Last week I took Rocky and Baxter in for their yearly heart worm tests. The vet has no problem doing anything to Rocky, but Baxter is another story.
They took Baxter to the back to draw his blood and he basically flipped out. It literally sounded like they were trying to draw blood from a Tasmanian devil fighting over a chunk of meat. It got so bad that one of the techs (there were two trying to hold him still) brought him back into the exam room for me to put a muzzle on him because he was trying to bite them and even after that they weren't able to get any blood from him. Now I've never know Baxter to bite anyone before this. He does playfully mouth but never fully closes on your hand. He's also had vaccines and blood work done before with no problem. The vet mentioned that the next time he comes in they may have to sedate him to draw blood.
Does anyone need to have their dog sedated for vet visits? How safe is it?
I know that the vet and the tech's need to be kept safe and the last thing I want is for one of them to get bitten, but I'm not really big on having my dog sedated every year for blood work. I did tell the vet that if he brought Baxter into the exam room it would be easier for him to do anything if I was in the room, but he basically said that I couldn't be touching Baxter while he was trying to take blood, which I thought was weird because he'll let both if the dogs lean against me if he's doing vaccines.
They took Baxter to the back to draw his blood and he basically flipped out. It literally sounded like they were trying to draw blood from a Tasmanian devil fighting over a chunk of meat. It got so bad that one of the techs (there were two trying to hold him still) brought him back into the exam room for me to put a muzzle on him because he was trying to bite them and even after that they weren't able to get any blood from him. Now I've never know Baxter to bite anyone before this. He does playfully mouth but never fully closes on your hand. He's also had vaccines and blood work done before with no problem. The vet mentioned that the next time he comes in they may have to sedate him to draw blood.
Does anyone need to have their dog sedated for vet visits? How safe is it?
I know that the vet and the tech's need to be kept safe and the last thing I want is for one of them to get bitten, but I'm not really big on having my dog sedated every year for blood work. I did tell the vet that if he brought Baxter into the exam room it would be easier for him to do anything if I was in the room, but he basically said that I couldn't be touching Baxter while he was trying to take blood, which I thought was weird because he'll let both if the dogs lean against me if he's doing vaccines.