Vet Clinic Waiting Rooms

[Sandra777]

HATE resident animals - especially "friendly" cats.

My dogs have never co-habitated with cats but are terriers who lure race - that's never going to end well

The last thing they need is anything stirring them up, they're quite over excited enough just getting to go to the vet's! Yep - they're odd :laugh:

[Gertrude139]

Mine both hate having the lead attached to their collar so they are always in harnesses for walking and car trips etc, they are quite well behaved in them, maybe as they are used to them. I don't see many others at my vet with harnesses so I don't have anything to compare with but I would say I have much better control over my dogs than most of the people with leads attached to collars. I go in and weigh her then we take a seat, she sits right in front of me so I can hold the seatbelt tab on the harness, her head could not get more than about 40cm away from my knees at max i reckon. I agree if they are just on the end of a lead and have free roam thats not appropriate, but I think that having a harness or a collar would not make a real difference if they have 1-2m to wander anyway.

[conztruct]

Yeah - I must agree that some waiting rooms are an absolute nightmare. I am very fortunate that my vet has a "side door" that backs onto the examination rooms - I just wait there and they come and get me when they're ready. I'm quite a regular so I don't think they mind - the ladies at the front reception desk even bring in the EFTPOS thingy so I can pay in the examination room and don't have to go to the front counter.....LOL. I really like them - they have great staff and the vets have always been really helpful.

[perrin]

I got a little frustrated once at a lady who kept allowing her dogs to approach my children in the waiting room. She just couldn't understand that my child was scared of her dog because he is allergic to them. She kept saying oh they are friendly they won't hurt him they just want to say hello and play. And my poor son was plastered to my legs trying to hide behind me so they wouldn't touch him. Fortunately the nurse who knows us well came and took us into one of the rooms to wait. As i was getting very uncomfortable with the situation.

Whilst i normally arrange vet visits when i don't have to take the children sometimes in an emergency i don't have a choice and it's bad enough just having to take him to the clinic without having to deal with unknown dogs getting too friendly.

[Loving my Oldies]

I got a little frustrated once at a lady who kept allowing her dogs to approach my children in the waiting room. She just couldn't understand that my child was scared of her dog because he is allergic to them. She kept saying oh they are friendly they won't hurt him they just want to say hello and play. And my poor son was plastered to my legs trying to hide behind me so they wouldn't touch him. Fortunately the nurse who knows us well came and took us into one of the rooms to wait. As i was getting very uncomfortable with the situation.

Whilst i normally arrange vet visits when i don't have to take the children sometimes in an emergency i don't have a choice and it's bad enough just having to take him to the clinic without having to deal with unknown dogs getting too friendly.

I think we are too reticent about telling people they are over stepping the mark. It can be done nicely,but firmly and if people take offence, well that is their problem.

[disintegratus]

I also loathe those retractable leads. While the owner is texting away on their phone little Fluffy is either wrapped around the dog treat stand or over the other side of the room barking at a poor cat in a carrier

I love those retractable leads... but only for my ferrets :) I don't think they've got any place on a dog at all. If you want your dog to "run free", teach it a good recall. Definitely not appropriate at a vet clinic.

I can't say I've ever had a problem with other animals at vet clinics. That said, usually when I go it's very quiet, and one of the vets I go to has a huge waiting area, so I can get space if I need it, and most other times, whatever animal I have is small enough to be kept out of harms way in a carrier or bag etc.

That said, the one time I had to take Thundercleese to the vet, I took him to the local with a tiny waiting room. He was muzzled, and sat in between my legs and I held his collar rather than his lead. I don't want to take any chances, especially because other people are idiots.

Regardless of which adog I've got with me, when the consult's over, they go back to the car then I come back in and pay, because I don't like not being able to pay 100% attention to what they're doing and what's going on around them.

[HazyWal]

:laugh: @ Dannys Darling.

My vet had a resident cat but since one of the vet nurses started fostering greyhounds several years ago and another vet who has joined the practice owns one there are now a lot of greys that go there. Puss has now gone home thankfully.

[Staffyluv]

I also loathe those retractable leads. While the owner is texting away on their phone little Fluffy is either wrapped around the dog treat stand or over the other side of the room barking at a poor cat in a carrier

There is a lady at our park who uses one of these with a stafford. It is one of the thin rope type ones - I really don't think it is suitable for the dog.

When the dog sees another dog it takes everything she has got to hold him on it - she actually holds the rope part, and winds it around her hands. You can see it is hurting her but she said it gives him more freedom...

