[ladyshadowhollyjc]

Gus had his second vet check up today. He didn't want to walk through the door (understandable) but once inside he relaxed a lot and seemed happy. When we got into the exam room he did ok, and was relaxed enough on the exam table to sit when I asked him and take treats.

In general, he did great EXCEPT when they had to restrain him to take a fecal sample. He growled a little when they put their arms around him before they even took the sample. He struggled a bit when they actually had to get the sample but as soon as they let go of him he relaxed again and took treats from them.

I can totally understand why he was growling (strange place, super uncomfortable stuff going on) and he didn't snap at them or try to bite at all. It does worry me a little though because we suspect he will be a pretty large dog so it would really be ideal for him to accept restraint as much as possible.

I have been working with him getting him used to being touched all over (basically I give him super yummy stuff while I touch his feet, nails, ears, etc.) and as long as food is involved he rarely seems to even notice I'm even touching him. I plan to keep this up, but is there anything else I can do to help him? Definitely want to keep vet visits positive with lots of his favorite treats too.

He is really doing good otherwise and has already made a ton of progress in the two weeks we have had him. I am actually looking into some puppy classes for him, but I'm having a hard time finding a puppy class outside of Petco/Petsmart.

 

[ladyshadowhollyjc]

Yeah, getting him used to a muzzle is definitely a good idea.

He greeted the other people in the lobby and such really well. He did well for the whole exam and when the vet was touching him all over, even when she was looking at his back end but he wasn't being held by anyone during this, it was just him and the vet. This was also after they had gotten the fecal from him so it seems like it wasn't being handled by stranger so much that really freaked him out, it was the restraint part. The way they restrained him was very similar to someone hugging him and I can really see why he would want to tell them to back off because dogs don't like hugs.

I did read something on a website that had a bit from Ian Dunbar where he talks about getting puppies used to being handled and how to teach them to accept restraint and hugs. It said that if the puppy doesn't accept restraint/hugs after a day that this was an emergency situation and to call a trainer immediately. I'm not really sure how I feel about this because we never expect puppies to have anything down in just a day so how can we expect them to accept something very uncomfortable and unnatural for them in just a day? I'm far from am expert but that doesn't make much sense to me.