Low-Stress Handling in the Veterinary Office

Hello, all you followers of Mason, you!  I have a very important topic to talk about today: low-stress handling.  The name may sound self-explanatory, but there is a lot of buzz about this "new" way of handling pets.

With animals, we have to rely on rewarding behavior as soon as it happens, and we must remove rewards for bad behavior before the animal is actually rewarded.  This is how we (and you) communicate with your pet.  And while animals may learn to recognize individual words, they don’t understand human language; however, they do understand our body language.  As a result we have to be aware of every action and movement we make because they all communicate something.  And we have to realize that whether we’re aware of it or not, every interaction we have with the pet is a training session.  Unfamiliar smells, sounds, and sights, and potentially threatening pets and people inundate our patients the moment they enter our office.  We perform unpleasant, sometimes painful procedures, often by force due to the unwillingness of the patient.  A single such experience can condition a negative emotional response where the animal learns to fear us.  This learned fear can result in fidgeting, attempts to flee, and/or aggression at subsequent visits.

So, what are some of the steps we take to handle your pet in a low-stress way?  We work to condition a POSITIVE emotional response.  This approach can prevent fear from developing, as well as counter-act a fear that has already been established by previous encounters elsewhere.  We pair the experience with something that naturally elicits a positive emotional response in the animal - food and love.  Food is the easiest and most powerful means of providing this response because we are all programmed with an innate positive response to food.  And we use gentle motions, soft voices, hugs, and lots of petting to calm your pet during the exam and treatments.  We use small sharp needles that do not hurt as much when we give injections or vaccines.  We use pheromone sprays and diffusers in the exam rooms to help alleviate any stress your pet may be feeling.  We use appropriate but minimal restraint for procedures and examinations, include towel restraint for cats versus scruffing.

Pets who have already developed a strong negative emotional response to a clinic setting may need a slower, more systematic approach as they may be too stressed to find food appealing at that point.  These pets are best helped by setting up a series of "Desensitization" visits. If the care needed is urgent or necessary, then sedation is recommended before beginning any stressful procedures.

With both positive reinforcement as well as coercion, the timing is the same and owners need to be equally consistent.  So, if a pet owner does not have the ability to reward consistently and with the right timing, it’s not likely they will be able to perform the punishment technique well either.  It is important to continue training your animal when not at the veterinarian's office so that your pet will learn to be more comfortable with us and in other stressful situations.  If you are interested in low-stress handling, consult the works of Dr. Sophia Yin, the leading expert on behavior modification and positive reinforcement training.  You are also welcome to call our office and ask about low-stress handling!

Well, cats and kittens, that is all for today.  I know I always appreciate being treated gently and with lots of treats, so I'm sure your pet will, too!

Til next meow,



MASON



Great Falls Animal Hospital

703-759-2330

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