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Vet Visits can be so daunting and traumatic for you, your pet, and even the staff. The building is filled with so many different smells, other dogs can feel threatening to your fur baby, and they take you into this small room and just start poking and prodding your dog. Why would Fluffy be excited to go to this strange place?

Just remember that dogs use their noses to explore everything and their sense of smell can be 10,000 to 100,000 times stronger than ours. When you walk into a new place and it smells different, Your dog is smelling it way before you and it is so much stronger. That can be very overwhelming and scary even. They are taking in the smells of the 10 other dogs in the waiting room, the cats, possibly some guinea pigs, the blowout that just happened in room 1 and even all the different human smells coming from the treatment area. Your dog will definitely not be looking forward to the next car ride or vet visit. 

In this post, I will share 7 tips with you pet pawrents that want to do everything to take care of their fur pups, and want to make vet visits as stress free as possible. There are extra measures that you can take, however, these 7 have stuck out to me from seeing pet parents take initiative before and during the vet visit. 

#1 Find a Good Veterinarian

Just like when you go to a doctor and someone that is stand offish, makes you feel rushed, or doesn’t answer your questions, can make you untrusting of that doctor. You are your dog’s advocate. This is not saying that vet’s that have poor bedside manner, aren’t great, but in the vet field, it takes a certain type of human to excel at their job. Patience is key. 

Find a doctor that takes the time to let your dog get comfortable with them before jumping in. Some amazing vets that I have worked for turn this into multi tasking. They will start loving on your pup as they ask you questions. They may pick your dog up or sit on the floor if they are bigger and just pet Fluffy, while asking if you have any concerns. This gives your dog the opportunity to get used to the new person in the room. 

Once Fluffy is more calm, they will continue the talk while gently checking feet, ears, back end, belly, all while continuing the affection. With this, Fluffy just thinks they are getting love and affection. Once it comes to the hard stuff like, vaccines, bloodwork or stool samples, they will be more relaxed. Even at this point, the tech should have skills to make this part of the visit less stressful as well.

The vet and the tech are a huge part of making your dog’s visit less stressful. So find a vet that’s willing to slow down and take the time to ensure your dog and you feel comfortable. And just remember, if the vet asks to take your baby to the treatment area, it’s not because we are going to hurt them. A lot of times, it’s because the dog will calm down once mom or dad aren’t in the picture and we can get what we need much faster. If you aren’t ok with that, though, say so. That’s ok. Just understand that Fluffy can feel your emotions and if you are anxious they probably will be as well. 

#2 Try Not to Stress the Vet Visit

Again, if you stress, your pet will stress. Your dog can pick up on your emotions and a lot of times, they look to you to determine how they should act in certain situations. 

Stay confident and just lead them into the clinic. If you know your dog tends to get stressed out, look for an area of the lobby that is less populated. You can even stay outside a lot of times and request the staff come out to get you when they are ready for you. In the room if you are stressed, you can always request the staff take your dog to the treatment area or that you step out so the employees can get what they need quicker. Don’t be worried about verbalizing what works best for you and your pet. 

#3 Keep Your Dog on a Short Leash

I would not have your dog on a leash longer than six feet when going to the vet. This is to help keep them closer to you but also for their safety and other pet’s safety. Some dogs can be reactive in more stressful situations. Getting into a fight with another pet at the clinic would definitely make future vet visits more stressful.

This may upset some people, but I would not use a retractable leash, period, but I definitely wouldn’t bring retractable leashes to the vet. Even if you intend to keep them locked. They can unlock if pulled too hard, and this is a recipe for disaster. You also have to remember that other pet parents are trying to make their pet’s visit as stress-free as possible, and having Fluffy invade their personal space can make them more stressed as well. 

Opt for a shorter leash to keep Fluffy close by and prevent a possible disaster at the clinic. I like matching collars and leashes like this one. I also keep this slip leash on hand because I don’t leave my girl’s collars on for safety reasons, so I lose them.

#4 Bring Treats to Your Vet Appointment

This is a good one for food motivated dogs. I have a little pouch that I use that hooks to my waist band. When my dogs know I have it, they don’t focus on anything else but me. While we wait in the lobby, I randomly give them commands so that I keep their attention, but I also give them treats when they remain calm and aren’t trying to explore everything around them. 

