Fear Free Certification

Planning Ahead for an Anxiety-Free Appointment

Cats and small- to medium-sized dogs should be comfortable with their carrier. This can be accomplished by leaving the carrier out in an area of the home where the pet likes to be. ​Once your pet is inside their carrier, you can place a towel over it to help create a safe place with familiar scents.

The carrier should have toys as well as soft, comfortable bedding or a non-slip mat. It should also have an option to remove the top, to make it more accessible for your veterinarian. You can also spray pheromones in the carrier.

With a medium to large dog, be sure to use an approved restraint device in the car. The drive can be kept low-stress with calm music or silence and avoiding hard stops or starts.

When booking your appointment, let us know if your pet gets stressed coming into the lobby, or when meeting new people or other animals. We can have you wait in the car and bring you directly into an exam room. There may also be options to send medication home to help with car sickness or to help decrease the level of stress once your dog or cat gets to the veterinarian.

How We Implement Fear Free

The following steps can be used before and during each appointment to help ensure a positive experience for your pet:

• A Calm, Quiet Environment

  At our veterinary clinic, we do our best to keep the atmosphere calm, quiet, and positive.

  To help reduce your pet's stress in the waiting area, we keep cats and dogs separate as much as possible. Cat carriers should be kept off of the floor and on a sturdy table or chair. Keep your dog leashed and close to your side to minimize interaction with other pets.

  As dogs and cats are often sensitive to loud noises and quick movements, during the appointment, our veterinary team will remain calm, speak in quiet voices, and approach your pet in a slow, careful manner.

• Good Communication Between Pets & People

  We start each examination by understanding and identifying how pets communicate signs of stress to us. These signs can include a number of subtle and obvious signals, from a tense expression or dilated pupils to growling, hissing, or a tucked tail.

  We also discuss the pet's known stressors with the owner, which can include sounds, scents, discomfort, disease processes, and unfamiliar people.

  Getting to know your canine and feline companion and understanding what stresses them out, and how they communicate that stress, helps us better manage it during their visits.

• Toys

  To encourage a positive experience and decrease fear, stress, and anxiety during the visit, rewards such as toys or petting can be used during an exam or when performing X-rays.

• Sedation & Restraint Options

  If restraint is required during a procedure, our trained staff may use a towel wrap, a muzzle, or an Elizabethan collar to ensure the patient is safe and comfortable during the process. For the majority of our procedures, your pet will be anesthetized, but for the odd time that they are not, a mild sedative may be recommended to make sure that the procedure can be performed safely and is less stressful for the patient.

  If you already know that your pet experiences anxiety or stress when visiting the veterinarian, it may be beneficial for the veterinarian to provide you with a mild sedative to give to your pet at home prior to an appointment.