Gidget vs Vet Tech
 

I have had Gidget for 10 days. I picked her out several weeks ago and had visited her a few times before she came to my house. She is 11 1/2 weeks old today.

Gidget has puppy worms. (Don't get me started on the breeder) She also had some ear stuff I wanted checked. I took her to the vet today to get completely checked out since I no longer trust what the breeder told me.

The 20 something vet tech comes in and takes Gidget out of her crate and immediately starts poking in her inflamed red ear. Gidget makes a little bark, squirms and opens her mouth. This was not an aggressive bark at all. No one was bitten. 20 something vet tech flips her on her back to get her submissive and says no about 100 times in a stern voice while Gidget lays there doing nothing. As Vet tech is doing this, she tells me that Gidget has serious issues and will need to work one on one with a trainer, because she is likely to end up in a shelter.

She asks me if I understand about the alpha in the house. I tell her I do - That Gidget never sleeps in my bed; she has to sit and be clam before she gets food; I enter all doorways first; etc. etc. etc. I tell her she gets on her back all the time and lets me rub her and she does it for visitors, too. I tell her that she is full of worms and has ear inflammation and perhaps she just didn't feel like being in a strange place and having someone just go into her ears with no "foreplay". Vet tech tells me that Gidget needs to be able to do this with no notice when anyone wants to do this to her.

Next, she tells Gidget she has been a bad girl and puts her in her crate and says she needs to stay there because she can't be trusted. Keep in mind, after the initial bark, squirm, and open mouth, there has been about a 6 minute exchange with no issue. Vet tech leaves. :thinking:

Female 20 something vet walks in now and has not even seen the dog and says, "I understand this dog has some serious behavioral issues and she needs professional help so that she doesn't end up in a shelter." I tell vet that she is enrolled in puppy classes and I have had no problems with her. She wants to know who I am working with. I tell her she is enrolled at the Petsmart puppy class and that my family and several of my friends have worked with the trainer there with their puppies and all have great dogs. She tells me Petsmart is no good and probably won't help this. She has not seen the dog do a damn thing at this point.

:idontknow

I call 3 people who have spent a lot of time with Gidget and ask them if I am in denial and if she seems to have some serious issues. They all say no.

Find another vet!

First of all the tech sould not be the one swabbing the ears! And my goodness any vet or vet tech should be gentle with a new puppy! Shame on them! :mad:

I would definitely not go back. I do hope you have other vets in your area.

They do, and I will.

I know where I go, they say hello, and pet my dogs before they even start. Geez, think I'd certainly change vets if I were you!

Poor Gidget. I hope you find a better vet soon!

i'm speechless. i would def. go to another vet. my vet is still so gentle with maggie...and was EXTRA gentle with her as a new pup. I would FLIP out and tell her that maybe SHE has issues and needs some training!!! jerk

well, i do hope your baby is ok...and hopefully you will find a nice, compassionate vet that you can trust. it is so important.

I hope to God I am not in denial. Gidget is most certianly a spunky pistol. She was the alpha of the litter and I don't want to be one of those in denial dog owners.

The vet tech told me that a puppy that age should be submissive and let people do stuff to her.

I have read everything I can get my hands on before getting her. This is the first time I have ever had a puppy. My other dogs from the past I got when they were 2 years old. I never had any issues with any of my dogs. She is a puppy and I know they like to nip and use their teeth. When she tries to do that to me, I just say no, and divert her to a chew toy.

Am I in denial? What are other 12 week yorkies like?

Oh my goodness, if the situation was really as you described then do not listen to a thing they said! If your ear was sore and hurting and someone starting poking it like that, it would hurt! Your baby wasn't feeling good and her ear was really hurting her and someone was poking it. Even the most most well-behaved dog out there would yelp and even possibly bite if it was in enough pain. Your puppy sounds like she is very normal and in no way has any behavioral issues. I would have gone off on that vet tech as soon as she flipped her on her back, and I definitely wouldn't have listened to to all that "going to end up in a shelter" crap. I would have given them a piece of my mind and told them I was leaving right then. If they insisted on payment, I'd tell them that every dog owner you knew was going to hear how terrible they were. I would definitely find a new vet! And I would call and complain to the one you saw and tell them why you are not coming back. Who in their right mind flips a little 11 week old puppy on their back and yells "NO" at them several times. That's going to scare the puppy and give it behavioral issues. Don't take your puppy back - your dog will learn to be terrified of going to the vet.

no puppy will be submissive and let people do stuff to them, when there in PAIN and have some one poking on them when they dont feel good.

I would have gone off on her if my vet told me my furbabys are being a bad girl. The way your baby acts or dose not act is none of there concern, unless she bites them.

The vet is there so your baby can feel better not so she can fuss at you and your baby and tell her and you she is being bad. When she is not. The tech should not even have done anything to the pup but weighted them and the vet should not have SAID a thing about how your baby was acting. UNLESS she saw this in person and then she should have told you in a nice way, you should put your baby in dog class to help show who the alpha dog is.

I would find a different vet! That vet dose not know what he is doing! That poor baby.

Hope she feels better soon!

I am sorry that you had to go through that!!! I would be looking for a new vet. I agree that if a baby is not feeling well, they will not always be real cooperative. Some people are so rude!!!! Give Gidget some great big kisses and a treat or something!!!

Thea and Roxee:aimeeyork

Oh, forgot to ask how she's doing after the visit? I hope she's feeling better.

Thanks for your concern.

She is very subdued - for her. She was given a chewable tablet for the worms. I gave it to her and I just felt her belly and she is much thinner under her rib cage and now has a big bloaty ball down by her lower belly. I have a feeling we will be having a massive worm sighting later tonight or tomorrow.

I irrigated her ears with a solution I was given, so she has had a pretty intrusive day.

