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Dogs especially have an insane superpower of a nose, they surely smell the fear and even just regular body odour of all the previous animals who've come through there in the last week. I don't know if the cleaning protocol of even the most fastidiously-hygienic clinics could get rid of that 'doggy Holocaust train' smell. It puts me in mind of my own struggles with autistic sensory overload. It must be the equivalent of someone like me being walked through a door and out onto the stage at Wembley Stadium without anyone telling me what was about to happen. At least in my case, I'd see the crowd, whereas the dog only smells the ghosts of animals past and has to imagine what might have caused their pheromone bukakke.

The same goes for the vet/groomer themselves; they surely emit the screaming echos of slaughterhouse stank like a pealing church bell every second of the day. They are absorbing pure animal terror into their clothes and onto their skin like an adrenochrome-fiending Clinton.

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[-] Ebby@lemmy.ssba.com 6 points 1 month ago

We have a vet open up recently that uses calming pheromones throughout and plenty of distractions for pets to make them feel comfortable. A lot of effort was put into pet psychology in the design of the offices.

[-] Pronell@lemmy.world 2 points 1 month ago

That may be a Fear Free clinic. If it isn't, that certification may be worth them looking into.

[-] Ebby@lemmy.ssba.com 1 points 1 month ago

Bingo. It absolutely is.

[-] bassomitron@lemmy.world 5 points 1 month ago* (last edited 1 month ago)

Unless you're my dog, who fucking loves going to the vet and groomer. He has zero survival instincts, though.

[-] arakhis_@feddit.org 0 points 1 month ago

Depression resistance +1000

[-] bassomitron@lemmy.world 1 points 1 month ago

Oh 100%. He's 13 years old and still acts like a big, dumb puppy. Yellow labs/labs in general tend to be like that, though. Just happy with life, haha.

[-] Kyle_The_G@lemmy.world 4 points 1 month ago

My cats don't mind the vet either. My one ragdoll they have trouble taking his heartbeat because he keeps purring and trying to be social

[-] idiomaddict@lemmy.world 2 points 1 month ago

My cat’s cool until they try to take her temperature, which she hates. She always looks at me like I’ve betrayed her and I can’t blame her, it’s a pretty invasive thing that I can’t exactly explain to her. She just knows that I brought her somewhere and tried to calm her down before someone put something in her ass.

[-] ExtremeDullard@lemmy.sdf.org 2 points 1 month ago* (last edited 1 month ago)

I hate the hospital for the same reason. Nothing like the mixed smells of chlorhexidine and death in a cancer ward.

But as a human, I can at least rationalize being there on an intellectual level

[-] cynar@lemmy.world 1 points 1 month ago

Dog particularly pick up on our emotions. If you're always worried and stressed when you go to the vet, your dog will pick up on that.

My dog had a few checkups, not that long after we got him. None were stressful either to him, or us. Since then, he LOVES the vets. He has lots of new people paying attention to him and lots of new smells!

A fear of the vets is a learned response. If your vet is that frightening to them, I would consider looking at other vets.

A good excuse for a quick visit is to weigh them. Most vets I've seen have a dog scale in the reception. If you mention you also want to make sure they are not afraid of a vets visit, most will have zero issues with it. It also lets you check they are growing at an appropriate rate.

[-] Pronell@lemmy.world 1 points 1 month ago

My wife works at a certified Fear Free clinic. Customers are only allowed in the building when their animals are being put down. (A greeter goes out to retrieve animals from the cars and return them after the appointment.)

Animals are happy to be there, because it doesn't smell like fear any longer. There's no waiting room with other animals. Just the staff who are happy to see them.

It is a real game changer.

[-] kobra@lemm.ee 0 points 1 month ago

This puts a lot of trust in the vets and vet staff, I don’t think I’d be comfortable with it. I definitely see the benefits but it seems like owners should accompany the pet to the visit, at least for the exam portion. It’s too much of an opportunity for good communication between the vet and the owner, especially since the pet can’t speak for themselves.

[-] Pronell@lemmy.world 1 points 1 month ago

Just replying again since my wife got home.

She said what actually happens is that when the pet is in the exam room, the customer is brought to the room. I just didn't know the whole process post-covid. You were right!

[-] princessnorah@lemmy.blahaj.zone 1 points 1 month ago

Hell, even I can smell that there's been a million other dogs through there, I can't even imagine what it's like with a way more sensitive snout!

this post was submitted on 19 Mar 2025
14 points (88.9% liked)

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