Advice from a vet (who doesn’t take it personally).
Taking your dog to the vet regularly is a pet parent must.
But that can be super tough if your pup absolutely hates going there.
Well, there are a bunch of things you can do to make those vet visits easier on your BFF (and on you, in turn).
The Dodo spoke with Dr. Andrea Y. Tu, medical director at Behavior Vets in New York City, who explained why dogs hate the vet, and what you can do to help.
There’s really one big reason why your dog hates the vet: he’s afraid of them!
“Dogs can become afraid of vets for multiple different things,” Dr. Tu told The Dodo. “It’s often a place where they have something slightly uncomfortable and slightly weird happen to them.”
If you hate going to the doctor, or even the dentist, then you feel your pup’s pain.
Not to mention, if it’s your dog’s first time at the vet, then the environment is totally new to him, which is scary enough on its own.
“Other things that can cause the dog to be afraid of the vet are other sensory inputs that we don’t really appreciate as humans,” Dr. Tu said. “Dogs can smell, for instance, another dog [that was just] there releasing stress-related pheromones.”
In fact, your dog’s sense of smell is so crazy good that, according to Dr. Tu, he might even be able to smell blood on a needle in a waste bin from a draw that happened hours ago.
And since your dog isn’t the only pet who needs medical attention, he’s going to be around other animals, which could also scare him.
“If the dog is afraid of other dogs, and you are sitting in a waiting room with all these other dogs who are yapping and barking and making a lot of noise, that can also be scary,” Dr. Tu explained.
Any — or all — of these reasons is enough to get your dog to associate the vet with bad things, and ultimately make him hate going.
How your dog can always seem to tell he’s going to the vet before he gets there
Ever notice that your dog always seems to know he’s going to the vet, even though you were sure that you didn’t give it away?
Well, your dog can actually pick up on even the tiniest hints.
“[He could pick up on] our body language [or] our cues,” Dr. Tu explained. “We may act differently or dress differently when we’re taking them to the vet, versus taking them out to a hike.”
So although you wouldn’t even dare to spell “v-e-t” in front of him, your pup will probably still figure it out and get nervous.
“Dogs are really attuned to those really detailed body language changes … so they may be able to put those pieces together and generalize,” Dr. Tu said.
Why Do Dogs Fear the Vet?
The most common reason that dogs develop a fear of going to the veterinarian is that it feels traumatic to them. Think about a typical visit to the vets office with your dog. As soon as you walk through the door, your dog is bombarded by strange smells and sounds. Chances are youll run into other animals while youre there, which can certainly raise your dogs anxiety level as well.
Next comes the examination. Your dog is restrained by a veterinary technician while the veterinarian pokes and prods it, possibly giving vaccinations and drawing blood. This unfamiliar type of handling by strangers can cause your dog to become confused and afraid. If your dog is sick or injured, its already feeling bad. Add it all together and you get a pretty traumatic experience for your dog. Its no wonder so many dogs develop a fear of going to the vet.