First time at the vet!
- Apr 2, 2025
- 3 min read
One thing every dog will go through no matter if he should train in sports or not is visiting the vet so it's really important that this experience would be a positive one.
You can never know what to expect when you take your dog to the vet for the first time so it's just about trying to have fast reactions if you need them and bringing A LOT of treats!
Seraphina met Amos, my vet, when she was 6 weeks old but it was at her known environment so the visit at 9 weeks was completely new for her; the noises, the smells, everything can be overwhelming for such a young pup but I was super proud with how brave she was. she didn't have any issues with taking the food but it is clear that she didn't feel 100% comfortable on the table.
Normally, when my dogs already have some basic training this is much easier. I use a forward focus during the injection and pretend it's a distraction training. I behave as if the table is a platform and just lure and play on top of it, but as we already know, she is not quite at that level of training. yet.
After we were done at the vet I wanted to take advantage of where we were and did a short session near by with only one purpose; making sure Seraphina would work no matter where we are.
she did it ☺️
when we came back home she was so tired that she went straight to her kennel and passed out for several hours until it was time to wake up.
our next session of the day was a platform session.
I used a wooden platform that she knew from her pup socializtion but it was the first time she should WORK with it.
I could feel she was still a bit off after the vet and the noises from the street and my neighbours dog disturbed her more than usually so I tried to be fast to finish it when she is focused and let her go back to rest with a bully stick.
Of course, I would be happier if the training would go perfect, but I have to remember that she is just a dog, and a pup, so it's ok if not all is going well.
Training dogs is 2 step forward and one backwards, and when we accept it, we can really make a better progress !
Later the day I gave a webinar and finished quite late, so when it was time for our evening session I really wanted to make it short.
I decided to work with the same platform from earlier to create a better emotion about it and it was really much better.
I also used a lower platform to test her sit position on it because I saw she tends to sit a bit sideways. Since she doesn’t know sit really or has a commitment for platforms yet it was really just a test. I am still not sure how I feel about it, but I am sure that we will improve it when the time is right.
The grand finale was palying with the toy but I was so tired, really I felt I am not doing it right AT ALL! so after a few minutes I just wanted to act silly with her and worked on our social bond which for me, was the best part of the day 😍