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The Neurobiology of Toxic Stress

Course Overview

In this one-hour course, you’ll learn about the different types of stress and how stress impacts the brain. You will develop an understanding of learned helplessness, the range of behaviors commonly associated with toxic stress, and the connection between those behaviors and changes to the brain. The course will finish with a discussion of the benefits of giving an animal more control and how that changes the brain. By the end of this course, you should have a strong understanding of why Fear Free principles are important for promoting both physical and behavioral health and wellbeing.

This course contains four lessons:

  • Lesson 1: Types of Stress
  • Lesson 2: Learned Helplessness
  • Lesson 3: Toxic Stress and Trauma
  • Lesson 4: The Power of Agency

    • This course was written by Kristina Spaulding, PhD, CAAB and is approved for one hour of RACE CE.

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    Pet Sitters: Using your Fear Free Certification to Improve your Business

    Course Overview

    In this one-hour course, you’ll learn how to develop a relationship with pet guardians and other pet care providers to create a community focused solely on pets’ emotional and physical wellbeing. Learn constructive ways to network, make your job easier and more fulfilling, and improve the relationships among your clients and their pets!

    This course contains 6 lessons:

    • Lesson 1: What Sets Fear Free Pet Sitters Apart?
    • Lesson 2: Improving Your Current Practices
    • Lesson 3: Introducing your Fear Free Certification to Clients
    • Lesson 4: Transparent Communication with Clients
    • Lesson 5: Your Website and Social Media
    • Lesson 6: Mission Statement and Networking

    This course was written by Kaelyn Winkler, FFCP (Pet Sitter) and owner of On Cloud Canine in Ohio.

    Fear Free for Humans

    Course Overview

    This course is dedicated to helping animal care professionals learn and practice skills to promote a more positive personal welfare. Throughout this course, you will learn how to care for yourself—and the humans around you—to create an environment and a lifestyle that is Fear Free for people as well as for pets! Through thought-provoking material, tips, and engaging content, you’ll learn healthier habits by challenging old ways of thinking and learning how to better protect human emotional welfare just as we do for animals!

    This course contains 6 lessons:

    • Lesson 1: Intersections of Perfectionism & Veterinary Medicine
    • Lesson 2: The Role of Vulnerability in Professional Life
    • Lesson 3: The Practice of Generous Assumptions
    • Lesson 4: The Practice of Clear Expectations & Communication
    • Lesson 5: Healthful Communication With Teams & Clients
    • Lesson 6: Tips for Emotionally Intelligent Professional Self-Care

    This course was written by Monique Feyrecilde, BA, LVT, VTS (Behavior) and is approved for 1 hour of RACE CE and 1 hour of CVPM CE

    Fear Free for Relief Vets

    Course Overview

    This one-hour course is for Fear Free Certified veterinarians considering relief work and relief vets considering Fear Free certification—both of which have an opportunity to positively impact the profession but also face unique challenges. Throughout this course, you will learn how to practice Fear Free as a relief vet and address different types of communication unique to this role. In addition to bringing Fear Free to general relief practice, we’ll also cover some of the situations you may encounter in emergency or shelter relief practice. You’ll also learn tips for identifying compassionate clinics who share your Fear Free philosophy.

    This course contains nine short lessons:

  • Lesson 1: The Benefits of Being a Fear Free Relief Vet
  • Lesson 2: Challenges in Fear Free Relief Practice
  • Lesson 3: The Fear Free Relief Vet Toolkit
  • Lesson 4: How Self and Situational Awareness Support Fear Free
  • Lesson 5: How to Be a Fear Free Leader
  • Lesson 6: Communicating Fear Free
  • Lesson 7: Special Considerations for ER and Shelter Practice
  • Lesson 8: Passing on Fear Free After Your Shift
  • Lesson 9: How to Find Clinics with a Like-Minded Fear Free Culture

    • This course was written by Julie Liu, DVM, and Cindy Trice, DVM and is approved for 1 hour of RACE CE.

    Addressing Fear & Aggression in Avian Patients: A Constructional Approach

    Course Overview

    This short course will cover a novel technique for minimizing stress to birds while also comparing this technique to past concepts covered in the original Fear Free Veterinary Certification Program – Avian. We will teach you an alternative, advanced approach to reinforcing desired behavior in avian patients displaying fear or aggression that are not responding to other Fear Free training techniques. We’ll also provide several examples of using a Constructional Approach to teach useful behaviors and recommendations associated with the client and team communication surrounding the use of Fierce/Fearful to Friendly (F2F).

    This course includes three lessons:

    • Lesson 1: Using the Constructional Approach to change responses from Fierce or Fearful to Friendly (F2F)
    • Lesson 2: Case Studies
    • Lesson 3: Practical Implementation

    This course was written by Barbara Heidenreich and Alicia McLaughlin, DVM, CertAqVet and is approved for 1 hour of RACE CE.

