- Location
- Andorra and Spain
Willow and Shadow had a vet appointment this morning for some blood tests. It’s always a bit of a worry because Willow is still afraid of travelling in the car, and they’re both stressed out in town.
I had to carry W to the car because she knew something was afoot so didn’t want to leave the house, poor thing. She was trembling and wouldn’t take roast pork until we got to the smooth roads in town, when she relaxed a little and started to eat. I’m pretty sure she stresses with the rumbling noise of the rough track we have to drive on to and from the main road. I had her on the back seat with me so I could look after her, rather than having her in the boot where she should be in the Merc. Not at all legal and not safe in the case of a collision, but I decided it was worth it for the short journey to town on a Saturday morning, when the roads are dead.
We managed to park outside the vet and went straight in. W was stressing up as she sometimes does; wagging frantically, jumping up at people and not being able to settle. The receptionist thought she was a very happy dog - nope, just stressed. Shadow, meanwhile, looked utterly miserable. Tail between his legs, not taking any food.
We had to wait about ten minutes while the vet finished up in surgery, and in that time we managed to do hand touches and chin rests to bring them both to a more relaxed state. The nurses gave them lots of fuss, Willow licked everyone’s noses, eyeballs and whatever else she could reach.
In the consultation room, we did some boundary games with the scales while we waited. The blood draws themselves were very straightforward; both dogs were stressed and stopped eating, but it lasted less than a minute before it was over.
After that, we had a twenty minute wait for the results. This was brilliant, as it gave us loads of time to spend playing with the dogs and chilling them out in that environment. After a short while, Shadow was upside down having his tummy rubbed with a goofy grin on his face
The blood tests were all good news, too, so it was all very successful!
On the way home, I started feeding Willow very rapidly before we got to the tougher road. I had intended to get out and walk them back the 2km of the worst bit, but she was still eating at that point which was amazing, but more than that, she was actively seeking out my hand. So we decided to keep going because this could only be good at counter conditioning her to the road noise which she was nervous of.
So, all in all, the pups did good! Very happy with our morning’s outing
I had to carry W to the car because she knew something was afoot so didn’t want to leave the house, poor thing. She was trembling and wouldn’t take roast pork until we got to the smooth roads in town, when she relaxed a little and started to eat. I’m pretty sure she stresses with the rumbling noise of the rough track we have to drive on to and from the main road. I had her on the back seat with me so I could look after her, rather than having her in the boot where she should be in the Merc. Not at all legal and not safe in the case of a collision, but I decided it was worth it for the short journey to town on a Saturday morning, when the roads are dead.
We managed to park outside the vet and went straight in. W was stressing up as she sometimes does; wagging frantically, jumping up at people and not being able to settle. The receptionist thought she was a very happy dog - nope, just stressed. Shadow, meanwhile, looked utterly miserable. Tail between his legs, not taking any food.
We had to wait about ten minutes while the vet finished up in surgery, and in that time we managed to do hand touches and chin rests to bring them both to a more relaxed state. The nurses gave them lots of fuss, Willow licked everyone’s noses, eyeballs and whatever else she could reach.
In the consultation room, we did some boundary games with the scales while we waited. The blood draws themselves were very straightforward; both dogs were stressed and stopped eating, but it lasted less than a minute before it was over.
After that, we had a twenty minute wait for the results. This was brilliant, as it gave us loads of time to spend playing with the dogs and chilling them out in that environment. After a short while, Shadow was upside down having his tummy rubbed with a goofy grin on his face
The blood tests were all good news, too, so it was all very successful!
On the way home, I started feeding Willow very rapidly before we got to the tougher road. I had intended to get out and walk them back the 2km of the worst bit, but she was still eating at that point which was amazing, but more than that, she was actively seeking out my hand. So we decided to keep going because this could only be good at counter conditioning her to the road noise which she was nervous of.
So, all in all, the pups did good! Very happy with our morning’s outing
hope they are both happy dogs now 
