other people, back turned to BFS.
Then we have the Shitzon (shih tzu/ bichon) owner going on about how spectacular designer dogs are, and how much better than pure bred, to the owner of two PB Goldens.
Standing next to me at the counter is an older lady with a cat in carrier on the floor. Said owner of Goldens gets called to the Exam room, as they walk past cat carrier on the floor, Golden sniffs CC. Cat lady starts harranging the GO, GO responds “he’s just curious” curious what it feels like to get a shredded nose!
As goldens leave exam room, one sticks his nose in my cat’s carrier, then up my bum. Still curious I guess.
Did I mention the Aussie mix that barked CONSTANTLY, So I couldn’t think?? Owner’s idea of quieting it is “shhh Rover, it’s ok”. NOT WORKING!!!
Let’s not EVEN get into the second cat lady, who thought Fluffy was freaking out because of the dogs, and complained about dogs voiciferously (isn’t this why there are cat specific vets?), even tho he mewed twice and looked pretty calm given the situation (I watched him for a mo while she fetched his poo sample from the car)
Needless to say, when I got home, after giving kitty some tuna, I cracked a beer!
LBR[/QUOTE]
LBR, love your story! I have so been there.
I’m way too nice. The best I’ve ever spit out after an owner let her dog allllll the way out on a 20’flexi to reach my dog, whom I intentionally positioned at the opposite end of the long, narrow reception was, “He’s here, at the vet’s, because he’s sick.” Duh.
Some practices are better at managing the circus than others. She shouldn’t have to, but I love when I hear a receptionist shout, “No visiting!” to the ‘But he’s friendly’ crowd.
I wish vet offices outlawed flexis. Put a sign on the door: “Because patients may be sick or hurt, flexi leashes are not permitted. You may borrow a kennel lead at the front desk.”
I may be one of those people
Though my cat was properly restrained in a kitty carrier, we still managed to wreck some havoc at the vet.
My girl Hazel is a nice kitty at home, but she loses her mind whenever I have to take her to the vet. She becomes feral.
I go to an all-cat vet, and they handle my uncivilized beast well. We went recently when I suspected that the glands in her hiney were giving her some discomfort. I was right, and the vet took kitty to back to evacuate the glands. I was sent back to the waiting room to wait.
Three other women were waiting there with their nice, sweet, civilized cats who were all sitting in their carriers, cool as cucumbers. I was the only one without a cat in the waiting room.
Just as I picked up an issue of People to indulge in a little trashy gossip, a loud, malevolent wail issued from the back of the office. I have never heard an angrier sound.
Everyone looks at me. I smile weakly and become immediately engrossed in the magazine.
A few minutes later the vet tech brings Hazel up the reception area in her carrier. Hazel is going batsh*t crazy and the carrier is swinging too and fro. It’s as though the Tasmanian devil from Bugs Bunny is in that carrier. In addition to continuing to completely freak out and vocalize her wishes for death to all of humanity non-stop, Hazel is eking out the last few molecules of horrifically icky unguence from the glands beneath her tail. So in addition to being violent, she smelled to high heaven, and quite literally stunk up the joint. I couldn’t get out of there fast enough with my smelly, insane cat in tow. :o
Man, I’m so sorry. That sounds AWFUL.
I guess I’ve been lucky. I consider my dog to be one of the “bad” ones, since he often whines with excitement/anxiety at the vet’s. It’s not super loud, but it does annoy me. And sometimes people bring in cats that are meowing - constantly - in their carriers. That’s also kind of annoying. I can’t really blame either of them, though.
In general, though, I’ve had very pleasant vet waiting room experiences. At the 5 vets or so I’ve been to over the years. The vets seem to bend over backwards to get people OUT of the waiting rooms and into exam rooms ASAP.
I hope those of you with horror stories will one day be somewhere with a more pleasant experience! 
My personal favorite was when someone with a large rotweiler thought it was cute to let it look at the poor defenseless kitty in the carrier (mine). Literally scared the shit out of the cat!
I was not amused.
I always bring in a small blanket that I use to cover my cat’s carrier entirely, so that it can help to mask the smell of a feline and also helps keep Allen calm since he can’t look out the peepholes.
I also make sure to try to sit in a chair next to a wall, where I can position the carrier snuggly against it and block it with my legs and feet.
Also, an appropriate level of snarkiness to clueless dog owners and the stink-eye technique is very helpful :lol:
I have a little mare who is rather dog-aggressive after having been attacked, as well. She is much, much better after 7 years of work in controlled situations. However, if pressed, she will absolutely go after a dog … and when she does, she is deadly serious. She’s killed two that invaded her pasture.
