Evie & I :)

tigerlily46514

Honored Member
Well, i'm not 100% sure, but it sounds like Evie *might be* a "shy" dog. this is genetic, the dogs are born this way. We can make the shy dog better, or worse, but shy dogs are shy, on some level, for life.

Shy dogs dislike unknown humans touching them. period. There are MANY levels of shyness, from mild, to severe.
Most shy dogs are okay with dogs, though,:) although, some shy dogs can also develop reactions towards unknown dogs, too, BUT, that is usually easier to manage.(the shy dog's "dog" thing i mean, if she ever develops a "anti-dog" thing)

Usually, with shy dogs, it is recommended the shy dog never ever be forced to accept the unwanted human hand on them,
but, obviously, at the vets, that won't work. You may need to consider buying a muzzle, for the vets, and spend some time getting Evie desensitized to wearing the muzzle very briefly now and then, and making that moment the best moment of her day.

Also, ask vet staff, as much as possible, to not TOUCH Evie unneccessarily, and as much as possible, allow YOU to be the one holding Evie for shots or whatever.

as it is often the TOUCH that bothers the shy dogs.

GOOD LUCK!! and you are not alone, there are others facing this same struggle.

Also, here is Kikopup vidoe on shyness, but, this stuff might not be very helpful for a vet who HAS TO touch Evie.

The video below is more about getting Evie to accept YOUR touches, so it may not help so much for getting Evie to accept the vet's touches, nor the touches from an unknown human.

 

tigerlily46514

Honored Member
Sandy, maybe maybe you vet allows you to bring in Evie to do calming exercises in the vet waiting room. NOt sure, but my vet does.

I randomly stop in there, if no other dogs are in the lobby, i bring in Buddy, give him treats, get him to lie down, be calm, and then, we leave.
just to teach my dog, this place is fine, no big deal to be here, kinda thing.

sometimes i weigh him, too. They do not charge for this, and usually, mark it in his chart.

mayyyyyyyyybe your vet or staff there, can be also be used to help desensitize Evie to being there, or possibly, some ideas of Kikopup's above, could be used.(?) if staff has time.

Maybe maybe, if you have extra dollars,
you could even buy an actual appt, purely for the reason of trying some of the ideas of kikopup's to help Evie get ideas she IS safe at the vets.
 

tigerlily46514

Honored Member
Sara and Tx both have dogs with a similar aversion to being touched by unknown humans,
and they might have much better ideas, i hope they see this post.
 

tigerlily46514

Honored Member
one more thing, worth trying, it might not help, but it certainly won't hurt, is----when Evie is at the vet's, offer Evie some doggie-language calming signals, like

~slow blinks (sort of exaggerated, overly done, obvious blinks)

~deep slow sighs ( usually i do these out through my nostrils, my dog "gets it" when i do)

~a yawn.

Evie WILL know what you "said"---------->"calm down". Evie may or may not be able to fully follow your "instructions", but, it's worth a try.

and, if possible, i would not be above speed-feeding treats the entire time Evie has to TOUCHED. i'd give it a try. Just treat, treat, treat, treat, the whole moment, if you can.
 

Dogster

Honored Member
GREAT advice Tigerlily!!!! Tigerlily covered basically everything, so I have nothing to add:D, but I think the vet should help. It is partly for his/her benefit anyways....:LOL:
 

Kim Abston

Well-Known Member
Sorry this is such a slow, slow response... I've been having Parkinson's issues and then, as if that wasn't enough, Hannah has another bladder infection. She's doing better now though.

I don't know if this will be ANY help at ALL... but, whenever I get a new puppy, one of the first things I teach them is "settle." I pick them up and hold them in my arms and gently tell them "settle" and hold them in my arms no matter how they struggle--until the instant they stop resisting... then, I immediately give them the "all done" and let them go. I gradually hold them for longer and longer and they learn that, if I pick them up and say "settle," their job is to stop struggling and just relax until I put them down again. It helps a great deal when I take them to the vet. HOWEVER, I get that this approach may not be the LEAST BIT feasible with a big dog. But I'm thinking it may be possible to modify the approach so that it does work with a bigger breed of dog? Sorry if it's not much help. :unsure:
 

Amateur

Experienced Member
I did the same thing with my psychotic BC puppy Zoe.
She just didn't stop moving or nipping and hated being held.
I called it "puppy hugs" and would place her in my lap while I was cross legged and held her til she settled and sometimes longer so I could catch a 60 sec nap. I hadn't done it in a long time, but recently when she was all wired up I said puppy Hug ! and she crawled into my lap and settled. I wonder if it would work for someone else too ?
She is almost 1.5 years and still wired.
 

Amateur

Experienced Member
Sigh. Evie was that insistant on trying to bite the vet and vet nurse today when she went for her last immunisation that we had to muzzle her. She just can't understand why she should let complete strangers touch her. She doesnt mind them being near her, so long as they dont touch her, which tends to be a bit of a problem when at a vet..... She was that upset by the while thing that her tail had gone right up between her backlegs and was sitting flat against her belly :(
Although I dont think my Zoe had a prob at the vet - I have a suggestion for you. I filled a kong with mashed banana ( absolute favourite ) and peanut butter and kibble and froze it (had the pacifier kong so it was easy to hold) While the vet was examining her she was busy at the kong. Works too if you have a really friendly dog that just wants to play with the vet so much she can't get the exam done.

Takes a long time to eat so it lasted the whole vet visit just about, the Vet and tech really liked the idea too, said it helped a lot.

Also by bringing your own treats your dog wont throw up in the car afterwards due to a different food reaction ( that happened the first visit -- gross)
 
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