Friday, September 18, 2009

Scaaaaaa-ream!


BnB went to the vet the other night to get the last of their puppy shots. Let's just say it went, well, not so great. They were fine until they were surprised by the thermometer in their nether region; Baxter actually handled it better than Bella who practically climbed up and over Maggie's shoulder. Cripes!

When the Vet came in, Baxter let her touch him, look at his teeth, look in his ears...you know the drill. No problem there. Then Bella got on the table and actually snapped at the Vet for attempting to look at her teeth! After a bit of wrangling and a somewhat stern forcing of the issue, we discussed how this little issue needed to be addressed soon before it gets carried away!


The truth is: we "know". Boy howdy do we "know". We "know" so much our heads are about to explode. We've read books. We've read web pages. We've contacted the Humane Society. We've worked with them. WE KNOW!

This little attitude from our sweet Bella (okay...so she's not always sweet...she's sometimes part Satan) has just started within the last 2 weeks. To give you an idea, Baxter and Bella can be eating dinner (separate bowls, separate locations), and before Bella is even finished, she starts to growl and then runs over and attacks Baxter who may not have even been looking in her direction! She even got snarky with me one day when I sternly told her to stop eating a shrub!

We're not quite sure where this is coming from except that we see she's losing her baby teeth (whimper, whimper) so maybe she's teething. Or maybe it's hormonal. Or maybe we aren't doing something right! It's probably a combination of all three.

Okay, so we're done with Bella. They both were escorted to the back room where the Vet Techs give them their meds. The plan is to do the blood work required for their spay/neuter at the same time. Usually not a problem...except not that day.

I bet you're thinking Bella gave them grief, right? Not so. While we're in the waiting room, we hear a familiar boy dog acting as if he's being sent to slaughter. The next thing we know, the Vet comes to get us so we can help! They hadn't even touched him -- not one tiny hair on his body. He wouldn't let them get near him. It was the strangest thing I've ever seen from him. They've been socialized many times over, from the time they were born!


So, we got down on the floor, stroked his back, fluffed his hair, played with his face in hopes of distracting him enough so the Vet could give him his shots. I swear, the woman's hand barely grazed the surface of his hair --- HIS HAIR --- and he scaaaa-reamed like a little school girl. We tried this and we tired that, all to no avail. Finally, the Vet decided to give him a little "don't give a shit" sedative so they could get the rest done, and with one quick shot to the butt, he slowly calmed to drunken sailor state. Fifteen minutes later, all was done and they gave him a reversal shot.

What the heck?! It wasn't a full moon! I don't think anything funky was in the water!

As I think back on it, Bella was already a little agitated before we got there. I'm not sure what her problem was, but that probably lead to her outburst. And Baxter, it probably didn't help him to see Bella act like a turd, or hear her acting like a turd. What we should have done (I think) is to do what we would have done had he been a little kid -- take him home and let him calm down and try again another day. I just hope this event hasn't left an irreversible mark on his psyche so that ever time we walks into the Vet's office, he goes all wonky.

Whatever the case, Maggie and I left the office with our tails between our legs, feeling like we've failed our children; like we must have gone to the Laurel and Hardy School for Dog Obedience; like we're doomed to hell unless we get this fixed ASAP.

I've contacted Columbia Dog Obedience school so we can set up training as soon as the next class begins. Not sure why they call it "dog" training when it's really "human" training. We're also working on "mouth" training; whenever we are giving them loving, we make sure to move our hands all around their muzzles so they get used to us playing with their face. And we're packing heat...the squirt bottle really...so we can get their attention when behavior gets a little out of control (like at a dinner time).

I would be lying if I said that getting 2 dogs, siblings, at the same time was a good idea. On the surface it seems like it's doable, but in reality, not so much. If you're in the market for a dog or a pair of dogs, be sure to think about this!

We're not giving up though, because they're our kids. We love them more than life even if they do embarrass us and make us feel less than stellar.

If I remember correctly, our human kids did this, too, and look at them now!

2 comments:

betty said...

sorry it wasn't a "stellar" moment at the vets. Koda usually does well there because they placate him with treats; as long as they feed him, they can pretty much do anything they want

obedience school/training sounds like a great idea! Koda is pretty good natured unless there is a cat or trash truck involved

betty

Angela said...

Oh, oh. And they are so darn precious. I know you've read all the books but Cesar Milan would insist that they have a long tiring walk before going to the vet.