Nope, not a good, heart racing kind of workout but a major fight with Oscar type workout. I feel so bad for that dog with his anxiety issues. He has to be at the vet this morning at 8:30, which means he got a tranquilizer at 6 a.m. I broke it in half, put a half in a piece of cheese, got that down him. I only had one bloody spot. Got the second half down him, two more nips on my hand but it’s down him. Took Cooper outside. Fed him. Took Oscar outside. Did not feed him because the vet wants him to have an empty stomach while the tranquilizer works.
Put them both in the crate while I did a few things. Oscar puked in the crate. Got him out to clean him up, and put a clean sheet in the crate. He puked again. All over me. Put him back in the crate, changed my clothes, could still smell it so I took a shower and put on a third set of clothes . . all before 7 a.m.
I will take a sheet AND a towel in the car. Likely Oscar will puke in the car and I’ll still go in smelling like . . well, you know . . you don’t have to have me spell it out!
There are lots worse things that could happen but why can’t we just get in the car, drive to the vet, get Oscar’s ears checked, come home and take a nap . . all without blood, puke, an extra load of clothes to wash?
The really sad thing is that he is not puking because of the pill . . he’s puking because he’s so high strung that anything out of the ordinary sends him over the edge. This morning, our routine has been totally different and he cannot handle that!
The good news is the vet’s office is fairly close so we don’t have to be in the car long. I get an early appointment so we shouldn’t have to wait long. The bad news is we have to go back to the vet in April for his annual visit. Poor, poor Oscar!
If anyone has any suggestions for dealing with Oscar, I would be so very happy to hear them.
I’m so glad we ended up with him. There are a lot of people, due to no fault of their own, would not have kept a dog like Oscar. On the other hand, maybe if he was with a family who did things differently and every day wasn’t exactly the same, maybe he would be better acclimated to change and one little thing would not send him into a tailspin.
Suzanne Golden says
Could you check with vet to see if they do home visits. I am doing that with my cat, less traumatized.
judy.blog@gmail.com says
I think a stranger coming into the house would actually be worse for Oscar. Cooper would love it but Oscar is very protective of home. But, our vet does not do home visits. There is a vet in town who does but I don’t think that would help with him.
Angie says
We had a dog once that every time he got in the car, he knew he was going to vet for checkups or something and would cry and pace the whole drive to there. The suggestion was made to take him for a ride, whether it was done the block or just a short ride that it might help with his anxiety. This wasn’t a little dog but a big Rottweiler.m
Rosalie in Texas says
You might try cbd drops. I got some and used them with one of my rescues. I wasn’t consistent in trying to find the right dose but might mellow him a bit.
judy.blog@gmail.com says
We’ve tried those. I originally got them hoping I could use those to calm him down so I could cut his nails but they never helped. I suffered through cutting one nail per night when he was very tired and then giving him a “high value treat”, which is one chunk of T/D dental dog food. Now, he will remind me each night if I haven’t cut the one nail so he can have his treat. I’m going to take some of those treats with me to the vet when we go back and try letting them give him one and seeing if that will work but since we often don’t go to the vet more than twice a year, I”m not hopeful.
Sherry Bobak says
My dog takes her pill with peanut butter. Just a little bit on a spoon and she swallows it in one bite. She loves peanut butter!
judy.blog@gmail.com says
Cooper will too but Oscar will not eat peanut butter.
JustGail says
Do you take him anywhere that’s not the vet? If not, take him for random car rides, get pup cups, wait on the bench or walk around with him outside stores while you or Vince go inside. Being exposed to other dogs and people in general would be good for him. He doesn’t have to *play* with them, but it would be good to expand his world. If I knew getting in the car only meant being poked and prodded at a doctor appointment, I’d be cranky too.
Is there a liquid form of the tranquilizer? It might be easier to give that than shoving a pill in. You could also load the syringe with something tasty like chicken broth and give that to him so he doesn’t associate the syringe with vet visits. I’d say do similar with pills, but what to use in place of pills??? not to mention the pain of his teeth while trying to train him!
judy.blog@gmail.com says
We do take him for rides – at least once a week when we take a car to get gas. Short trips. Every now and then we’ll drive up to Chad’s to drop something off or pick something up where we don’t stay but for a minute and we take them then. In the spring and summer, we will go walk at a park in town and we take them with us so they can walk also.
No liquid for the tranquilizer but I actually have an easier time getting a pill down him than I do liquid. He rarely gets meds and I give him a piece of cheese several times a week without a pill so he will gobble it down. When I give him the tranquilizer, he will take it the first time usually but then I think he realizes something is up so I can’t get him to take a second pill in just a short time span.