Having your dog’s favorite treat can help when getting vaccines as well. I will get a handful and make a fist and hold it up to my pup’s nose while they are being poked and prodded so that they have something to focus on. I don’t actually give all the treats in my hand until after the doctor and tech are completely done. I will let them do a digging action with their nose to try and get it.  This also makes it so that I am right there with them, which helps them feel safer as well. 

This treat bag is one of my favorites because it has a drawstring, clips easily to my waistband, and stays securely on my waistband.

#5 Train Your Dog Basic Commands

When you can train your dog, your vet visits will go more smoothly. Basic commands include sit, stay and lay down. These are all going to help your dog to have a better visit at the vet. There are 3 more commands I think help so much and they include side, watch me and heel. 

Above teaching your dog manners, teaching them basic commands builds a bond with them and shows them who they can trust. They see you as a safe place when you set boundaries and give them expectations. Kind of like toddlers, they do better with structure. Training them also helps the staff if you ever have to leave your furbaby with the veterinarian for a procedure. 

#6 Socialize your dog

Socializing begins from the time you bring them home as a puppy. If you rescue your dog and they are kind of already set in their adult ways, you can still socialize, it may take more time if your pup is more shy. 

Veterinarians recommend introducing your dog to 7 new people a day for proper socialization. This can be tough, because they also tell you not to take your dog for walks, grooming, dog parks, etc until they are fully vaccinated. But you do have some options within these limitations. Friends, family and even neighbors are a great start. Have them give them treats and love on them. 

The veterinarian is a great place as well. It can also be great therapy for the techs to love and cuddle a healthy puppy. Make sure to check with your vet clinic, but most won’t mind. During slow times, usually during lunch, take your baby to the clinic when it is not for an actual appointment. Let the staff up front love on them, give them treats and then see if they can take your puppy to treatment to let the techs, doctors and kennel staff get in on the puppy cuddles. This helps tremendously for socialization, but it also shows your puppy that we don’t just go to the vet to get poked and prodded. This is a great time to put them on the scale as well, as that can be a scary part of the vet’s office for dogs. 

Make sure to have lots of treats and provide tons of positive reinforcement during the process to help your fur baby understand that the vet is a safe place to be. 

#7 Desensitize Your Dog to Touch

What happens in the room when you go to the vet clinic? Your dog gets a nose to tail exam and usually gets poked with some sort of needle. You usually take this opportunity to request a nail trim, have his ears cleaned and express anal glands, right? All of that requires lots of touching. How would it make you feel if someone came up to you and just started touching you in a lot of places all at once? It would be very overwhelming. 

Here is where desensitizing comes into play. This also starts from when your dog is a puppy but can still be taught to adult dogs. It will take more time, especially if you have a dog that has been abused and some of these things are triggers to act out. If you work with your dog to show them these things aren’t scary, they will have much smoother vet visits. 

I bet you’re wondering how exactly do I desensitize my puppy. It’s all about touching them all over. Your puppy trusts you and loves you, so when you stick your fingers in his ears, he is less likely to freak out like he would at the vet. So you basically start from the head and work your way down. In my experience, the best time to do this is when your puppy is laying with you after a hard play session. Start by rubbing on his head and then maybe stick your fingers in his ears quickly. If he doesn’t react, tell him good job. Next move to his neck area and scratch around his snout, neck and behind his ears, then take your index finger and just quickly stick it in his mouth and tub his upper gums. Again, if he does not react, offer a treat or job well done. 

Next give him really good belly rubs, cause what dog doesn’t love a good belly rub. Then we move onto the feet. I usually work my way down the legs and give a little massage and then once you get to the cute little toe beans, rub in between each one. Then quickly just lift up his tail and drop it back down.

This will eventually graduate to you doing each of these longer while your dog sits still. You want to get to the point where you can stick your fingers in their ear, clean the ears out, open your dog’s jaw with your hand and rub all around in their mouth, hold their paws without them pulling away and doing nail trims. 

This is where the side command comes in handy. It is exactly how it sounds. You put your dog into a lay down on their side. I taught my girl’s this from the lay down position. This allows them to be in a position where you can access all four feet, tummy mouth and ears without moving them into different positions. This is also a great position to just give them a general look over for any abnormalities. Desensitizing your puppy helps you and it also helps the veterinarian and technician get their job done without stressing them out.  

There you have it. These are my top 7 tips for making your puppy’s first and all future visits a happy experience.