Fear Free Veterinary Visits

Camden Valley Animal Hospital — Fear Free is the Cat's Meow!

Did you know that Camden Valley Animal Hospital has Fear Free® certified staff? Everyone at Camden Valley Animal Hospital is fully committed to providing stress-free veterinary services for pets and their owners.

What is 'Fear Free'?

'Fear Free' is an initiative started by Dr Marty Becker in the USA aimed at reducing the fear and anxiety that pets go through when visiting a Vet.

Why do we need it?

We aim to make your pets happy here at Camden Valley Animal Hospitals, and that includes making them mentally happy as well as treating any injury or sickness that they might experience. Research shows that animals suffer mental disease at about the same rate as humans, (1 in 5 or 20%). Most animals experience some level of fear and anxiety when coming to see us even though they may not suffer from a mental disorder. We want you and your pets to enjoy coming to see us in a relaxing 'homy' environment.

Anxious and fearful pets are also more difficult to examine and treat and can pose safety concerns to any humans in the room. Through making our hospital Fear Free we aim to improve the level of medical attention your pet receives and the effectiveness of the treatment.

The education of staff and owners will help cultivate deeper and more understanding relationships between humans and animals.

Fear Free Veterinary Visits

What changes will I notice?

The changes will be small at first, but there are a few things happening. We are creating non-slip examination tables, there will be soft music playing in the consultation rooms, pheromones plugged in and different approaches to treating anxious animals.

We will also have especially designated dog and cat consult rooms. There will also be more treats in the consultation rooms for animals (if your pet is seeing us for a tummy upset we will not give treats).

Keep an eye out for more changes over the next 12 months!

Consultation times may vary as we take extra time to ensure that your pet is comfortable and as stress free as possible at all times. This may include using some mild sedatives in some cases or postponing treatment if they are too stressed.

What can I do to help reduce fear and anxiety when my pet visits the vet?

It's all about preparation. If there is a particular part of the vet-visit process that your pet becomes really stressed or scared about, let us know and we will do all we can to reduce that fear and anxiety – for example, if your pet becomes stressed in our waiting room, we may choose to do the exam in your car or outside of the hospital.

If you are bringing a cat to see us, we ask that you bring the carrier out a few days before your visit (where possible) and have a lot of interaction between your cat and the carrier. On the way to see us, place the carrier on your back seat with the front facing the back of the seat, do not talk to your cat and keep it covered at all times, sprayed with Feliway.

When you come into the waiting room, please carry your cat carrier by the bottom and you will be directed straight into the Feline consult room. Do not let your cat out of his/her carrier, but simply place that covered carrier on the examination table facing the wall.

What if my pet needs sedation?

Sedation is a tool that we regularly use in the hospital to reduce fear and anxiety on the animals and to make it safer for our staff to examine them. Quite often sedation can be done at the time of the consult, but in some cases we may ask that your pet stays with us for a few hours.

There are many different types of sedation and we decide on what the best one to use is on a case-by-case basis. If our vets think that your pet is a candidate for sedation, they will discuss this with you at the time.

What changes will I notice?

Keep an eye out for more changes over the next 12 months!

What if my pet needs sedation?

What can I do to help reduce fear and anxiety when my pet visits the vet?

What does "Fear-Free" actually mean?

It is a better, kinder, gentler way of caring for our patients. The Fear-Free® training and certification program provides expert training for (and subsequent examination of) veterinary staff to develop procedures, handling techniques and facilities to help pets feel safe and comfortable while receiving the medical care they need. This provides a better experience for the pets and their owners as well as the veterinary staff, which makes health care and treatment easier and safer for everybody.

Ideally, the first step is prevention. Make every visit to the vet a positive one right from the start. The experience begins right from when you make your veterinary appointment.

Book for a time you won't be stressed or rushed.
Prepare yourself and your pet. Have them comfortable, safe and secure in your vehicle when you travel.
Play some calming music in the car – Reggae or soft rock have been shown to be most effective at calming dogs!
Use some Adaptil spray on a bandana or thundershirt to help nervous travellers (or maybe try some Lavender aromatherapy oil).
Start with a hungry dog and bring their favourite treats with you.
Observe your dog closely for signs of stress and if necessary stop and let them have a breather or a little walk around before getting into the car or into the vet's waiting room.
If your dog is nervous around other dogs and there are dogs in the waiting room, wait outside or in the car and call the vet receptionist to ask them to let you know when the waiting room is empty.

Cats prefer classical music in the car. Cover their carrier with a Feliway sprayed towel and carry them close to your body like a precious parcel. Place the carrier in our new purr-zone near reception while you complete the admission process.

If your cat or dog has a history of fear, anxiety or stress (FAS) associated with veterinary visits, we recommend seeing a Fear-Free® certified veterinarian. Let the receptionist know when you make your appointment. You may need to pick up a medication to reduce your cat or dog's anxiety before they even come to the vet. If your pet does experience some FAS at the vet, which may be unavoidable for some medical emergencies, they should receive medication to prevent the formation or reinforcement of fear memories associated with the treatment.

Bring your dog in for some "social visits" before you need to come for a medical reason. Let them have some positive experiences at the vet clinic without any medical procedures being done. Give them plenty of treats right from the moment they reach the car park. You can lay a trail of treats on the ground for them, into the waiting room, onto the scales and into the consult room. Small dogs can have some treats on the exam table if that's where they feel comfortable. Some dogs prefer to have their exam in their owner's arms, on a chair or on the floor.

Puppies should attend a Puppy Pre-School held at their own vet clinic if possible. That will give them lots of positive experiences in the waiting room. It is really important that all experiences the puppy has during their sensitive socialisation period are positive ones, especially those associated with other dogs and people. Visit our page on Puppy Preschool to learn more.

Happy visits,
Dr Lisa