Helping Your Dog Feel Less Stressed At The Vet
Not all dogs are fans of the vet. Sure, there are those special few that love the fuss and attention they get from going to the vet office, but for a lot of dogs, the mere thought of heading to the V.E.T. is enough to drive stress levels through the roof.
In this scenario, for dogs who both love and despise going to the vet, cooperative care is always a good idea. Cooperative care is simply getting your pet used to being handled in the way they will be at the veterinary office, so that things aren’t new to them or a complete shock when they experience things outside of their normal routine or expectations.
Let’s take a look at some tips for practicing cooperative care with your dog for vet visits.
Familiarisation
One of the best ways to get your dog more prepared for the vet visit is to familiarise them with what happens pre-vet visit. If you take them out in a crate, but only get the crate out for the vet, they will associate this with the vet only. You need to be making sure they feel comfortable with all of the little things you do before going to the vet to help keep stress levels down before you even get there. So get the crate out randomly. Drive to the vets, but don’t go in, so they don’t associate that route with the vet. The more positive associations they have with these actions, the better it will be for them.
Repetition Builds Tolerance
Alongside your familiarisation work you need to be working on their tolerance to touch to make it through the examination. This is where positive reinforcement training comes into the picture.
Sit down with some of their favorite treats and start touching them in a way the vet would. Start slowly by gently tapping them on their paw or head, for example, and reward them when they don’t react to it. Then move on to longer periods of touch, ie, moving their ear around or massaging paws, etc. The repetition needs to be built up and rewarded to override the fear and build positive associations. Go slowly, small steps are the aim here, so when the vet does these actions, it’s not completely unfamiliar.
Safe Visits
Safe vet visits are those when you work with your veterinary office to take your dog, but do not make an appointment. You can sit in the waiting room, building a positive association, and then leave without going into a room. Or you can go into the room and not have them be seen by the vet, and then work up to the vet being in the room until you get to a point where it doesn’t even phase them.
Alternative Options
For some dogs, it’s still too much, or there are emergencies that crop up that can ruin what you’re working towards. In these scenarios, talk to your vet about the medication they can have at home before any vet visit to help calm them down.
Another good option is to see if there is a mobile vet in your local area, like Vetaris, who can come to your home to perform the checks and get your dog the care it needs in an emergency.