[quote=Kryswyn;5657422]What Pony Someday said. The 1st vet I used in VA had a cat waiting room and a dog waiting room with separate entrances. How intelligent!
[/quote]
That is nice, and when I lived in VA, they had this set-up, too. However, it posed a conundrum for those of us who had both. With 2 dogs and 4 cats, I never seemed to “fit” on either side, though the dogs were mannerly and stayed in “sit” or “down” as ordered and the cats were OK other than some complaining (mostly by the fiesty calico). Yes, an option would have been to take the cats one day and the dogs another. However, taking them all at once saved precious time. It also saved money, as the vet would charge only one office fee for the whole herd.
So, while the separate-entrance approach is a good one, it is not perfect, either. I tried to be the first appointment of the day so that I pissed off as few fellow patients as possible.
It’s a VET office…what do you expect? Ever been in a pediatrician’s office? Same thing! A bunch of whiny kids and their parents. What do you expect from a room full of animals?
Love my cats only vet practice. Best. Idea. Ever.
Separate waiting rooms are a close second.
[QUOTE=lovey1121;5657953]
:lol:Thank you LBR this is a truly rant-worthy thread:lol:!
When I teach my group basic obed., on the very 1st day, I do a long spiel about basic dog-owner manners:
NO socializing the dog at the vet-its where sick animals go (DUMMY)
DONT let your dogs bark at your neighbors-cannot tell you how many people sling open the back door and let their darlings out to yap at the poor old lady feeding her tomatoes…EVERY TIME OUT>>>>
Your dog doesn’t have to meet every dog he sees on the street!!! JUST SAY NO - to Dog or random doggie passersby.
You’d all be amused at the looks of surprise, consternation, and usually a lightbulb or 2 when I give this speech. I think most people just dont know, and many, unfortunately, just dont CARE about how their dogs can annoy/scare other people.:mad:
I have absolutely NO problem quickly letting an owner know to keep his animal to himself…I once threw my gigantic keyring right at the head of a rampaging crusty male intact Boxer when walking 4 dogs (onlead) at the park-owner 100 yds. away, screaming “HEEEE’S FREINDLY!!!”
Sure. He’s also COVERED in mange. And I have 4 BIIIG dogs, one an inact male.
Keyring hit him smack on the forehead 10 ft. out. My brother the QB would’ve been proud.
I’d do it again in a heartbeat.
Manners are important.:yes:[/QUOTE]
THANK YOU! I used to work at a boarding kennel and dear god we got some untrained dogs and clueless owners! Such as the TWO 90 lb huskies who had no idea what a leash was and jumped on everyone they saw, the little foofy dog that bit your ankles every time you put it down, the golden that GNAWED on your arm (“that’s how he says hello” :mad:) and the many, many dogs that didn’t understand leash manners.
We have had snappy little nasty dogs (with no manners) come up and try to pick a fight with our dogs (German Shepherds and a Pit Bull.) When I politely ask the owners if they could please retract their dogs (as they “want to sit next to them pretty K-9 dogs”) they say, “you better watch out Chi-Chi that dog right there will attack you. Them are MEAN dogs.” Whatever, lady. Your ill-mannered and poor-tempered Chihuahua is more likely to bite my dogs than they bite yours.
I have had, however, one German Shepherd that either wanted to be metrosexual and accessorize or just wanted to steal a woman’s purse. She came and sat down next to us (dogless) and started complimenting one of my dogs. My big goof was swooning over the attention from this lady. He went to move, and I noticed he had inadvertently put his paw right in the woman’s purse that was on the floor. As he moved away, along came the purse. I know I was ten shades of red, apologized profusely, and she laughed. She looked at my dog and said (with a dripping with honey southern accent,) “now, hunny…this red just is not your color. You’re more of a brown boy!”
I will say, however, that one of our dogs has horrible leash manners (when a leash is attached to her collar, and yes we work with her daily.) She is perfect in a regular harness, but as she just had surgery wherein her harness would rub the wrong spot, she has to wear her collar and leash. I always feel like an idiot when she comes pulling in on the leash (though I keep her right next to me.) My poor girl has actually been peed on by a Vet office client’s dog 
He walked right over, sniffed me, she moved and sat beside me. He hiked his leg (owner was 10 feet away on the other end of the 20 foot piece of rope) and peed on her (which I’m sure was supposed to be me.)
I understand some level of excitement at the vet- it is a new place with lots of smells and animals get excited. When my dog was younger she would LOSE IT at the vet’s office- her little terrier brain couldn’t handle it and she would become a wiggly skittering time bomb. However, if you have a young or excitable dog, it’s your responsibility to keep it close, under control and away from other animals. They are animals after all and there’s not always much you can do to stop a cat from complaining or a dog from whining, but you can keep them away from the other animals and owners.
