My dog, Diego, realllly does not enjoy going to the vet. He tries to hide behind the chairs, under the chairs, or stands by the door hoping to get out. I know I am supposed to ignore him, but it gets a little embarrassing. He's even peed on the floor, and pants heavily. Every time I've taken him to the vet it's usually something like a hot spot, or ear infection. He also hates his ears cleaned, so do you think he's associated the vet with these things? The reason I'm asking is I've got an appointment coming up.

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Ky had a really scary time at the vet this year so she was afraid to go back. What we did, we live very close so everyday on our walks we would walk into the vet stop at the desk for a treat and leave immediately.
Now she's back to thinking of the vet as a good place. If you're not close enough to walk to it maybe you could take a ride a couple times and try it.
Good luck.

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I was going to suggest that you talk to the vet and ask if you can visit from time to time and they treat your dog, so that you dog learns to associate good things with the vet as well.

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Yep the only to get them past their fear is to go there often for fun stuff. I had one dog that hated the vets and I took him in just to weigh him walk around then leave. I dont let people treat my dogs so no I did let them treat him. I would do this everytime I went to town sometime if I was in town for a few hrs I would go twice.

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U-CH, CGC, TDI Top Flights Reap What You Sow"BaWaaJige"

We live about 1/2 mile from our vet's office, so we stop by every month or so to weigh him. The staff always is friendly to him, so he enjoys being there. When we first got him, he had a couple of issues the first month or so (ear infection and hot spot) so we would go to the vet then go for a walk in the park. We wanted to be sure he didn't develop a fear of getting in the car, but rather a good association. We did the same thing when we had to do the drops in his ear. First we'd do the drops, then go for a walk. Instead of fearing the drops, he learned that they led to good walks.

Great advice, I'll try this with him. Thanks everyone, I think it will definitely help.

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Tucker started hating the vets office after he got neutered. I've been doing just what Bentleysmom is doing--stopping off for treats, taking him when the other dogs go in and he's not the focus of attention, etc. it's a de-sensitization process.

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Kathleen, mom to one human, age 17, three canines, and a bunch of fish.