How do we help our pets feel comfortable visiting the veterinary clinic?

All animals need veterinary care at some stage in their life. Luckily for some, most of their care is preventative. However, all animals, regardless of their level of pain or illness, risk becoming fearful in the veterinary clinic. Why is this?

An animal’s level of fear in the veterinary clinic is influenced by three main factors:

• The animal’s genetic predisposition to be fearful
• The veterinary clinic’s physical and social environment
• The animal’s past experiences from which the pet has learned about similar situations

The animal’s genetic predisposition to be fearful

The veterinary clinic’s physical and social environment

• Is the clinic environment quiet and well-organised without noisy animals making distressed vocalisations? Veterinary clinics can be managed in ways that are less stressful for patients, staff and clients. This has a circular benefit as animals entering the clinic can be less fearful, enjoy their experience and learn that the veterinary clinic is not a threatening place. They can then be less fearful at future visits. Some animals can be more fearful around other animals or people and a well-organised clinic that reduces social interactions with unfamiliar animals and people can be less fear-inducing.
• Do the staff behave calmly, move slowly and fluidly and talk in quiet and gentle tones? How staff behave affects an animal’s emotional state. Staff who are generally very stressed, make sudden unpredictable movements and/or sudden loud sounds can increase an animal’s anxiety. In contrast, staff who behave calmly, talk in soft tones and don’t make sudden movements are less likely to increase an animal’s anxiety in the clinic.
• Do the staff avoid getting close to your pet when your pet is giving signals that they are worried? Animals communicate their fear in many ways and there are courses to help veterinary staff and pet caregivers understand the body language signs of fear and anxiety. Veterinary staff who do not recognise a pet’s signs of fear and anxiety may unwittingly get too close to an animal before the animal is ready for the staff member’s approach, so the animal’s fear increases. You can be an advocate for all animals by asking the veterinary clinic staff to become certified in Fear Free or Low Stress Handling. You can also learn more about your pet’s communication about fear and anxiety. Then if you see veterinary staff ignoring your pet’s signs of fear, you can advocate directly for your pet.

The animal’s past experiences from which the pet has learned about similar situations

• Has the animal visited when in pain, ill or left in the clinic for surgery (including desexing surgery)? Being in pain, ill or staying as an inpatient at the veterinary clinic can all be traumatic for some animals. Then they may fear visiting the clinic again. We must help these animals learn not to fear the clinic at a time when they are well and pain-free. The experiences need to be provided in a way that does not increase their fear of the veterinary clinic.
• Has the animal been forcefully held while giving signals of fear or muzzled and forcefully held for treatments? Forceful restraint can be terrifying for some animals. Remember that they do not know when the restraint will end or what will happen to them. If they are also in pain or ill at the time, they will feel generally more vulnerable, thus increasing their fear learning. Teaching your pet Collaborative Care techniques from a young age and choosing to use a veterinary clinic whose veterinary staff use a Low Stress Handling or Fear Free approach can avoid the risk of forceful restraint.

When we restrain an animal and force them to allow treatments, we know that the treatments will help the animal. However, the animal does not. From the pet’s perspective, they are held against their will and must allow manhandling and treatments that they may find uncomfortable or painful. Their experience can have a profound effect on their future level of fear in the veterinary clinic.

Animals learn from scary experiences and change their future behaviours to avoid those experiences. Behavioural signs of fear, such as hiding, struggling, fleeing, trembling and/or aggression can occur leading some veterinary staff to feel that increased restraint of the animal is needed. This then further increases the animal’s fear. The long-term result is that the animal is more fearful at the next visit, and if the veterinary staff have not changed their approach, increased restraint will be used, perpetuating the cycle of increased fear and fear-learning. Some animals then need sedation so that any treatment or examination is possible. Imagine how that animal will feel if they ever have to stay overnight for hospitalisation!

When an animal learns that veterinary treatments are scary and/or painful, the animal will expect something bad will happen when they enter the clinic in future. We then need to teach the animal that the clinic is not always a scary place, which is harder than avoiding fear-learning in the first place.

Education is now available to all veterinary staff so that the approach to animals can reduce fear learning.

Different techniques can be used to reduce the need for restraint while still keeping the veterinarian, animal, and pet caregiver safe. Consider scheduling an appointment for a Collaborative Care session with Bec at Animal Progress so that your animal can learn to offer behaviours that allow veterinary treatments. They can collaborate in their own care. This method has been used in places where animal restraint and forcing them to comply is not allowed due to its negative effect on animal welfare as well as the risk to staff from some species if an animal defends itself.