He seems a nice enough dog but I wouldn't be using one like that on a stafford.

We did have one for Ollie (it was made of the thicker leash type stuff). In saying that, I would never use in with Zig, I think he would break it.

[becks]

My vets have 2 or 3 vets on duty at a time and the waiting room is a converted garaged that used to be the dog ward ages ago, seat are arranged in a W shape making 2 bays, so you can normally get away from the numpties by sitting in the 2nd bay. The waiting room is nearly always packed, especially when one of the good vets is on duty (you can tell when the numptie vets are working, as there is practically no one there! :laugh:

If I am taking a particularly ill or young dog/pups to the vets, then they will wait in the car, where they won;t get harrassed or pick up something else.

Not to mention those who have no idea what their dog is up to whilst paying.

Last night a middle aged lady was standing on the lead of her two medium/large breed dogs whilst she paid.

The dogs were going in opposite directions and I had to walk past them to go into the consult room, I stopped and waited, and waited some more.

She finally realised, picked up the lead but did not pull the dogs in closer to her, so I waited some more until she finally shortened the leads.

Why didn't you just ask her to move her dogs?

[Gertrude139]

I got a little frustrated once at a lady who kept allowing her dogs to approach my children in the waiting room. She just couldn't understand that my child was scared of her dog because he is allergic to them. She kept saying oh they are friendly they won't hurt him they just want to say hello and play. And my poor son was plastered to my legs trying to hide behind me so they wouldn't touch him. Fortunately the nurse who knows us well came and took us into one of the rooms to wait. As i was getting very uncomfortable with the situation.

Whilst i normally arrange vet visits when i don't have to take the children sometimes in an emergency i don't have a choice and it's bad enough just having to take him to the clinic without having to deal with unknown dogs getting too friendly.

This has reminded me of a situation I had once where I had picked up a Husky x Mal from the pound and took it to the vets for its shots before taking it to the kennels for its quarrantine period. He was a nice boy but since I didn't know him well yet I was being very careful to avoid everyone and everything. I was standing in the corner of the waiting room which is unfortunately quite cramped and a lady came in talking on her phone with her 3 young children. I don't even remember how her dog was behaving all I was too busy concentrating on her children. The two youngest ones ran in and ran around the room rushing up to every dog and patting it straight away. I started backing away down the hallway to get as far away as possible in the hope the children wouldn't purse me. I was glaring at the mother who was looking right at me and just kept talking on her phone the whole time, completely ignoring the kids. Luckily the oldest child grabbed and told off the other two just before they were about to rush in my direction, by this time I was boxed into a corner and I was saying please don't pat my dog etc and being completely ignored. I was petrified. I didn't think the dog would do anything bad but I didn't know that and wasn't going to take the chance. Since I had only been to this vet once before I didn't know where the back exit was and the entrance was blocked. I know now where the back exit is.

I couldn't believe how the mother of these children could let that happen, makes me think she doesn't like her kids very much.

Normally I have the opposite occuring at the vet, everyone is scared stiff of a large arctic breed even though they are sitting perfectly quietly..

[SwaY]

My vets have 2 or 3 vets on duty at a time and the waiting room is a converted garaged that used to be the dog ward ages ago, seat are arranged in a W shape making 2 bays, so you can normally get away from the numpties by sitting in the 2nd bay. The waiting room is nearly always packed, especially when one of the good vets is on duty (you can tell when the numptie vets are working, as there is practically no one there! :laugh:

If I am taking a particularly ill or young dog/pups to the vets, then they will wait in the car, where they won;t get harrassed or pick up something else.

Not to mention those who have no idea what their dog is up to whilst paying.

Last night a middle aged lady was standing on the lead of her two medium/large breed dogs whilst she paid.

The dogs were going in opposite directions and I had to walk past them to go into the consult room, I stopped and waited, and waited some more.

She finally realised, picked up the lead but did not pull the dogs in closer to her, so I waited some more until she finally shortened the leads.

Why didn't you just ask her to move her dogs?

Because she was talking the receptionist, and she had mentioned she needed to move her dogs, but the lady thought just picking up the lead was enough.

