For the past few weeks I’ve been taking Wispa to desensitisation sessions at our vets. Even though she had been to puppy parties there as a puppy, she had become increasingly nervous, barking in the waiting room, shedding hair everywhere, clamping her tail firmly between her legs and needing to be muzzled when being examined (although she’s never done anything nasty). We see the same nurse each week for about 45 minutes, in the waiting room and in a consulting room, then in the waiting room again. One of the vets also now joins in the session for about 10 minutes too and occasionally another nurse. In the consulting room Wispa’s off her lead and able to sniff around finding treats or toys. They take things very gently with her, getting her to sit for a treat, give her paw, lie down, gradually introducing touching her ears, face, paws, etc, then including the stethoscope, clippers, etc - initially just putting them on the floor for her to sniff, then gently touching her with them. The vet delayed giving Wispa her booster for a few weeks until he thought she was relaxed enough to cope. It was then the nurse who did the full body examination and then the injection, supervised by the vet, as he thought Wispa and the nurse had built up a good relationship. Since then, the vet has also been able to begin to examine her too. It’s not a complete success yet, but it’s made a huge difference. Wispa no longer barks in the car park as we approach the doors, but she’s definitely more settled in the waiting room after we’ve been in the consulting room rather than before. She doesn’t shed hair any more or clamp her tail, but she still barks when she first sees the nurse and is particularly wary of doors opening. All this has been free of charge, although I pay a monthly rate for ‘free’ routine treatment, discount off food, etc, and now all consultations too. I can’t praise the practice highly enough for their care and concern, wanting to help Wispa overcome her fears, rather than just muzzling her or giving her some calming down tablets. They’re being careful to plan the sessions and take things steadily so that she doesn’t have a set-back. Obviously it’s much more pleasant for the staff if she’s co-operative rather than scared, but their concern is very much for Wispa too. I wish more vets would consider the benefits of this approach.
I spent months and months popping into the Vets on a weekly basis after Harley had an emergency spay at 1 years old. Prior to this she loved going there. We started just going in, saying hi to the receptionists and leaving. We then would go in,say hi and weigh her. After a month or two of this we would then hang around in the waiting room, rewarding for calm behaviour. Next was just popping into the consulting rooms and eventually a vet would pop in, say hi, fuss Harley and give a treat then we would leave. My Vets were amazing and encouraged me to keep doing this which we still do a few times a month. Harley still isn’t 100% happy but is no longer hiding in the corner, licking her lips and panting. She lets them examine her most of the time without her getting too stressed. It does take dedication and a nice vet, but so worth it.
