Post by haecklers on Apr 17, 2015 6:45:53 GMT -5
Be sure to leash train the dog and take it for rides in your car/truck sometimes before it gets too big!
Also be aware they don't always react like "normal" dogs!
We took our laid-back, friendly 5 month old Pyrenees to the vet. First time on a leash. First time in the truck since we brought her home. What a FIASCO!
I put a harness on her instead of a collar, thinking she wouldn't be able to back out of it as easily. You know the dead-calf-flop when you halter break a calf? Pyrenees do that one too! I wound up carrying her and lifting her into the back seat of the pickup truck. It turns out she weighs 65 lbs! Thank goodness I've been slinging bales of hay all winter!
At the vet's, she did come out of the truck. Then tried to crawl UNDER it. We decided to give her some time to calm down since she was drooling giant bubbles and had thrown up all over the back seat (I was thankful for the "no food after midnight" thing!). Another person had arrived to take their dog in. She almost attacked it. A sweet very old beagle. Scared the owner. Then went back to dead-calf flop. We waited until there were no other animals in the receiving area and I carried her into the vet's. Still dead-calf flop. The woman working there said she was too heavy for one person (her) to carry and had me get the back. At least I got to see the kennel area.
Spaying surgery went fine. For some reason they gave her her shots AFTER she had awakened from the anesthesia - ??
I thought she'd be happy to see me and willingly leave with me. Nope! Still dead calf, only now with fresh incision and stitches. Staff didn't even offer to help carry her to the truck. Didn't even get the door. I felt they were being judgmental about my dog not having leash manners. So DD and I carried her as carefully as we could back to the truck where she wedged herself in the space between front and back seats and went to sleep (once we got home).
Evidently the anesthesia hadn't really worn off so she kept sleeping for several hours. We used the time to make up a nice place for her in the garage. I even mopped the floor with bleach. The vet had said to keep her clean and dry. All done, she was still refusing to leave the truck. I decided to mow a little so I'd be outside and could keep an eye on her. She sneaked out of the truck and went under two fences and down this steep cliff, where she planted herself against some dead-fall held in place by some trees and gave me doleful looks when I called her. Here I need to mention it's rained about 7 inches in the last two weeks. The cliff was very slippery and there's also pieces of rusting wire from fences of days past hiding in the leaves. We decided she was discombobulated from the anesthesia and the best thing was to give her time to let it wear off and then hope she'll come back on her own.
At dusk, she still hadn't come back. The kids and I went to try to "encourage" her. We labored until it was too dark to see, trying to keep hold of saplings to keep from sliding down and at the same time manage the 65 lb unwilling and unhappy and no longer in love with us dog back up the cliff. She got almost to the top then turned to the side and got into an even worse place that we don't know how to get to. We gave up. I called the emergency number for the vet and told them the situation. They said to just check the stitches a few times a day and bring her back in if it looks bad. Maybe if we rent a crane! I think at this point if it starts to look bad I'll need a rock-climbing harness and to do the doctoring myself!
So learn from my experience. Leash train your pyrenees. Get them used to car rides. Don't expect them to act like a pet dog - even if you treat the like a pet! And if your dog is already too big for that, take the dog to the vet in a livestock trailer and don't let it out again until it's healed. And bring 1 or 2 strong helpers. And never make a vet appointment for one when your husband is away on business!
Also be aware they don't always react like "normal" dogs!
We took our laid-back, friendly 5 month old Pyrenees to the vet. First time on a leash. First time in the truck since we brought her home. What a FIASCO!
I put a harness on her instead of a collar, thinking she wouldn't be able to back out of it as easily. You know the dead-calf-flop when you halter break a calf? Pyrenees do that one too! I wound up carrying her and lifting her into the back seat of the pickup truck. It turns out she weighs 65 lbs! Thank goodness I've been slinging bales of hay all winter!
At the vet's, she did come out of the truck. Then tried to crawl UNDER it. We decided to give her some time to calm down since she was drooling giant bubbles and had thrown up all over the back seat (I was thankful for the "no food after midnight" thing!). Another person had arrived to take their dog in. She almost attacked it. A sweet very old beagle. Scared the owner. Then went back to dead-calf flop. We waited until there were no other animals in the receiving area and I carried her into the vet's. Still dead-calf flop. The woman working there said she was too heavy for one person (her) to carry and had me get the back. At least I got to see the kennel area.
Spaying surgery went fine. For some reason they gave her her shots AFTER she had awakened from the anesthesia - ??
I thought she'd be happy to see me and willingly leave with me. Nope! Still dead calf, only now with fresh incision and stitches. Staff didn't even offer to help carry her to the truck. Didn't even get the door. I felt they were being judgmental about my dog not having leash manners. So DD and I carried her as carefully as we could back to the truck where she wedged herself in the space between front and back seats and went to sleep (once we got home).
Evidently the anesthesia hadn't really worn off so she kept sleeping for several hours. We used the time to make up a nice place for her in the garage. I even mopped the floor with bleach. The vet had said to keep her clean and dry. All done, she was still refusing to leave the truck. I decided to mow a little so I'd be outside and could keep an eye on her. She sneaked out of the truck and went under two fences and down this steep cliff, where she planted herself against some dead-fall held in place by some trees and gave me doleful looks when I called her. Here I need to mention it's rained about 7 inches in the last two weeks. The cliff was very slippery and there's also pieces of rusting wire from fences of days past hiding in the leaves. We decided she was discombobulated from the anesthesia and the best thing was to give her time to let it wear off and then hope she'll come back on her own.
At dusk, she still hadn't come back. The kids and I went to try to "encourage" her. We labored until it was too dark to see, trying to keep hold of saplings to keep from sliding down and at the same time manage the 65 lb unwilling and unhappy and no longer in love with us dog back up the cliff. She got almost to the top then turned to the side and got into an even worse place that we don't know how to get to. We gave up. I called the emergency number for the vet and told them the situation. They said to just check the stitches a few times a day and bring her back in if it looks bad. Maybe if we rent a crane! I think at this point if it starts to look bad I'll need a rock-climbing harness and to do the doctoring myself!
So learn from my experience. Leash train your pyrenees. Get them used to car rides. Don't expect them to act like a pet dog - even if you treat the like a pet! And if your dog is already too big for that, take the dog to the vet in a livestock trailer and don't let it out again until it's healed. And bring 1 or 2 strong helpers. And never make a vet appointment for one when your husband is away on business!