[pipsqueak]

We seem to be blessed with our vet, vet nurses and owners. Consults are by appt,so unless it is first thing in the morming th waiting room isn't usuallu too crowded. I remember one day backing I had just paid, but backed away from the counter when a particular breed who my dog is reactive to entered. Vet nurse at the counter saw what was happening, came around the counter and placed herself between the dogs and opened the door for us to leave. Clinic got a thank you email for that one. Last year one of our dogs got attacked by another dog, and bith dog and I were nervous around unknown dogs for quite a while. And we were at the vets fairly regularly for wound checks. Vet staff were fantastic. Early on, depending on weather, we either waited in the carpark or car. We even had one vet do the consult in the carpark! It was basically just a wound check, and our dog was comfy where she was. During this period, I also had vet nursses politely move other dogs away from the scales, so we could weigh our dog without being stressed. Also came across a fantastic, sensible owner during the same period. We had come out of a consult room and she was sitting quietly with her two dogs, but we needed to pass them in order to get to the counter.. I explained that my dog had been attacked recently, and I was uncertain of how my dog would react and that I felt a bit nervous. She put both dogs in a down stay and watched them like a hawk. I shortened up my lead, and we passed them without incident. She received my profuse thanks and gratitude as it was the start of both of us getting our confidence back.

I refuse to go to vets that have resident animals, esp cats loose. Having two dogs with high prey drive, I just don't need the stress!

[Little Gifts]

I'm afraid I was one of those irritating dog owners only this past Monday. Stussy has been sick on and off since Boxing Day so Monday we went in and they decided to test for pancreatitis, which meant we had to wait half an hour for the results. So I took Stuss through Red Rooster and I got some lunch, then we had a bit of a walk then went back for the test results. It was a very hot day so waiting outside or in the car wasn't a good option for either of us. The surgery was full by that stage and Stussy is an SBT who loves everyone and everything. There was a mini poodle, 18 years of age on a bed on the floor waiting to be pts and Stuss desperately wanted to go over to her to make her feel better (I could see in her eyes she wanted to give her face a lick/clean). There was a small black puppy and 2 kids and she so wanted to say hello to them all as well. Then someone with a cat in a little bed poked it's head out, but the thing that sent her over the edge was this grumpy looking man who came in and sat with the min poodle lady and for some reason Stussy acted like she knew him and went beserk - ear piercing barks, whole body wags.

As I still don't have a lot of strength in my left arm I was getting her to sit and drop and shushing her rubbing her between my feet half under my chair. She didn't get close to any of the other animals or people but she certainly made sure everyone knew she desperately wanted to - like a kid in a candy shop. She even tried to get under the reception counter to say hello. As she had what ended up being a gastro bug she was also farting like a trooper and the smell filled the room. Luckily everybody was very good about her antics (and the farts) and none of the other animals in there were of the reactive type. Lots of apologising on my part.

As for retractable leads - I think they are the worst invention ever and should carry warnings so that only small, non-athletic dogs are only ever attached to them. Unfortunately they make the leads big and chunky so people with bigger and stronger dogs think they are fine to use. An accident just waiting to happen.

[Loving my Oldies]

I couldn't believe how the mother of these children could let that happen,

heavens above, you can't curtail their spontaneity now. Might damage them forever :laugh:.

Shame about their faces when they get bitten by a dog who doesn't appreciate being cornered by screeching children.

[piperspal]

The local vet here has a brand new setup, its in a purpose built building so pretty good. The counter is in a big U shape, so you can take your dogs around from one side to the other if you dont want them ineracting. There is also a seperate cat area and a hydrobath area, so if you have a real problem you can get well away from the rest of the patients. The main area ia nice and large, with about 15 feet between the chairs and the counter, and the chairs are a good choice as well, only 2 main legs so the dog can walk underneath with out the lead getting wrapped around the legs. They also have 5 consult rooms and a seperate entrance for intensive patients.

I usually find people leave me alone in the waiting room as I often have the 5 dogs in there at once. The nurses will come out and grab a couple when I arrive, then I take them all in the room with me and they lead a couple out when we are finsihed. it helps that the nurses are all in love with my dogs as they are so well behaved.

[pipsqueak]

I'm afraid I was one of those irritating dog owners only this past Monday. Stussy has been sick on and off since Boxing Day so Monday we went in and they decided to test for pancreatitis, which meant we had to wait half an hour for the results. So I took Stuss through Red Rooster and I got some lunch, then we had a bit of a walk then went back for the test results. It was a very hot day so waiting outside or in the car wasn't a good option for either of us. The surgery was full by that stage and Stussy is an SBT who loves everyone and everything. There was a mini poodle, 18 years of age on a bed on the floor waiting to be pts and Stuss desperately wanted to go over to her to make her feel better (I could see in her eyes she wanted to give her face a lick/clean). There was a small black puppy and 2 kids and she so wanted to say hello to them all as well. Then someone with a cat in a little bed poked it's head out, but the thing that sent her over the edge was this grumpy looking man who came in and sat with the min poodle lady and for some reason Stussy acted like she knew him and went beserk - ear piercing barks, whole body wags.