    Finesse the Chin Rest: The Basics and Beyond for Cooperative Care

    Course Overview

    The chin rest is a valuable cooperative care behavior that allows for a hands-off, consensual way to keep an animal still for veterinary exams, husbandry care, grooming, and other procedures. A chin rest serves as an indication from the animal that he is ready to engage in a handling or care procedure. By giving him a choice to “opt out,” even for a few seconds, chin rest empowers the animal to have a voice and greatly reduces his FAS.

    In this course, you will learn the steps for training a solid chin rest behavior to an advanced level and discover its many practical, on-the-job applications.

    This course includes three lessons:

    • Lesson 1: Strategies and Equipment
    • Lesson 2: Training and Problem Solving
    • Lesson 3: Taking it to the Next Level

    This course was written by Mikkel Becker, CTC, KPA CTP, CBCC-KA, CPDT-KA, CDBC.

    Next Level Nail Trims: Cooperative Care Behaviors

    Course Overview

    This course builds upon the foundational concepts covered in the Fear Free Nail Trims: Trimming Away the Terror course, which included finessed use of distractions, desensitization and counter-conditioning methods, and finely tuned choice of nail care tools.

    An understanding of these foundational nail care concepts is recommended before starting this more advanced course. Cooperative care techniques taught in this course are useful both as preventive strategies to improve ease of nail care and as an interventional approach to address already existing FAS with nail care.

    Since there is no “one size fits all” approach to nail care training that will work for every animal every time, this course aims to empower you with many options to choose from, depending on the animal you are working with at the time.

    There are six short lessons in this course:

    • Lesson 1: Communication & Consent Cues
    • Lesson 2: Treat-Ment Stations
    • Lesson 3: Chin Rest and Bucket Game
    • Lesson 4: Offering Paws and Zen Down
    • Lesson 5: Scratch Board Training
    • Lesson 6: Problem Solving and Coaching Clients

    This course was written by Mikkel Becker, CTC, KPA CTP, CBCC-KA, CPDT-KA, CDBC.

    Fear Free Boarding and Daycare (Individual) Certification Program

    Boarding and daycare environments are often fraught with potential stressors for dogs and cats. Pets are away from home, their family is gone, unfamiliar people and animals surround them, and their daily sleep/wake schedule is thrown off. But there are several steps you can take, from setting up the environment itself to adjusting the way in which you interact with dogs and cats, that can help reduce stress and increase calm and safety for both pets and staff.

    The Fear Free Boarding and Daycare Individual Certification Program will help you ensure you are thoughtful in every interaction with boarding and daycare pets—from greetings to kennel introductions to overexuberance or shyness. You’ll learn what a Fear Free boarding and daycare environment looks like, feels like, sounds like, and smells like. And you’ll get practical advice on what to do in the moment if a dog or cat struggles when you try to give them needed medications or care, drags you into the play yard, or refuses to enter or leave their kennel.

    The purchase of the Fear Free Boarding and Daycare Individual Certification Program provides you with a Fear Free membership, which requires an annual renewal fee and completion of additional annual CE to maintain your membership.

    The Fear Free Boarding & Daycare Individual Certification Program is a wonderful educational addition to the pet care service industry. Boarding & daycare facilities will immediately see value in this certification program as staff learns to identify and mitigate fear, anxiety, and stress in pets. The pet owner will be assured that their pets are in the care of professionals who are knowledgeable about the physical and emotional needs of each individual pet. Boarding & daycare facilities will be proud to be considered as “best in care” providers as they promote the wellbeing of their staff and the pets in their care. IBPSA is proud to be part of the Fear Free programs. —Carmen Rustenbeck, CEO and Founder, International Boarding & Pet Services Association

    This course was reviewed by the IBPSA (International Boarding & Pet Services Association) and PACCC (Professional Animal Care Certification Council).

    Fear Free Pet Sitter Certification Program

    Unlike any other pet professional, pet sitters spend an extended period of time with the animals they care for, giving them an intimate and unique glimpse into animals’ home lives. Because of this, pet sitters can readily identify opportunities for improvement and spot emerging behavior concerns, enrichment opportunities, and other areas that might otherwise go unnoticed.

    This course will equip pet sitters with a scientifically sound knowledge base in animal body language, dog walking, behavior and training basics, enrichment, home life, travel, administering medications, and more so that they can offer top-level Fear Free care to pets and provide owners with basic support and advice. The Fear Free Certified® pet sitter will be empowered to help educate pet owners on reading dog and cat body language and provide ideas for how enrichment and training can be incorporated into the pet’s environment and routine, promoting not only a calmer pet-sitting stay but also a richer, more fulfilling life. We’ll cover everything from the very first greeting of a pet to creating calmer leash walks to delivering medications in a Fear Free manner and much more!

    This course was reviewed by PSI (Pet Sitters International) and NAPPS (National Association of Professional Pet Sitters).

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