Do You Control Vet Receptionists' Interactions?

[Olivers mama]

Ziva has to behave wherever we go. Period. A pet peeve of mine = ill-behaved kids or pets in public. Drives me nuts. A vet receptionist need not approach my dog with a biscuit, praise, whatever. 90% of the dogs at the vet's are ill-mannered, bouncing around, jumping, noisy. Small wonder cats hate going to the vet, with all the noise.

As far as a tech taking her to the back for nail trim, shots, etc, I have no problem allowing the tech to do so. That's their job. I'm not so anal to think I need to be present for every little thing. If you trust the vet & his personnel, you should be fine & so should your fur-friends. If you're uncomfortable with your vet - then change vets.

[Jax08]

I love my vet. And I really like a couple of the techs. But there are a couple of tech there that I don't trust, who may be working in the back while we're there, which is the reason I don't let them take my dogs in the back.

[CainGSD]

Originally Posted by GatorDog

Depending on the insurance, the clinic can be sued by the owner of the pet for their own dog biting/hurting them when restraining for a procedure. I work in a clinic and can honestly say that 95% of the owners have no single clue about proper restraint techniques. And no owners that ever comes in knows how to restrain in order for us to properly draw blood from the various different places on a dog or cat that we use. So it bugs me when people say that I, as a trained technician, am not allowed to touch your pet. I am covered by the insurance if, god forbid, something goes wrong. I have been trained how to properly restrain any animal and clip nails and draw blood samples. its why i went to school. Most owners can't even control their dogs on leash, let alone hold off a vein for a blood draw. If you don't allow technicians to do their job, then don't come to the vet.


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This kind of response and attitude would cause me to immediately find a new vet clinic. My dogs are well behaved at the vet and anywhere else that I take them.

I personally have experienced techs at more than one clinic applying restraint techniques on different dogs I have owned over the years that were quietly not offering any form of resistance to whatever procedure that was being done. My two german shepherds have both been the types of dogs that less is more. I do not allow anyone to restrain my dog.

In my humble opinion, each client and each dog should be considered on an individual basis versus a blanket response that you know better than the owner. I chose to vote with my hard earned money and would chose to spend my dollars with a clinic who treats me as an individual and considers my dog's behavior versus a clinic who employs a technician with a I know best attitude.

[Olivers mama]

Originally Posted by Jax08

I love my vet. And I really like a couple of the techs. But there are a couple of tech there that I don't trust, who may be working in the back while we're there, which is the reason I don't let them take my dogs in the back.

PROOF you have more class than I, Jax! I've told my vet which tech I don't like - & why. If she's working the day Ziva is there, a different tech comes into the exam room for things like shots or nail trim. hahahaha

[Olivers mama]

Cain - as a vet tech for years, I can tell you that most owners claim their dogs are wonderful. Well-behaved. Won't bite. Then the nice doggie turns into a Cujo. I would not do anything with a client's dog unless someone was holding him. Too many snaps & near-miss full-on bites. And most vets trust their personnel over us as dog owners because they know 2 things: 1)Tech ability & 2)Dog owners can & do lie about their "well-behaved" dogs.

[GatorDog]

Originally Posted by CainGSD

This kind of response and attitude would cause me to immediately find a new vet clinic. My dogs are well behaved at the vet and anywhere else that I take them.

I personally have experienced techs at more than one clinic applying restraint techniques on different dogs I have owned over the years that were quietly not offering any form of resistance to whatever procedure that was being done. My two german shepherds have both been the types of dogs that less is more. I do not allow anyone to restrain my dog.

In my humble opinion, each client and each dog should be considered on an individual basis versus a blanket response that you know better than the owner. I chose to vote with my hard earned money and would chose to spend my dollars with a clinic who treats me as an individual and considers my dog's behavior versus a clinic who employs a technician with a I know best attitude.

I never said that I know best. I stated an opinion based on what I have seen in almost a decade of working in various different veterinary facilities. Refusing to allow someone to do what they have been trained to do is ridiculous to me. As others have already said in this thread, if the dog is well behaved and the owners seem to have some sort of control over them, then its usually not a problem, but more often than not it is the owners who tell me that their dog is great and so nice and doesn't need restraint that often try to harm me, the vet, or their own owners. It is my job to keep everyone in that room safe. If keeping that as my priority means that I have a "know it all" attitude then so be it.

