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| I can smell things you cannot see. |
I never gave a second thought to timing considerations.
We'd typically go first thing in the morning for practical reasons such as urine analysis, or because we wanted to see the vet as soon as possible. Only for physical therapy we had afternoon or evening appointments.
It has never crossed my mind that something like that could matter.
Until Cookie's last appointment. We took her in for an integrative consultation to figure out the best way to get her liver happy. The appointment was at 4PM, almost at the end of the day.
The guys were excited to go in, as always. They were happy to see the vet, as always.
Then the technician walked in to draw Cookie's blood. Cookie took one look at her and started barking. The technician was surprised, "You don't want to be friends today?" They've met before and all was good and friendly in the past.
The vet asked me if Cookie was a sensitive girl.
"Yes," I answered, "she's quite sensitive, why?"
As it turned out, just before walking into our exam room, the technician was handling/restraining a dog who got attacked by some other dogs. The dog was out of his mind with fear and anxiety, spreading alarm pheromones all over.
Apparently, Cookie immediately picked up on that.
The technician offered some treats and Cookie stopped barking. However, didn't want to come anywhere near the technician nor she wanted to stay in the exam room all together.
All she wanted to do was to get out of there.
Even after the blood was drawn. The vet was doing her integrative exam and Cookie let her do it politely but her eyes were on the door.
We were going to discuss some stuff first before continuing with the exam but I asked whether all the hands-on stuff could be done right away. The discussion could wait until Cookie got to get our of there.
I have never seen her so unhappy about being anywhere.
Once the exam was done, hubby took Cookie away and the vet and I finished our discussions. It got me thinking. Cookie is a confident, happy girl but got completely thrown off by the scent of utter fear from the other dog.
Makes me think what happens to dogs who are already fearful or anxious.
How much more profound effect something like this would have on them, already expecting horrible things happening and then having the evidence of a dog in anguish right under their noses?
I realize these things are not happening all the time but I imagine that stress does accumulate through the day, leaving its traces everywhere.
From now own we'll stick to first appointments in the morning as much as possible.
What about you? Did you notice that afternoon appointments might inadvertently end up more stressful for your dog? Do you think it might be because of things that happened through the day and left their traces?
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