Fritz gets his vaccines

This was a day  I dreaded: taking Fritz to get his annual shots at the local vaccine clinic at Tractor Supply Co.  He is very reactive to other dogs and gets very nervous when there are too many dogs and people too close to him.  This is why I walked in toward the end of the vaccine clinic.  The clinic is always from 1:30pm- 3pm and I came in at 2:30pm.  I originally came in to let the vet crew know I had a reactive dog waiting in my truck (with the AC on high!) and would wait until the end to bring Fritz inside the store, when the other dogs had left.

There were surprisingly few people in line when I walked in.  I saw only four people with their pets: two cats and two dogs. There were many more a month earlier when I brought Gretchen in and it took me 1:20 hours  in line. This time it would only take 40 minutes, so I decided to get Fritz ready now.

I bought an XL muzzle for him from the store and then went back to the truck to get Fritz ready.  He had outgrown his L-size muzzle.  I placed it on him while he was still in the truck.  He didn't fight me too much, surprisingly, although he did show some discomfort wearing the mesh so tightly around his mouth. He tried pulling it off him as soon as he got out of the truck, but then obediently walked inside the store. That was a relief: he wasn't pulling on the leash!

The second surprise was seeing how at ease Fritz was inside the store.  He didn't lunge at the dogs in line.  SteveT was there with his dog Trace and he didn't react to him, either.  He stayed close to me and listened to my commands.  A couple behind me complimented me on how handsome Fritz is.

I did, however, keep my distance because the dog behind me, a border collie, made Fritz nervous.  Fritz gave off a deep, guttural growl.  I was asked to move to the other side of the aisle for added distance from the cats and I complied, as the last thing I wanted was a dog attack in a crowded area.

Fritz initially looked calm.  He easily got on the scale to reveal 86 pounds.  (His dad Hansel only weighs 71 pounds) But he clammed up when  it was his turn to get his shots. A vet tech held him tightly. I could tell Fritz was scared by the look in his eyes.  He was looking at me for comfort and I tried to talk calmly to him as he got his his rabies, rattlesnake, and his 5-1 vaccines.

I turned away to pay the bill when Fritz reacted and tried to bite the vet tech. I didn't see him do it, but the DVM kindly told me I should take Fritz to my regular vet going forward as now he will always associate these vaccine clinics with a painful experience.  Luckily he didn't get to bite anyone because of the muzzle, but his behavior in the end confirmed to me that Fritz still has a long way to go to learn to relax around other people and dogs.

He did not get his bordetella vaccine and microchip because of the muzzle and his bite attempt.  The bordetella vaccine is administered up the nose and the muzzle was in the way.  But at least he has all his other vaccines and I don't need to stress over taking Fritz to the vet again for another year.

I stopped at McD's on the way home for iced coffee and chicken nuggets for Fritz, but he refused his treat.  He seemed more relaxed when he got his night walk.