Does your dog get very excited to go to new places? Sometimes, what may look like excitement may be partly stress or anxiety.
Pulling to get in through the door, can’t sit still, wanting to greet everyone, can’t listen to any known cues such as sit or touch, ignoring treats. Even high value, right on the nose. Sound familiar? Often your dog may jump up on you – and what may seem annoying can be your dog asking for assistance: ‘help me! I’m nervous and not sure what I’m doing here’.
So how do we help them calm down and become more settled?
- Find a vet who will take the time! Even if it takes multiple ‘happy’ visits.
- Provide support – you can’t reinforce stress/anxiety by talking and touching them if they like or are asking for this.
- Take it slowly. If at the vets for a wellness check, hands on can be done in a general sense at first (checking weight, maybe ears) but your vet can tell a lot just by an initial observation.
- If your dog won’t take treats, try dropping them on the floor for them to find (sniffing can also be self-soothing).
- Be calm and patient, avoid raising your voice.
If you take some time, a lot of dogs will start to settle after about 10-15 minutes. You will see movements slow down, less frantic behaviours, and maybe less jumping up.
Then (and only then) try asking for a well-known behaviour – ‘touch’ (nose target to hand) is a great one to use. Sit or down is difficult – 1 It requires the dog to sit still, and 2 the floor is slippery! Touch works well. Other simple tricks are ideal – middle, shake paw, spin or turn are good examples.
So now the vet may be able to do more ‘invasive’ checks – teeth, maybe temperature.
Other things that will help your dog to be calmer when going to the vet:
- If other dogs cause excitement/fear, go ahead into the waiting room first – leave your dog in the car (for just a minute) and check if it’s clear to bring your dog in. Remember that dogs may be coming to see the vet if they are unwell, so they don’t need other dogs in their face and they don’t need to say hello.
- Take high value treats, lick mats, yoghurt/baby food pouches are great for quick and easy reinforcement and creating good associations.
- Take your dogs mat if they know how to settle on a mat. It’s a familiar item and helps with the slippery floors.
- Know when to NOT do a procedure or check. Unless it’s urgent, opt out if it’s too stressful. Try again next time!
- Plan your dog’s exit – check if other dogs are in the waiting room, ask if you can put your dog in the car then come back to pay, rather than struggle to hold your dog while you pay.
While it can seem a bit chaotic, planning your next vet visit and allowing extra time will help to build up trust and lead to less stressful visits over time!😊