Yesterday I took my extremely sick dog to the vet. Sitting in reception was an elderly man with the biggest male Rottweiler I have seen in a long time - I guess it weighed 70 kilos plus and his master, a puny 60 kilos ... if he was lucky! Now what really got up my nose was this twit of a man was taking great delight in encouraging his Monsterdog to lunge out and bark at every patient who dared to enter the surgery.

While I filled out documents at the desk my ailing Shepherd was clearly intimidated by the two Rambo-wannabes who had positioned themselves 'centre stage' so every body would have to admire the courage of this big brute flying out at terrified cats and other lesser dogs. No one could sit down because 'King Kong' was straining at the end of his long lead, flashing his weapons while his clearly delighted side-kick, precariously hung on for dear life.

My poor boy had slumped to the floor with his back turned too weak and too ill to react. And even my most disgusted 'drop-dead-dog' look went clean over his head like a fly-ball past a slow Rottweiler. Thankfully, I noticed the dog was wearing a chain which I hoped would take the strain and not snap and his second collar, bearing a design, confirmed the 'hanger-on' was certainly not the expert he was pretending to be.

And here's the point - next time you take your dog, big or small, with attitude or not, to the vet please consider others in the waiting room. Not all animals are there for a check or their jabs. Some are old, some are sick, some are mortally injured and some are there for a final farewell.

So please, always make sure your dog is under control.

• Do use appropriate equipment - a harness or cloth collar is ineffectual in controlling a strong animal.
• Do use equipment which will not break.
• Do not enter reception if your dog is badly behaved - rather ask for advice or assistance.
• Do request a muzzle if you think your dog will bite.
• Do arrange for someone to accompany you to the vet if you struggle to control your dog
• Do transport cats in baskets for obvious reasons.

Once in reception, you should control your dog by holding it firmly by the collar while it sits quietly between your feet. Yet another excellent reason why you should attend a training school and educate both yourself and your dog.