Canine Sports Medicine Part 5: Bad Dogs, Bad Medicine

While this article was originally written in the context of working and sporting dogs, it does apply to all dogs and we hope that it can help every dog to have a better experience and get higher quality medical care.

Visits to the vet can be stressful but they don’t have to be! Couple this with the stress and anxiety you are feeling during the entire process and we now have the perfect storm brewing. Sadly, this scenario is very common amongst all dogs, but as highly trained, intelligent, and powerful animals, Canine Athletes have the potential to make this situation particularly dangerous for all involved. 

When dogs have not been socialized with strangers, conditioned to relax in new environments, or taught to allow touching of their body, we’re going to have a bad time at the vet.

What Constitutes a “Bad Dog”?

• Inability to sit, lay down, or stay on command

• Growling

• Barking, whining, or howling

• Biting

• Jumping

• Refusing to be leash walked by a person other than their owner

• Refusing to be touched by a person other than their owner

• Refusing to be picked up by a person other than their owner

• Inability to rest quietly in a kennel

• Leash chewing

• Reactivity towards other animals

How These Behaviors Affect Vet Visits

When a patient comes in that is growling, lunging, barking, or trying to bite at the veterinary staff, the veterinary team is now tasked with giving that dog the best examination, diagnostics, and treatments possible while making sure that they, the client, and the patient don’t get hurt.

Great example of a very good pupper calmly allowing close inspection of their feet!

That’s a lot of pressure! An injured veterinary professional means many patients not getting the care they need or potentially the end of that veterinary professional’s career. All veterinary professionals are dedicated to the health and safety of their patients and clients, so if a client or patient has been injured on their watch, it is devastating for all involved.

If the veterinary team cannot safely approach or touch a dog without risking bodily injury, how are they supposed to provide good medical care?

Examples include:

• If the veterinary team cannot touch your dog’s face, they cannot examine or treat your dog’s ears, eyes, nose, or teeth.

• If your dog cannot lay down and stay on command, performing radiographs will be significantly more difficult and potentially dangerous. If your dog is flailing or trying to bite, the radiographs may need to be reshot in order to get a diagnostic image, thus exposing your dog and the technicians to additional radiation.

• If your dog bites when its feet are touched, how will a veterinary team help them with a broken nail or avulsed paw pad? 

• If your dog will not cooperate for a blood draw, the results of that bloodwork may be inaccurate due to poor sample quality or stress-related changes in the body.

Dogs who can calmly and comfortably participate in their vet visit will get a more detailed examination, receive higher quality treatment, and heal better than a dog that cannot. When a dog cannot be handled safely, their exam and treatment is often rushed and/or shortened, skipping over things that have to be assumed to be okay and focusing only on the primary reason for the visit.

For the Canine Athlete, this could mean that a career-ending condition isn’t diagnosed until it’s too late!

It should be noted that friendly but overly excited dogs can also experience barriers to care. If they can't sit still long enough for examination and treatment, their quality of care will suffer the same limitations as a dog that bites.

How Do These Behaviors Affect CROC Visits?

Bad behavior isn't limited to biting. This cutie pie is singing the song of his people while we're trying to treat his pain. His inability to calmly receive treatment ultimately reduces how much benefit he gets out of therapy.

When it comes to your Canine Athlete’s visit with the CROC Team, the ability to run our hands over all areas of the body is integral to maximizing their evaluation and follow-up sessions.

Palpation is the most effective examination tool we have as professionals, especially for dogs with thick coats. We are frequently feeling all over every patient’s body to assess for any subtle changes because reduced range of motion, swelling, or muscle atrophy can be identified before a patient shows any obvious limping or pain.

Please note: Limping IS a sign of pain! Do not ignore this crucial signal that your dog needs help!

If a patient will not allow us to palpate a relaxed muscle, that will significantly reduce our ability to evaluate and treat that patient. In our earlier article, Canine Sports Medicine Part 1: Peak Performance & Injury Prevention, we discuss how vital massage and stretching is to restore lost range of motion and alleviate pain. If your dog is unhandleable or cannot relax and allow gentle touching, they are limiting the healing benefits of our touch.

The CROC Team works with some of the most conditioned and capable Canine Athletes around and it is because those patients are happy to cooperate with us. Without their voluntary participation, our efforts to repair and recondition an injured working or sporting dog is severely inhibited.

