Dog Talk - It Takes All Kinds!

This morning started off happier than usual! My first appointment this morning involved an overly excited yellow lab that couldn’t contain her excitement at coming to the vet. She bounced her way from the front door over to me as I was standing at the exam room entrance and threw her paws onto my waist tail wagging the whole time.  We often say that nothing gets a retriever down, not even coming to the vet for vaccines. Retrievers think the whole world is a fun filled circus with treats to be had around every corner. But not all patients feel this way.

The complete opposite is the little white Maltese being cradled firmly in his owners arms. The moment “Mom” puts him down on the exam table a tremor runs through him so hard the table shakes. If he is a shedding breed a slow drizzle of hair starts to form around his body leaving evidence of his anxiety.  Panting and salivating ensue. But it all comes to a happy tail wagging end the moment he is put back down off the exam table and then we see the happy tail comes to life again as he happily dances around his owner’s legs waiting for someone to please open the door already!

Sometimes we see fear aggressive patients and these are often larger “tough” breeds like German Shepherds and Dobermans but just as often are the smaller “tough” breeds like Jack Russells and Chihuahuas. They look all scary but the fact is they are more scared of us than we are of them, and because of this fear they may sometimes "lash out". These patients require reverence and a “proceed with caution” sign. We read their body language carefully to know if they are going to react or trust us. Most dogs are great communicators and will lift their lips in warning with ears pinned back before actually lashing out. Almost all of these dogs do not lunge directly towards us but rather shrink into a corner and once feeling cornered will start to growl and curl their lips. The odd dog is fearful enough to launch aggressively and may even require a tranquilizer to be seen. This however happens extremely rarely and often these poor little guys have background story that explains their fear.

The funniest sight, however; is watching a large Great Dane come in prancing with their head held high like a pony and as soon as the doctor presents a thermometer he tries to climb onto his owner’s lap. Have you ever seen a 120lb lap dog?  I didn’t think so. But the Great Dane doesn’t realize he has outgrown being a puppy 2 years ago. They are just over sized baby’s and one of the gentlest breeds we encounter.

Brigitte