How many times have you been bitten or nearly bitten by a dog right after the owner swears up and down that they are wonderful? I've had it happen to me and I've seen it happen to others more often than it should. It happens all the time. Most people that I have come across on this site are more responsible than the majority of owners that I see in practice, so obviously I'm not referring to those people. But I will not just take the word of a client who lets their dog run around the clinic like a complete maniac and trust that their dog won't try and seriously injure someone in that hospital.

Restraint isn't meant to hurt your dog. It's meant to keep everyone in the room safe. I'm not giving anyone an "attitude", but I will do as I have been trained to keep myself safe. I don't walk up to strange dogs in a pet store and get right in their face and hug them and I don't just walk up to a loose dog in an exam room and give them a vaccine. Without any previous knowledge, I would have no idea what could happen. Restraining the dog protects myself.

[Gharrissc]

I remember seeing an employee of Care A Lot Pet Supplies go up to a German Shepherd who was sitting behind her owner while they shopped. This dog was very fearful and didn't feel comfortable in the store to begin with . The employee goes up to the dog,bends over her,and forces her to let her give it a kiss on the snout. She was very lucky that dog didn't react by biting.

Originally Posted by GatorDog

I don't walk up to strange dogs in a pet store and get right in their face and hug them and I don't just walk up to a loose dog in an exam room and give them a vaccine.

[GatorDog]

Originally Posted by Gharrissc

I remember seeing an employee of Care A Lot Pet Supplies go up to a German Shepherd who was sitting behind her owner while they shopped. This dog was very fearful and didn't feel comfortable in the store to begin with . The employee goes up to the dog,bends over her,and forces her to let her give it a kiss on the snout. She was very lucky that dog didn't react by biting.

I see it everywhere. There are many employees and owners who just don't have a clue. In that case, I like what someone said earlier about if you're not comfortable with your vet or techs, then you should switch.

I have actually had clients come in to the vet with their dogs off leash. Dogs that I know nothing about (behavior wise). The kind of position that puts me in makes me sick to my stomach. But they promise me every time that he's the "sweetest" blah blah blah. How am I supposed to just believe that?

I worked PT in a pet store before school and one time there was a dog aggressive Pug on a super long flexi lead that went around the corner and down the aisle after a Pit Bull mix while the owner was cashing out. Obviously the Pit type dog retaliated and it turned in to an absolutely terrible scene and both owners just dropped the leashes and started screaming. Luckily the Pug lived, but was seriously injured, as were other employees and customers who tries to interfere in the fight. What I found most disturbing was that both owners swore up and down that the dogs were not dog aggressive in any way...This is why you can't just take people for their word. Now there are going to be no more pets in that store, as a safety precaution. It's the same reason we will (usually) require most owners to allow us to restrain their dogs. We can't just believe everything that everyone tells us anymore. Not when people and animals are getting hurt.

[Olivers mama]

Originally Posted by GatorDog

I never said that I know best. I stated an opinion based on what I have seen in almost a decade of working in various different veterinary facilities. Refusing to allow someone to do what they have been trained to do is ridiculous to me. As others have already said in this thread, if the dog is well behaved and the owners seem to have some sort of control over them, then its usually not a problem, but more often than not it is the owners who tell me that their dog is great and so nice and doesn't need restraint that often try to harm me, the vet, or their own owners. It is my job to keep everyone in that room safe. If keeping that as my priority means that I have a "know it all" attitude then so be it.

How many times have you been bitten or nearly bitten by a dog right after the owner swears up and down that they are wonderful? I've had it happen to me and I've seen it happen to others more often than it should. It happens all the time. Most people that I have come across on this site are more responsible than the majority of owners that I see in practice, so obviously I'm not referring to those people. But I will not just take the word of a client who lets their dog run around the clinic like a complete maniac and trust that their dog won't try and seriously injure someone in that hospital.

Restraint isn't meant to hurt your dog. It's meant to keep everyone in the room safe. I'm not giving anyone an "attitude", but I will do as I have been trained to keep myself safe. I don't walk up to strange dogs in a pet store and get right in their face and hug them and I don't just walk up to a loose dog in an exam room and give them a vaccine. Without any previous knowledge, I would have no idea what could happen. Restraining the dog protects myself.

EXACTLY.

[robk]

I leave my dog in the crate in my vehicle until it is time for him to go back to check his weight. I never let him sit in the lobby with the general population. I have learned that I cannot trust other people to control thier dogs. People come in with the most ill behaved dogs on flexi leashes that run right up to my dog. Not cool. I really don't care about the receptionist gushing over him. That type of stuff has stopped happening (so much) since he has become less puppyish looking.