Hi, I am about to adopt an 8 year old black lab who has just been neutered 2 days ago. I have previously had a rescue lab so hope I have some experience to help the newbie. Apparently he is great with everyone and everything, except at the vets, where he needs to be muzzled. Is this something I have to accept and should I buy his own muzzle? I'm sure a vet will be used to this and if that is the only problem, we will be very lucky. Have spent a very enjoyable afternoon browsing posts and I'm sure I will do so again very soon. Lin
Hi and welcome Lin, Hattie 8 years and our rescue Lab x Pointer Charlie 5 years. How lovely that you are adopting an older boy What's his name? I don't have any experience with this problem or using a muzzle but I think there are one or two members that have so hopefully they will be along to share their experiences and any tips they have. Enjoy the forum! Helen x
Hello Helen, Thank you for the welcome! His name is Finn and all sounds good apart from this. I wanted an older dog as I know they are harder to rehome, also being older(retired) myself, not sure I could cope with a youngster! I'm sure the vet will help, as soon as he is over the op, I hope we can bring him home for ever.x
I hope Finn recovers quickly and you can start your lives together. I look forward to hearing all about your adventures x
Hi Lin and a warm welcome from me and my two dogs So good to hear of a rehoming , I have an older rescue girl as well as my soon to be five year old lad Sam . Re the Vets , maybe Finn has had a bad experience in the past ? Could you try taking him to the Vets, not for treatment but ask the nurses if they could give him a treat , just to try and let him see that its not all doom and gloom
Hi Lin. Welcome to the forum. I'm sure Finn will love his new home with you. Don't worry about having to use a muzzle at the vet. It's a very sensible precaution and I think it would be a good idea to get your own muzzle so you can train Finn to like his muzzle. I have two five year old male labs. They too have a real problem with the vet. Unfortunately as pups they had to have a lot of veterinary treatment which made them very nervous of people not just vets but obviously the vet is the big bad monster. I decided last year that for my own peace of mind I would train them to wear a muzzle just incase. We worked on wearing the muzzle gradually with lots of treats. I use a Baskerville muzzle so the dogs can pant and be fed treats. The muzzles vets usually use hold the muzzle shut. While you can train a dog to accept and wear this kind of muzzle I think the Baskerville muzzle is much kinder and less restrictive and you can then work on desensitising the dog to the veterinary experience by treating for calm etc while you are at the vets. Eventually you may be able to get rid of the muzzle. This is a link to an article about muzzles on the Karen Pryor clicker training web site. It puts a different perspective on muzzles and explains how to train a dog to happily wear one. http://www.clickertraining.com/node/3948 When is Finn coming home ? I'm sure you will all be very happy.
Hi there Lin - a very warm welcome from me and Lilly. I think Finn is going to be a lucky boy with you by his side. jac
Hi Lin and welcome and it's great that you're adopting an older dog. At this time I would go with the advice on the muzzle and hopefully once he is nicely settled with you it may be possible to work on vet visits without following Jen's suggestion
We should get him next weekend. Thanks for your advice. It is thought he had a bad experience at the vet somewhere along the line. We will be his third home, so am determined we will be forever.
Hi Lin and welcome. I hope you enjoy having Finn and that works out as his for-ever home - can we see some photos when you've got him?
I should have added I would also follow Kate's advice on trying to take him to the vets to desensitise him. The more stress you can take out of the whole thing the better. If you can take him when it's not consulting hours the waiting room should be quiet and you can give him lots of treats and praise just for standing at the door or even just near the door then gradually go further in eventually a nurse maybe able to gently interact. Vets are usually very willing to help with this. Are you going to be using the same vet as Finn has been to upto now ? You might find if you have a different vet it makes a difference. In my experience some vets are better at dealing with nervous dogs than others. Also he may associate a bad experience with a particular vet. When my two hear the voice of the vet that treated them they start to grumble !!! She's a lovely lady looked after my old lab all his life but these two just can't forgive her for what she did to them.
Welcome to the Forum,I hope Finn settles in well with you and you all enjoy this next stage of his life together x
Welcome to the Forum,I hope Finn settles in well with you and you all enjoy this next stage of his life together x