Make Vet Visits Easy

Beginning as early in life as possible, your dog needs to be taught to tolerate handling and be comfortable around new people and situations.

Anyone should be able to touch any part of your dog’s body, especially their mouth, eyes, ears, and paws.

Reina might look like a scary Malinois, but she is an excellent patient and allows us to do whatever we need to help as long as she also gets pets.

Practicing nail trims early on will make it easier to maintain your dog’s feet and help prevent torn or broken nails. Teach your dog to walk on a leash, sit, lay down, and stay regardless of who is handling them. You should be able to hand over the leash to a new person and know that your dog’s behavior will remain consistent. Even if you do not plan to use a crate at home, crate training is still super important! Your dog is likely to find themselves in a kennel at some point in their lives, so conditioning for this situation at a young age means it won’t be a big deal later.

Train your dog to calmly ignore other dogs walking by rather than getting excited or aggressive.

Vet visit stress can begin as soon as you get in the car, so practice loading your dog in the car, making sure that it’s a positive experience and that they go on car rides to go to many places, not just vet visits. Crates can be particularly helpful here since they give your dog their own comfy place to be in while preventing them from jumping all over the car or potentially interfering with your driving. Using a crate in the car can even save a dog’s life in the event of a car accident! If your dog gets car sick, ask your veterinarian about medications to help prevent nausea.

If your dog only goes to the vet for vaccines, they learn that they get poked by needles every time they go there. Many veterinary hospitals are embracing “fear-free” techniques and suggest “happy visits”, where your dog visits the clinic to get a treat and some snuggles, then goes home. This exposure to the veterinary clinic and the people in it helps your dog remain calm and comfortable when visiting the clinic. If there is a special treat that your dog loves, try to reserve it specifically for important situations like vet visits so that you can provide extra motivation to be on their best behavior.

Helping Adult Dogs with Fear Aggression & Anxiety

It can be more difficult for adult dogs to create positive associations with vet visits, but it’s not impossible and there are other tools to make things safer for everyone. You should still be working on calm, cooperative behavior and socializing regardless of your dog’s age, but anti-anxiety or sedating medications can make a world of difference for fearful or aggressive dogs. It can take some trial and error to find the right medication(s) and administration methods, but once you do, these medications can help reduce those feelings of fear and stress, thus resulting in a better, more willing patient that can be examined more closely and ultimately culminating in higher quality care. Some dogs do best with medications that start the day before a vet visit, while others benefit from injectable sedatives immediately upon arrival at the clinic. Oral medications are generally preferred over injectables so that the patient can be aware of their experience without feeling so afraid and because it can be risky to give injectable sedatives to a patient with an unknown medical status.

For safety reasons, muzzles are often required but trying to put a muzzle on a dog that wants to bite you is dangerous and that dog is likely to be terrified, further reinforcing the idea that going to the vet is bad.

But don’t let the negative stigma dissuade you! When introduced correctly, a muzzle can be a huge asset and make calmer, safer interactions possible. There are many types of muzzles so you will need to research which type and size would be best for your dog, with a wider variety of options available online than in your typical pet store. Many muzzles, if correctly fitted, allow the dog to pant and drink water while wearing them.

Nemo's muzzle allowed us to start treatment and once he learned that we're there to help him feel better and NOT to hurt him, he was much more tolerant of therapy!

The key to success is to train your dog to willingly wear the muzzle by creating a positive association and having them wear it in non-stressful situations.

It’s often easiest to start by feeding high reward treats from within the muzzle (as if the muzzle was a cup) and slowly working towards putting the muzzle over the nose for a few seconds followed by a treat, and eventually getting to the point where your dog will wear the muzzle just as comfortably as a collar or harness. Once your dog is comfortable wearing the muzzle during their usual day to day activities, you can also put it on them before you step foot into the veterinary clinic.

Set Your Dog Up for Success!

Being a tough, strong, impressive specimen of athleticism does not mean that your Canine Athlete should be a scared, reactive, or angry dog. Canine Athletes have so much time and effort invested in them to perform at their best, it behooves you both to ensure that they get the very best medical care possible so that they can continue their work or sport.

Failure to thoroughly train and socialize your dog will negatively impact the quality of their medical care and life experiences for you both.