Vet says that my 7 year old male Rottweiler is aggressive

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(usa)

HI,
I have a 7 year old Male and the last 2 times I have taken him to the vet he becomes moody when the vet tries to take blood. This vet has asked that from the time he was a year old to muzzle him when he comes in. So I have. The vet told me that my rottie was very aggressive but she took the muzzle off of him and was petting him.

When they take blood or try to they grab him around the neck and push him to the ground. They do not let me near him and he freaks out he lets out like this high pitched yelp and pushes away from them. I am very attached to my dog as he has saved my life!!! i was being robbed and my rottie did his job!

I guess my question is this aggressive behavior or do i need a new vet?

Hi
It’s very difficult to evaluate and comment on a question like this because I can’t actually SEE what is happening and the interaction between all parties, but from what you describe it doesn’t sound as though your dog is being aggressive as such. If he’s well-socialized and hasn’t shown any aggression in situations that don’t warrant it, then he’s probably not an ‘aggressive’ dog.

I wonder why they asked for him to be muzzled from a year on? Did he bite/snap/growl or whatever at them, or was it just ‘routine procedure’ for them with a large, guardian breed?

Not all professionals who deal with animals know or understand large breeds such as Rottweilers and they may over-react or approach situations with more ‘force’ than is necessary. From what you describe I would say it’s understandable that your dog gets scared and reacts when they are trying to take his blood. This doesn’t sound like the right approach to me.

My 10 year old male has the best temperament ever, and he will tolerate almost anything at the vet’s office (including rectal exams!) BUT he hates it when they need to give him the Bordatella nasal drops. Sometimes he even growls, which is a sound I rarely hear him make, so I muzzle him for that part. BUT, my veterinarian and staff never push him around, or are rough with him. I hold his head and calm him and they talk to him quietly and do whatever it is they must without a fuss.

Obviously I’m not hearing about the situation from your vet’s point of view and maybe there is more to this than I know, but from the facts I have here I would say that you should perhaps try to find a veterinarian who is more comfortable around your dog and who won’t scare him this way. It certainly couldn’t hurt to try, and your dog relies on you to protect and care for him the way he protects you, so if you can make this easier on him (while keeping everyone safe) then it’s worth a shot!

Hope this helps, best of luck with it all.

Comments for Vet says that my 7 year old male Rottweiler is aggressive

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Jun 24, 2011

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Aggressive @ Vet’s Office
by: Debby Kendall

It sounds to me as though your Vet has a problem with Rottweiler’s & could in some way fear them. I think you need to find a new Vet,there is no reason to have your dog pushed down & held down to draw blood , anymore than it is for not allowing you to hold & comfort him while this is being done. If this continues this way he will become aggressive and a trip to see a Vet will or could turn into problems.

Jun 04, 2011

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the Predefined image in many peoples mind about this breed
by: Girish

the problem is mainly the pre defined image created by lot of news about this breed.

But one need to be extra careful considering the location where you live. that makes a big diff.
(we have a GSD in our complex who bite now almost 5 people, but there is no complain etc or govt. officials coming to put him down etc as i see lot of cases in europe. thats why highlighted this example above, allthough its not the mistake of the GSD, its more the owners mistake i feel and the mistake of people who go near to that GSD on leash trying to pet him knowing he is human aggressive )

coming back to the topic,
Even our vet from the time Rocky was just 3 months been advising us to be careful because he is a rottweiler !!!, but with the time, he accept that its only his size and power makes it difficult to control him when he want to resist being given injections

the behaviour of pup trying to escape being injected is nothing to worry about. even my rotty do that if he feel pain, even to the extend holding our hands with is mouth as if trying to get the hand off him to move away. But never get his teeths hurt us 🙂

if your pup had tried biting or bark and jump on the vet before giving injection i may consider it as aggression , but not trying to move away when forced down and injected.

sorry to say , Like we locate trainers who trained big breeds , similarly you must locate a vet who deal with bigger breeds like rottys. who know how to handle such breed before giving vaccinations.

you may alternative try this way. some one from family (who your rotty is very confident about) to hold his head and neck such covering his view back way and let vet give injection. we do that very efficiently with our rotty. as we hold him from neck and what he see is just us and poor soul dont react even if he feel pain, may be thinkign its us and he accept that 🙂

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