boxer urinating in house

My 4 year old boxer has become terrified of the vet. He had a bad experience with one vet a couple years ago and now when we take him to a different vet he becomes very aggressive and they end up muzzling him and having to be forceful. This dog is normally very friendly and a big baby. Last week I had to bring him in because of this allergy he had on his paws. It was the whole scenario again with the muzzle and him being very afraid. They started him on an antibiotic and steroid (Prednisone). That night I gave him his first dose and the next morning he urinated in the house. I thought maybe he was stiill shook up from the night before. But now he continues to have accidents in the house and I'm not sure if it's from the meds or what else it could be. It does seem that he is drinking more water too. Do you have any suggestions? Thanks!

 

Sorry your dog had such a bad experience at the vets.

The urinating 'could' be due to the Prednisone, excesive urination is a side effect, increased thirst, so make sure he has access to plenty of water, you might also see an increase in appetite (usually its around the 3rd day...just a perosnal observation) you dont need to feed anymore than the regular diet though as this can make them pile on the pounds.

As for the reaction to the vet now, I dont know what the situation was that happened in the past, there is some things that you might be able to do though to help. Ive had some people just bring their dog in once a week (once a day if they can but thats usually not a possibility) and just..., have the vet or a tech come out to the waiting room, maybe sit next to you for a couple of minutes, offer the dog a discuit or other treat and then you leave, the dog will gradually realize that sometimes a trip to the vet is not such a bad thing, you can progress with this to actually sitting in an exam room, have the vet come (without a white doctors jacket!!!!) and just pet and talk to the dog for a couple of minutes, give him a treat and then you leave again.
Sometimes a different technician assisting can help, one of the hospitals I worked at I had a couple of clients that would phone ahead and ask if I was in that day, if I wasnt she would wait to bring her dogs in until I was there (as long as it wasnt an emergency) and other clients did the same with other techs, sometimes its good for a specific tech to have a bond with the client and the pet, the client is more relaxed, they already trust the vet to do his/her job but they need to also trust the techs as the techs are the ones handling the dog, so, less anxiousness from the client (the dog will pick up an your anxiety) and the dog gets to know one person a little better instead of just walking head on into a room full strangers that terrify him.
Another thing that helps sometimes is do you stay with your dog when you take him in? In a threatening situation (which this now is) a dog will generally be more agitated/aggressive/defensive if the owner is present, they feel they also need to protect you, I couldnt tell you how many times Ive gone into a room and a dog has started backing off, snarling and growling at me...Ive taken the leash, walked out of the room and away from the owner and the dog is now licking my hands. This can also work opposite though, there are some dogs that are better when the owner is with them but the owner needs to be relaxed and 'in control'.

Muzzles usually calm a dog down, they realize that they have no defence so they usually dont put up much of a struggle if any. However if the dog is already 'fighting', putting the muzzle on can be traumatic to them, if your dog absolutely needs a muzzle maybe you could put it on outside right before you go in to see the vet.
Dont know if any of the helps.

 

my old Shepherd has to take prednisone now and then to help her get rid of excess fluid buildup caused from her liver disease. I use pullups for Sadie so she doesn't leak all over the house - they work good. Problem is the biggest size I could find is a bit tight on her but we make due

 

You can also use clicker training to desensitize the dog to the vet, and TTouch methods are also very useful.

 

poor baby, does your vet make housecalls or can you find one? I had on years ago and it relly helped my cat who would have a coronary getiing into the car.

I agree too about the pred, it makes you extremely thirsty and he probably has to pee a lot more

good luck

honeybear

 

If it is the medicine making him drink more and therefore having to pee more, just make sure he has more opportunities to go outside. Any place he has peed on in the house, make sure you use an enzymatic cleaner such as Nature's Miracle to clean it up. Follow the directions on the bottle.

 

I totally agree with Delauk about the desensitization. I did that with Brie for a while. But I still muzzle her BEFORE we get in the exam room if the exam requires alot of poking and proding. People laugh when I walk in with a little weenie dog and say "I have a 10:00 appointment and need a small muzzle, please." But it does calm her down.

 

My dog snickers is TERRIFIED of the vet, we have to drag her in, because our vet is rather far though, I can't take her once a week or anything to desensitize her. But, we have known one of the techs for a really long time (he left though *cry*) and when we took snickers, he made sure that we got the most gentle vet. She doesn't snarl or get violent, she's just very afraid.