Scared at the vets

I am a little confused about Dukes behaviour at the vets today. He was happy in the waiting room waggy tail, nice loose lead and interested looking at the other dogs, but when he got lifted onto the table he was scared and shaking. The vet fussed him and offered him a treat, but he refused it. He didn't need any treatment it was just a post surgery check to make sure it was healing well.
Did he refuse the treat because he was scared?

Aww poor Duke. Yes I believe that he wouldn't eat as he was scared. I've heard that a scared dog can't eat. Poor thing, Misty can act very scared at the vets even when they don't do anything.

Our vets always get on the floor to look at Misty to save her being lifted, I don't know if that might help  Duke a little bit?

Oh yes. Going there, doing that at the moment.

Like Emma, I prefer to have the dogs on the floor rather than lifting them on the table. All of the vets at our practice are quite happy to sit on the floor with us.

So the bad news is that Duke's worried by going into the consulting room. The good news is that you can do something about it if your vets are happy to help you. Take him to the surgery at a quiet time, give him some treats, leave. Don't go further than the waiting room - even that will have an expectation with it. Take him a couple of times till he's completely relaxed about just going in and out of the building, having some treats, then going home. Maybe even ask a nurse or someone to come and say hello and give him a treat too.

Then ask if you can just take him into a consulting room, no one else, just you. Do the same, take him in, give him a fuss and cuddle, wait for him to realise that's all it is, then leave. Again, do that a couple of times till he's chilled, then ask someone to come in with you. If necessary, book a nurse appointment. Don't let them do anything apart from fuss and treat (he should be ok with this by now) until he can go in happily and eat treats. Then ask the nurse to pretend to check him over, just easy stuff like feeling around him.

That should do the trick until you next need something done. If it's a routine visit, then I'd take him in once before the visit to remind him it's ok.

Of course, if you then have a case of infected anal glands that require lots of uncomfortably prodding and poking, you're back to square 1! But even then you should be able to regain lost ground with training again (shouldn't we, Chaos?).

Poor Chaos
Thanks for the advice, he was ok till he had to have his wound stapled on Tuesday I think it hurt him and scared him. He only had to have a check today but was still scared.
He will have to go back 10 - 14 days after his op to have the stitches out so over the next week I will just take him to the surgery and treat him, and they are very good as I got to know them well as my last staffy had epilepsy and we were there quite a lot. I think they will let me go into a room in the way you suggest.
Thank you, poor little Duke, he's fast asleep now bless him.

The thing is, at the moment Duke doesn't know if it's just a check or something awful, so he's expecting the worse. The above should help him re-establish an expecation of something nicer.

Poor Chaos indeed, it was awful for him today.

mia wnt take the biscuit from the vet , I cant lift mia on the table by myself I usually have the vet do it shes fine I used to take mia into the vet regardless of whether she was being seen or not bless her