What is your view on this reaction? - Page 5

Hans he is being trained in real world protection.....however this is the only instance he has done this, and I will be working on his reaction there more and more as soon as I can.   Everywhere else we go I have had total control and he has always been stable.  Kids can hug him,  pet him, etc and he is fine with that.  With people he likes some to pet him, others he just ignores.  All of my other dogs act "different" at the vet compared to other places, though all of them are in 100% total control all of the time there.   This is just shows me the area I need to work on with him, that's how I see it.  Otherwise he is and always has been 100% there.

Sounds like he is a well adjusted dog. In the vet clinic  many dogs are very scared and release their glands. When your dog enters this area he will smell it and he  then becomes much more tense also. It is hard for him to relax in this environment. Then even the smallest source of stress in form of even mild  threat gets him over the top. That is all understandable and your vet should take more time with your dog in order to put him at ease. Fear caused by particular stimulus is very memorable and just about unforgettable emotion. I would venture to say that your dog is going react from now on this way. You must then use muzzle, which is a good idea in any case, and also show him a leadership. 
      You are telling him: " I am in charge, you do not need to worry." Give him commands (sid , heel, down) and expect proper response. Praise him if he does correct him if he does not. That will show him that he does not need to take charge  and be stressed out by that. since obviously you are in charge.   I think this could be corrected, but considering that you go to the vet only rarely it may be too involved considering that this is only intermittent problem.
 Remember your dog will pick up on your emotions too and if you are worried that the dog is going to do something undesirable like being aggressive to your vet , then the dog will sense your worries and will misread them as a fear that you are afraid of the same thing as he is that is of the vet. That makes it worse too. Thus your worry will diminish if the dog has a muzzle on since he can not hurt the vet. Use humane muzzle as it is on my www where the dog can breath freely. Let him wear it during the day and put it on him hours before you go to the vet so that he does not learn to associate it with the trip to the vet. Stay away from prolonged use of the muzzles which constrain the dog from opening the mouth and from  panting.!!!! Such muzzle can kill your dog in hot or humid weather.  The only humane muzzle is a muzzle where the dog can open his muzzle freely and pant and even drink. They are hard to find.




I hope this all helps.
Prager Hans
http://www.alpinek9.com