{"id":2671,"date":"2020-09-28T17:27:23","date_gmt":"2020-09-28T17:27:23","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.humanepa.org\/?p=2671"},"modified":"2020-09-28T17:27:27","modified_gmt":"2020-09-28T17:27:27","slug":"behavioral-health-keeping-fear-out-of-the-exam-room","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blog.humanepa.org\/?p=2671","title":{"rendered":"Behavioral Health: Keeping Fear out of the Exam Room"},"content":{"rendered":"
By: Dr. Jackie Connolly, Associate Veterinarian for Humane Veterinary Hospitals<\/em><\/h5>\n

\u00a0<\/strong>Imagine you are a cat; living your best life on a sunny windowsill, thinking about when your human\u2019s are going to bring you your next meal. \u00a0Suddenly your owner places you in an unfamiliar carrier, puts you in a moving vehicle and brings you to a place where they touch your ears, look in your mouth and poke you with needles. Scary right?\u00a0 Now imagine you are a dog, about to go for a car ride. You are so excited to go to the park, but then your owner pulls up to the scary building where they trim your nails. You hate having your paws touched, especially since a few times the nail trim really hurt! Your owner pulls you by the leash and through the door as you try your hardest to pull in the other direction. When the nurse goes to pet you, you start to urinate because you are so scared of what they might do.\"\"<\/p>\n

For many years we did not consider the emotional health of our pets, even in the veterinary setting.\u00a0 Now, we know that we can do so much better to keep our patients free from anxiety and stress during their visit.\u00a0 Through open communication, proper planning, and the use of toys and treats, we at Humane Veterinary Hospitals know how to make your pet\u2019s experience at the veterinarian a good one.<\/p>\n

Identifying Fear and Anxiety <\/strong><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/strong>Since our patients cannot speak to us, we have to rely on behaviors to identify fear and anxiety.\u00a0 When dogs and cats are stressed, they show many nonverbal pleas for help before reaching the point of \u2018fight or flight.\u2019 \u00a0\u00a0These behaviors may include shaking, tucking their tail, ears back, tense body, enlarged pupils, showing the whites of their eyes, yawning, or avoidance. \u00a0As with humans, fear may not always be rational and once our pets feel they are in danger, it can be difficult to tell them everything is going to be ok. If my patients are running from me, urinating on themselves, or trying to bite, continuing to push them is the worst thing I could do.<\/p>\n

Luckily, our animal care team can identify these behaviors, as well as common stressors, and take action before they become a problem. We can also use rewards and distractions to keep our patients calm in uncomfortable or painful situations.<\/p>\n

Communication <\/strong><\/p>\n

The first phone call you make to the veterinarian is the best time to voice any behavioral concerns you have with your pet. This is especially important if your pet has certain \u201ctriggers\u201d for fear such as other dogs, men, loud noises, carriers, stainless steel tables, nail trimmers, etc.\u00a0 Some pets may even have a history of lunging, biting, and scratching (the \u2018fight\u2019 response of fear) and may require sedatives for their visit.\u00a0 By discussing your pet\u2019s behavioral needs with our receptionist or nurse, we can make accommodations such as, scheduling at a less busy hour, or for a longer appointment slot. We can also address these behavioral concerns at the time of the appointment to make sure your next visit is even better!<\/p>\n

Communication is a two way street. Our team will make it a priority to explain to you what needs to be done or what cannot be done given your pet\u2019s emotional state. Our staff are trained in animal behavioral and body language, allowing us to identify when your pet is feeling stressed or anxious. The goal is to identify what works best for the individual patient and to make the experience positive.<\/p>\n

Planning for Your Visit<\/strong><\/p>\n

Fear and stress in our patients may start as soon as they see their carrier or are put into the car.\u00a0 As we know from dealing with stress in our own lives, it can become exponentially worse the longer we are in the situation. If a patient enters our hospital already stressed, this makes it even harder for us to ensure a positive experience for them. The good news is that there are things owners can do at home to help.<\/p>\n

It helps to keep our canine patients retrained during transport so they do not become car sick or feel unstable. Non slip liners can be used for their comfort. Training your dog to sit calmly in the car before making a trip to the vet\u2019s office can also be very helpful. The use of classical music, phermone sprays, and puzzle toys can also help keep your dog distracted and free from stress.<\/p>\n

Cats are very sensitive to loud noises and changes in their environment, especially new smells and people. It is best practice to get them used to their carrier as a kitten, and leave it out at all times.\u00a0 Though the use of pheromone sprays (Feliway), toys, and treats, the carrier can be made into a \u2018safe space.\u2019 I recommend my clients purchase a hard carrier that opens easily from the top. This allows our patients to feel secure, and makes it easier for us to do our examination where they feel safe.\u00a0 Keeping a soft, clean blanket in the carrier and placing a towel over the carrier can keep our feline friends comfortable and allow them to hide.\u00a0 Owners should never force cats into carriers or attempt to wrangle a cat who is biting or scratching. Always call your veterinarian if you are having trouble, so we can figure out a new plan that works.<\/p>\n

The Power of the Food Reward <\/strong><\/p>\n

At the Humane Veterinary Hospital, we use peanut butter, squeeze cheese, hard treats, whipped cream and even baby food to keep your pet happy.\u00a0 Sometimes this means putting peanut butter all over the wall during an exam, putting treats on the scale, or putting cheese in a muzzle. This allows us to do a physical exam, get a blood sample, or treat an ear infection without having to use heavy restraint or cause the fight or flight response. In some patients anxiety medications or sedatives can be used to improve your pet\u2019s overall experience.\u00a0 We also use pheromone sprays, towel wraps, and classical music.\u00a0 Our nurses and doctors will record what works and what doesn\u2019t work for each individual patient including their favorite foods, places they don\u2019t like being touched, and if they do better with certain staff members.\u00a0 We also offer \u2018happy visits,\u2019 or visits that allow you to bring your pet in as a training exercise, where we shower them with food and love and avoid any of the scary stuff. By doing this we can make sure that at each appointment, they are as excited to see us as we are to see them.<\/p>\n

Focusing on keeping our patients free from fear while at our hospital is one more way we can keep them healthy. It allows us to do a more thorough examination, and get diagnostic procedures done in a timely manner.\u00a0 We love when they greet us with tail wags and kisses and are committed to helping you make that happen.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By: Dr. Jackie Connolly, Associate Veterinarian for Humane Veterinary Hospitals \u00a0Imagine you are a cat; living your best life on a sunny windowsill, thinking about when your human\u2019s are going to bring you your next meal. \u00a0Suddenly your owner places you in an unfamiliar carrier, puts you in a moving vehicle and brings you to …
Read more →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":8,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2671","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.humanepa.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2671","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.humanepa.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.humanepa.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.humanepa.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/8"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.humanepa.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=2671"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/blog.humanepa.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2671\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2673,"href":"https:\/\/blog.humanepa.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2671\/revisions\/2673"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.humanepa.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2671"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.humanepa.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=2671"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.humanepa.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=2671"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}