With my anxiety dog, I schedule my appoinments for first or last and go inside first without her to make sure there are no other dogs (or small children) in the waiting room. I've even waited in the car and had them wave to us when they were ready so we could go straight into the exam room. I also ask if the coast is clear before we leave.

Honestly, they should have been more help to you, knowing the history. Maybe it's time for another vet, especially since they don't want to give you the medication that helps?

 

This is good advice. I've seen this done in my vet's office. The person will check-in with the reception desk without their dog or cat then when the tech is ready for them, they go out to the car and bring their dog or cat directly in to the examining room. No waiting in the waiting room. This can lessen any anxiety the dog or cat may feel with a variety of other nervous animals waiting together. There can be a lot of nervous energy in the waiting room which we people might not be as aware of.

Keeping up with your training is great and may desensitize Gus in time.

I agree that this should be normal protocol at a vet's office if needed. No big deal and no need for you to be embarrassed. You're working on the problem and this is a work in progress. I'm sympathetic. I had a German Shepherd who was on Prozac and it helped. Good luck and keep at that training.

 

Why didn't think they the prozac was good long term? My understanding is that it's one of the safest/cheapest/ones we know the -most- about for long term use?

Like already said - use caution, get a helper and/or be asking the staff to assist you with coming and going. My current 3 are friendly but I do that because I'm very, very afraid of running into unfriendly dogs.

During your BAT sessions can you get the helper dog to be gradually more exciting and eventually fake 'aggression' (bouncing and barking, playing, etc)? Or are those variations easy for your dog right now?

 

I'm so sorry your poor Gus got attacked! My oldest golden was also attacked by a pit bull 7-8 years ago (and I haven't trusted pit bulls since!). We were camping & I was out on the trails riding my horse, but my mom was taking Autumn for a walk around the campground; neither mom nor Autumn saw it coming, but a pit came out of nowhere and grabbed Autumn's neck. The presumed owner (who claimed to be a "friend of the owner") pulled the pit off Autumn and tied it up (which it should've been tied anyway-there are leash rules at campgrounds!) Later my dad went looking for the pit to talk to the owner (aka chew them out for having an aggressive dog off leash at a place with lots of kids and other dogs!) and couldn't find it. Its a traumatizing experience (for both you and the dog!) Autumn was thankfully un-hurt. She was wearing a bandanna and we feel that helped protect her. I don't have any advice for you about the aggression. Autumn is a very submissive dog and will just roll over and play dead if a dog acts aggressively towards her. It seems like what you have been doing is good. Give Gus lots of opportunities to meet with extremely non-aggressive dogs and have good experiences with other dogs and maybe he'll let his defenses down some? Honestly, I can't say I blame him for having his guard up after an experience like that! It might just take a long time for him to feel secure around other dogs again. Poor Gus!

 

I would suggest having your dog wait in the car before the exam as suggested and also when your dog's exam is complete, putting your dog on a down stay towards the back of the exam room, walking out the door and checking your exit route. Ask for assistance if any dogs are too close to your exit path or for a vet tech to walk beside you between you & the other dogs or between your dog and the other dogs.

Entering and exiting can be nerve wracking and I think most vets and tech would prefer to run interference than to have a potential dog fight.

Another thing to maybe practice is cupping your dogs' snout in an upward position while gently stroking down the side his face/snout; your thumb is on one side of the snout while your stroking fingers ate on the outside of the snout - that way his focus can be on you while you walk through the waiting room together (this does require practice before being used so your dog raises his head/snout into your hand). This is commonly used at agility and obedience trials to move your dog among crowded conditions.

 

Thanks to everyone who wrote. Gus is a very healthy dog and so far has only visited the vet once a year for his annual checkup, so I didn't really know what to expect (last year there were no other dogs in the lobby). I think I will continue to work BAT training with him, and just do as others suggested and schedule his appointments when not so many dogs are likely to be around (there were 6 dogs in the lobby yesterday).

 

I can see why you would be disappointed. Dog aggression is no fun. There are some dogs that Mercy decides to growl at. When I pull on her easy harness to tell her it's time to go while she sniffs another dog, she growls at the dog. It's strange, but I think Mercy feels my fear of her getting into trouble. My last dog, not a Golden, was even worse (He was attacked by a Pitt Bull at age one.) The fact that your dog lunges at a distance is scary. Mercy also has a low thyroid. Good luck with Gus.

 

Can certainly empathize with you, having a reactive dog can get a bit 'rough' at times. Kudos to you for continuing to commit to working with him. Vet visits are high anxiety events for dogs, without the added stress of encountering other dogs.
Suggest the book: Feisty Fido: Help for the Leash-Reactive Dog by Patricia B. McConnell. It provides a little different perspective and protocols for working with a reactive dog than the BAT program, and may be helpful to you.

 

Something I forgot to mention...once my reactive dog began displaying the behavior, I started scheduling vet visits where we would walk in, have fabulous treats, say hi to the vet, and go home. We did this once a month for six months and my vet never even charged us for the visits because she knew what we were trying to accomplish.

It still serves us well nine years later. My dog can walk in, ignore others in the waiting room, get weighed, go through an exam and a blood draw without reacting. She's plenty stressed, but it's possible, which it would not have been otherwise.

 

Charliethree -- thanks for the advice. I'm beginning to lose confidence in BAT training, to tell you the truth. Gus quickly becomes calm in training with the various helper dogs, but then when he is surprised by a strange new dog at close quarters (as happened at the vet's office) he's just as reactive as ever. I have Patricia McConnell's book and am thinking it would be helpful to find a trainer who uses her methods.

 

A resource that may be of interest to you is: Fearfuldogs.com, there is also a Facebook group/page by the same name both run by Debbie Jacobs.

I understand what you are saying - in class/controlled situations - he does really well, in real life he falls apart. Focus on teaching and rewarding him for what you want him TO DO, when he sees another dog, help him learn that he can trust you to keep him safe, and help him to feel safe when he is with you.

It can get better, with appropriate training, and it could well be that BAT is not the right approach for your dog.