My Greater Swiss Mountain Dog (giant breed) has been having recurrent UTIs. She went to a new vet today for an ultrasound of her bladder to check for stones. She was supposed to be at the vet’s all morning, but due to unexpected developments, they were able to get her in right away. The vet called me and mentioned that they’d found nothing on the ultrasound, but she wanted to do a digital vaginal exam to check for abnormalities in the vagina. I said “yes” but had second thoughts right after hanging up – the vet was a new person to my dog, after all, which might make a necessary but invasive procedure scarier. I called back to ask them to wait so I could at least be there for reassurance, but the line was busy, and by the time I got through, the exam had been done.

My dog seemed just fine when I picked her up, and we all know that dogs are not the most particular about their hindquarters, as sniffing attests, but this was a bit more invasive than sniffing, so I have to ask: how much discomfort (in all senses) do dogs feel during a vaginal exam? I know it’s difficult to ascertain, but – well, I gotta ask.