As I still don't have a lot of strength in my left arm I was getting her to sit and drop and shushing her rubbing her between my feet half under my chair. She didn't get close to any of the other animals or people but she certainly made sure everyone knew she desperately wanted to - like a kid in a candy shop. She even tried to get under the reception counter to say hello. As she had what ended up being a gastro bug she was also farting like a trooper and the smell filled the room. Luckily everybody was very good about her antics (and the farts) and none of the other animals in there were of the reactive type. Lots of apologising on my part.

As for retractable leads - I think they are the worst invention ever and should carry warnings so that only small, non-athletic dogs are only ever attached to them. Unfortunately they make the leads big and chunky so people with bigger and stronger dogs think they are fine to use. An accident just waiting to happen.

I wouldn't consider you an irritating dog owner at all. Sounds like you were very aware of your dog and what was happening around you and you were in control.

[Dame Aussie]

Lili sits like a quiet little angel in the waiting room. Mosley LOVES the vets, and the nurses, and the smells, and the other doggies, and kids and the pigs ears behind the counter, and the counter......

*roll eyes*

Often we will be put into a private room because he gets a little overwhelmed. Don't get me wrong, he never gets at anyone or anything but he can be a bit vocal Luckily most people fall in love with him and so forgive his doofus tendencies.

[Gertrude139]

I'm afraid I was one of those irritating dog owners only this past Monday. Stussy has been sick on and off since Boxing Day so Monday we went in and they decided to test for pancreatitis, which meant we had to wait half an hour for the results. So I took Stuss through Red Rooster and I got some lunch, then we had a bit of a walk then went back for the test results. It was a very hot day so waiting outside or in the car wasn't a good option for either of us. The surgery was full by that stage and Stussy is an SBT who loves everyone and everything. There was a mini poodle, 18 years of age on a bed on the floor waiting to be pts and Stuss desperately wanted to go over to her to make her feel better (I could see in her eyes she wanted to give her face a lick/clean). There was a small black puppy and 2 kids and she so wanted to say hello to them all as well. Then someone with a cat in a little bed poked it's head out, but the thing that sent her over the edge was this grumpy looking man who came in and sat with the min poodle lady and for some reason Stussy acted like she knew him and went beserk - ear piercing barks, whole body wags.

As I still don't have a lot of strength in my left arm I was getting her to sit and drop and shushing her rubbing her between my feet half under my chair. She didn't get close to any of the other animals or people but she certainly made sure everyone knew she desperately wanted to - like a kid in a candy shop. She even tried to get under the reception counter to say hello. As she had what ended up being a gastro bug she was also farting like a trooper and the smell filled the room. Luckily everybody was very good about her antics (and the farts) and none of the other animals in there were of the reactive type. Lots of apologising on my part.

As for retractable leads - I think they are the worst invention ever and should carry warnings so that only small, non-athletic dogs are only ever attached to them. Unfortunately they make the leads big and chunky so people with bigger and stronger dogs think they are fine to use. An accident just waiting to happen.

I don't expect dogs to be perfect at the vet, it is how the owners handle the situation that's important.

I think you did very well. Even though she desperately wanted to get to the other animals you didn't give in an let her, you had control of her at all times (well maybe not her bowels :laugh:)

Nothing you can do about the smells, If your dog is already sick there is no way I would expect you to wait outside on a stinking hot day

[juice]

I was waiting once and a byb came in with a litter of staffys in a washing basket, put them on the floor and they all jumped out, one came over and was stood in front of my BT growling at her !

10 mins later another litter of amstaffs came in, in another wash basket, yep same thing happened ,unvaccinated pups everywhere.

I have my BT on a big thick retractable lead, simply because she stops to chew a stick, eat poo,roll in something dead or just amble around the same spot while we try and walk at a decwnt pace :laugh:

[minimax]

Because out vet isn't usually busy when we are there I often use it for training. Yesterday afternoon we were there and their christmas tree was still up, and had dropped pine things all over the floor and there was one loose decoration on the floor Boston was obsessed with getting to. So we used it as a "leave it" lesson. Other times it's a "sit" or "drop" or "stay" lesson in a distractable environment.

I wouldn't do it if there were lots of people there, but I do it if there is one or two other dogs there, in an area away quite away from them. Probably would irritate the hell out of most people here :laugh:

Edited January 3, 2013 by minimax