Hopefully this will soon be all behind us.

nope they shouldnt have done that and i would have grabbed my pup as soon as she started messing woth her saying she was bad shes a puppy! anyone with the least bit of common sense would know a dog will move jump cry snip if you poke n prod a hurt area!they dont liek their ears messed with anyways a vet tech will hold a dogs nose to look in ears only so it doesnt shake its head while the instrument is inside the ear! i would call the vet or go back and tell them that that tech needs to be evaluated for some serious issues! she has no right at all to try and make you or your dog feel bad..i would HATE to see her with any animal that does have agression issues for real if she thinks a tiny yorkie pup is bad! so people are just annoying know it alls even when they arent! shame on her!

QUACKS!!!!!:mad: Yea, just like human babies should let people do stuff to them:rolleyes: I'm glad you're looking for a new vet, those @sswipes sound like they're trying to reach deeper into your pockets. 12 week old pups are supposed to be spunky, and if someone poked me in my very sore ear,I'd bark and try to nip too! I hope your baby isn't traumatized by their rough treatment:cry: Jerks!

And NO, you are NOT in denial! She's a BABY for pete's sake, she still has lots of learning to do with you. I can't believe they were talking about her ending up in a shelter, WTF?!?!:eek:

My dogs sleep in my bed, and sometimes walk through doors before me if they are excited. They are very well behaved, non-aggressive dogs, but if their ears were sore and someone started poking on them, they may have something to say about it. I would!!! It sounds like they weren't even trying to be gentle. My vet coo's softly to Otis when she's examining him, it really helps. I can't imaging being so desensitized that you could NOT be gentle and soft with a baby.

OMG, I'm so sorry to hear that you and your little one had to go through that:( Many years ago I had almost the exact same experience except my puppy turned and opened her mouth when the vet gave her a shot and she grabbed her by the bridge of the nose and squeezed till the puppy was literally screaming and proceeded to tell me all about her issues. I left there crying and called my mom in Hawaii who listened to the whole story and then said, "Honey, is that the only vet in Utah?" That certainly put it in perspective for me:)

omg! gidget is a PUPPY and that vet needs to mind their own dern business. just like everyone else on here my pets are very precious to us and i want only the best care and people. i worked for 2 months ina vet clinic and they let there Teen Vet Tech do way to much i didnt last 2 months. and they were rude to the animals and ate in the surgery room. suring surgury.

dont you worry about gidgets so called attidude im sures she fine

my dogs to rule the house mainly the only thing i do is crate them at night and sometimes when i go out.

My gidget is very submissive and i never worked on that with her i dont know where it comes from.

good luck and vet a new vet babe

I would find a new vet. We started taking Ellie to a different vet office last fall and we weren't impressed until she had dental surgery in January and got the nicest vet in the office.:) All the techs do there is get info from you, weigh your dog and take the temp. for the most part. Ellie is VERY squirmy and clings to us when we take her to the vet. Well, she had a yeast infection in her ears a couple months ago and the vet (not the tech) swabbed them and two weeks later for the recheck the vet looked in them. One of Ellie's ears was really bothering her and when the instrument went in it hurt her (just squealed a little which she normally doesn't do) and when the vet was done she picked her up and rubbed her belly. Ellie also went in kicking once and the vet says in the calmest voice, "stop with the feeties". She said it over and over knowing it wasn't doing any good but just trying to calm her down. That vet tech had no right to talk to you like that. If something hurts, a dog will get vocal and maybe try to bite just like a kid in pain would scream. She is just a baby.

OMG what a horrible experience! I am so sorry! I agree with the others, definitely switch vets. My Eury is always very submissive but when she goes to the vet and they check her ears (she had ear mites when we first got her) and give her shots, she ALWAYS cries (she isn't called a Little Drama Queen for nothing LOL) and depending on how much poking they do, sometimes tries to nip at the vet. The first time she did this (she wasn't feeling good at the time) I was so surprised and apologized profusely to the vet. He brushed it off and said, "Dogs often don't like vets because we smell funny and many times do things to them that don't feel good. Not to mention they don't understand that we are there to help them not hurt them. Many dogs who never bite, will bite vet staff. Don't worry too much about it. Just continue to train her and make sure she's submissive to you and is socialized to people and other dogs and she'll be fine." Yup we continue to go to him. :)

:aimeeyork Chelle

Thanks so much for your support! I feel so much better today. I hope Gidget does too.

What a nut case. I am sorry poor Gidget and you went through the third
degree for no reason. Run to a new vet. That one has sever problems.
Sounds like she dosen't like her job at all.
Don't be nervous if Gidget is showing alpha signs. Some dogs do and some don't. Buddy did as he got older. We had issues but with the internet and YT we got past them. These little buggers think who they are. Once they know your the boss they back off and let you take charge gladly.
Good luck and I hope Gidget is feeling better.

vet tech like that was the reason I switched vets!

She is not happy today. I don't know what the heck is going on. She was really wanting to chew everything today. When I would go to nuzzle her she got all chewy - more so than usual. A couple of times she came to my toes and stuff to gnaw on them. I told her no and tried to divert her and she got very alpha. She rolled to her back, as I pulled her off my toe, and diverted her. She then rolled around spasing on her back and barked and growly grumbled - it almost looked like she was having a seizure. This went on for about a minute. I put her in her playpen so she wouldn't get too out of control and she continued with this rolling on her back barikng and growling at nothing and shaking her head.

I am so confused.

Sorry you've had problems with your vet and the staff there, you should tell them how you feel about your treatment, they won't know unless you complain. Have you asked friends for a referral to who they use and if they are happy with them. I love my vet, he is so loving. Always gives my babies kisses and blows raspberries on their tummies:p . They don't love going to the vet but I know he loves animals and has their best interest in mind.