How to stop your dog from causing embarrassing scenes in public
Public spaces like vet offices and crowded rooms often trigger unexpected disasters like massive indoor accidents, loud bodily noises, or dogs bolting and invading personal space. These mortifying moments leave owners stranded in stunned waiting rooms, unable to control their pets' sudden panic, excitement, or biological urges.
What people tried
Every workaround mentioned in the threads below. We haven’t tested any of them — and nobody here is claiming they worked.
- 1Walking a mile and a half to the vet so the dog's tank is empty
- 2Leaving early for the vet to handle nervous bathroom trips
- 3Using multiple trips into town for water to bathe a dog after a mess
- 4licking the area
- 5wiping daily
- 6undergoing a vulvoplasty procedure
- 7Contacting the SPCA or veterinarian for evaluation
- 8Waiting for the cat to acclimate and adjust after the operation
In their words
Unedited, most upvoted first, each linked to the thread it came from.
“At the vet’s office, my dog decided to let out the loudest fart possible while everyone was silent.”source ↗
“She’s also the only one who sometimes has glands that stank.”source ↗
“Every time - without fail ‐ upon walking into the vet's office, our lab takes a giant dump.”source ↗
“every time he barks at another dog his anal glands release (disgusting) and he immediately has to shamefully lick his butthole after.”source ↗
“My baby girl peed at the vet last week, but it was because she's so excited”source ↗
“He peed, and peed, and peed, and peed. There was a lake on the floor. OES are big dogs, and they have big bladders. We all just stood around the widening Great Lake of Pee and sighed. The rest of the waiting room stared.”source ↗
“Wait until the time she barks so hard that her anal glands assplode all over you.”source ↗
“My timid girl decided that the safest place to go was directly underneath a man who was boxed into his seat and holding his own pet.”source ↗
“My boxer peed on a girl's wheelchair that I was crushing on 15 years ago.”source ↗
“My dog was 110 lbs and broke away from me, jumped over the ground floor balcony, smashed through this guys screen door and jumped up on the couch next to him.”source ↗
“My dogs anal glands assplode every single time he barks so hard at another dog.”source ↗
“I rescued my cat Snacks, 3m, a few months ago. During that time I noticed he has some extra….jewels.”source ↗
“After Snacks procedure do you think the behavior will stop of him hitting my dog?”source ↗
“I’ve always had neutered cats before, but I’ve never had one for enough time to adjust to them before getting neutered. What other changes should I expect from Snacks?”source ↗
Where this came up
People with this problem also raised
- 2Why does my dog express their anal glands when stretching?
- 13Why does my puppy keep peeing on the sofa and bed?
- 2Why does my dog carry water in their mouth and spill it everywhere?
- 2Why is my gray kitten turning orange?
- 4How to handle fake emotional support animals in restaurants
- 15How to calm down a hyperactive teenage dog