Her name is Ghost. We rescued her 10 years ago. We think she's a mix of pit bull and dalmatian, although most of her spots have faded away. Her gums are inflamed and it hurts to eat. The vet thinks a full teeth cleaning should fix it. Apparently dogs can get allergies to the tartar in their teeth! Poor old girl. Eating is her favorite thing! We're getting her teeth cleaned on Monday. It could cost up to $1100, but she is worth every penny.
And on top of that, because her arthritis has gotten really bad, she's going to have to get a $94 shot every month. Again, worth every penny because she's part of our family and we love her so much. She's an evil serial killer of small animals, but we love her anyway.
The vet did tell us that even 14-year-old dogs who get the shot of the medication, Librela, are able to play and run and jump up on the furniture again. Hopefully she will make it to at least 14 even if she is a big dog. She's in very good health otherwise.
Here is Ghost when she is not sad and at the vet:
Thanks. She absolutely hates the vet, which does not help. She was next to me shaking the whole time while I petted her. At least she's out of there for now, but she has to go back on Monday of course. And I'm really not looking forward to taking her there once a month. What can you do? You can't explain to them why you're doing this to them and that it's a good thing, not a scary thing.
There has been some good research on trying to reward and model enjoyment and fun at the vet which helped with my elderly pibble that passed of brain cancer. If you haven't already seen it that is.
It reads like an AI bullshit article but this is what we did for Bucket
https://vcahospitals.com/know-your-pet/reducing-fear-of-veterinary-visits-for-dogs
Thanks, I'll look into it. I'm really not looking forward to taking her there once a month considering how terrified it makes her. I'm hoping I can convince the vet tech who does the injection to come out to the car and do it... but I'm not even worrying about that until this teeth cleaning thing is over. And since that's on Monday, there is no time to desensitize her.
Worse, I can't be there with her when they do it, I have to drop her off so they can do all the prep. Which will make her even more scared.