Bringing a reactive dog to the vet:

desertcircus

As the thread title indicates, we have a reactive dog who we adopted just under a year ago, and we want to bring her to the vet soon for a checkup. She reacts extremely badly to other animals of any kind, so we'll need to make some kind of arrangement to find somewhere that she won't encounter any on the visit. We're new to the process, so I thought I'd ask here - do vets typically make these kind of arrangements, specifically any in Dublin 8?

Mooooo

desertcircus wrote: »

As the thread title indicates, we have a reactive dog who we adopted just under a year ago, and we want to bring her to the vet soon for a checkup. She reacts extremely badly to other animals of any kind, so we'll need to make some kind of arrangement to find somewhere that she won't encounter any on the visit. We're new to the process, so I thought I'd ask here - do vets typically make these kind of arrangements, specifically any in Dublin 8?

Just give the vet a ring and see, they've most likely dealt with most scenarios before. You could get them to call out to you but they will charge for that, ask beforehand what it is, typically 50 euro call out and then whatever they do is added on, it could be dearer as I'm farming so vets have to come out to us and we would be their main type of business I assume rurally anyway

boomerang

They can arrange to give you their earliest or latest appointment, so there are no other dogs around. Or if the dog is really nervous and if it's something straightforward like a vaccination, they can do that at your car. Just ask.

PS Try Carey and Keane in Kilmainham, both my brothers bring their dogs there.

At my vets (not in Dublin) the procedure for reactive dogs is you wait outside or in your car and the receptionist rings you when it's your turn. Then if your dog is small you can carry him through the waiting room or if he's too big to carry the vet will meet you at the back door so you can avoid the waiting room altogether.

tk123

My vets (Dublin 9) have a side/front door (it would have been a house originally) and then the main door to the waiting room. The rooms are all connected so you can bypass the waiting room completely if needed. We were in a few months ago when Bailey was in the first few weeks post op from leg surgery... he's absolutely terrified of cones so they put a dog with a cone on in the side room to let us pass so Bailey wouldn't scramble to get away and hurt himself. They do the same if a dog is anyway reactive or just worried. Maybe suss out if the vet you're going to has the same setup?

Latatian

It might be an idea to just walk in and see the vet's first, without the dog with you. That way you can look for points where the room is narrow and you might have to walk right by another dog, side doors, how big the space is etc. Go when it's busy (if they don't mind!) and see what the atmosphere is like in the waiting area.

Wildcard7

When I go to our vet (Wicklow vet, in ..umm... Wicklow) I pop in to announce I'm here and then go back to my car to fetch my dog, and walk her around the building, trying to keep her as calm as I can (with treats) and when I get called in I take the side entrance so I can actually skip the waiting room.

This particular vet is obviously no use for you since you're not nearby. But if your situation is similar to mine, then the worst part is being in the small confined space of the waiting room with other pets coming and going, so depending on the layout of your vets building, waiting outside might help. When you're up, you can march right through, get your dog sorted, march him straight out back to the car, come in and pay. Bare minimum of stress.

Vets are used to pets being nervous - it's a stressful experience for the best of pets and owners. Just call them and they'll do their best to accomodate.

sillysmiles

Our vet doesn't do appointments as such, they are open for a few hours at particular times and you are seen on a first come first served basis. What I've done, like others have said is, leave the dog in the car and book in your slot and let the receptionist/nurse know that you'll be waiting outside.

aonb

as others have said OP, vets will accomodate you and your reactive dog. If the vet you choose does not help you out with this, then go and find another vet who will. I would phone the receptionist of your chosen practice, explain that you have this problem with your dog, and ask what their solution is. Your relationship with your vet is important - Ive got 2 vets that I go to, the receptionist/nurse at both are great - its worth developing a relationship with these people - your dog will most likely hate going to the vet without having the added trauma of your worrying about meeting/clashing with other dogs