Last time I was at the vet, I had my very ill kitty, whose carrier I had placed facing the wall and under my chair so she wouldn’t get stressed from the other animals. A woman came in with a very large dog and let him wander around, sniffing, and after shoving his nose in my crotch he started pawing and scratching at my cat’s carrier. I tried to push him away but he was easily over 100lbs and didn’t respond to verbal correction. It took several tries to get the owner’s attention and when I finally did she dragged the dog away (with difficulty) and said “oh, he just likes small animals”. Well, that’s fine and dandy, but he’s exactly what my very sick cat does NOT need right now. The vet’s office is not a safe or healthy place to allow animals to socialize and I wish people would realize that.
I guess I’ve just gotten to be a crusty high-riding old b*tch, but I have no problem conveying my concerns to the shiny happy clueless.:winkgrin:
I don’t think I’ve ever had experiences like that at my vet, which either means my vet has great clientele, or I’m the one that people complain about 
OOH! OOH! I had a new experience at the vet Sat! Coulda happened in any waiting room, but this one was filled w/animals.
A guy comes in, carrying a cat carrier and a small blonde child, announcing to all that he’s sorry he’s 45 min. late for appt, but the espresso machine blew up. He lets us all know that kitty is “Nudge Jones-White -he actually says HYPHEN, and this cutey(kid) is Devon Jones Hyphen White!!!” He then sits next to me, though there are loads of free chairs. I have a boarding dog there to treat a cystitis-a very happy friendly Visla. Quincy takes a small inquiringstep toward the guy and he flinches and whips the kid (boy? girl? cant tell) away. Daddy then proceeds to engage the kid in an exhaustive learning session, in english, spanish, AND–wait for it–sign language, all in wonderfully clear and carrying voice. We were treated to the alphabet in all 3 languages, a little ditty w/many choruses in spanish, topped by a speakerphone call to Mom (Madre), who continued the lesson to the enjoyment of all.:yes::yes::winkgrin:
I wish I had Kitari’s Sirrus–that might have shut him up:D:D:D
I feel sorry for that kid. And the poor kitteh.
The #1 reason I hate seeing people get cutesy/social in a vet waiting room is a lot of people and pets in there are terrified enough already without having to deal with an erstwhile dog park. Yes, buddy, your 8-month-old Rottweiler is just in for puppy shots and you are just thrilled to talk loudly to the receptionist about how good ol’ Magnum is the bestest dog ever, but that guy over there knows that he’s about to hear the worst news about his 16-year-old cat. The woman over there is afraid that lump on her dog’s side is cancer. That dog under the chair was nearly killed by a pit bull three years ago and is scared to death of all these dogs. A vet’s waiting room is NOT like a pediatrician’s waiting room; it’s like an ER. Some people are there for a sore throat, and some people are there because their father just had a massive stroke. Keep your pet to yourself, sit quietly and wait your turn.
Vacation 1-great post, and totally on target.
I’ve always been amazed that in an entire waiting room of empty chairs someone always sat right next to me, and then when I moved they look surprised.
And it’s very obvious that some kid who sat right next to me wanted to pet my dog, who wasn’t very comfortable around little kids (actually I’m not either). Some people must think their kid is special and won’t get bitten by some strange dog who isn’t feeling well, on edge from being at the vet, and just wants to go home now before someone with a white coat sticks fingers somewhere that puppy really doesn’t want them put. People seem to be totally clueless these days.
[QUOTE=vacation1;5663181]
The #1 reason I hate seeing people get cutesy/social in a vet waiting room is a lot of people and pets in there are terrified enough already without having to deal with an erstwhile dog park. Yes, buddy, your 8-month-old Rottweiler is just in for puppy shots and you are just thrilled to talk loudly to the receptionist about how good ol’ Magnum is the bestest dog ever, but that guy over there knows that he’s about to hear the worst news about his 16-year-old cat. The woman over there is afraid that lump on her dog’s side is cancer. That dog under the chair was nearly killed by a pit bull three years ago and is scared to death of all these dogs. A vet’s waiting room is NOT like a pediatrician’s waiting room; it’s like an ER. Some people are there for a sore throat, and some people are there because their father just had a massive stroke. Keep your pet to yourself, sit quietly and wait your turn.[/QUOTE]
Got it in one!
Each owner is responsible to keep their “pookems” calm, if that means you bring a towel to cover the crate to keep Fluffs calm, or a SHORT a$$ leash to keep Bowser from sniffing “Strange”, YOU, NOT everyone else, need to keep “pet” calm!
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