Non-Pharmacologic Options for Veterinary Visit Anxiety: An Evidenced-Based Review
Lisa Radosta, DVM, DACVB, covers the various non-pharmacological treatments for veterinary visit anxiety and reviews the evidence behind each of these options.
Sponsored by Zoetis Petcare.
As a Fear Free groomer, you now understand the benefits of grooming this way. But what about explaining it to your clients or your colleagues? If you sometimes meet resistance or questions and would like some quick and handy “sticky scripts” to use for both your peers and your clients, this module is for you!
Created based on feedback from Fear Free Certified Groomers and written exclusively for them, this one-hour module will equip you with short phrases to make explaining different aspects of Fear Free simpler for you.
This module is COMPLIMENTARY to all professionals that are already signed up for the certification program.
Client and Colleague Communication is divided into four lessons:
But first, let’s debunk a few myths about black dogs and cats. For starters, there is no scientific basis that black cats bring bad luck. Or that black dogs seem to be more at risk for health issues.
Okay, it may be trickier to take a selfie with a black dog than one with a red-and-white coat, but it can be done.
One common belief is that dark-colored dogs and cats have a more difficult time finding homes. That may or may not be true.
“In shelters, we do tend to see black dogs and cats get overlooked by potential adopters,” says Gary Weitzman, DVM, veterinarian and president/CEO of the San Diego Humane Society. “But it may not be as significant as we once thought. There are some studies that show that there are simply more black pets because black coloration is a dominant gene. Sure, black pets can be undeservedly overlooked by adopters, but the good news is that there are wonderful people who will only adopt black pets knowing this.”
At the San Diego Humane Society’s shelters located throughout this Southern California county, the staff hosts special adoption promotions for black cats and dogs. They also reach out on social media and to the news media during such holidays as Black Friday, Black Cat Awareness Day and Black Dog Awareness Day.
The shelter also recruits professional photographers who volunteer their time and talents to photograph all their adoptable animals, with special attention given to showcase those sporting black coats.
San Diego has also lifted its policy of not allowing people to adopt black cats during the weeks leading up to Halloween. Cats of all colors are up for adoption year-round.
“The fear was that these cats would be used in satanic rituals, which is a total myth,” says Dr. Weitzman. “The results? Most of the cats were euthanized due to shelter overcrowding. Preventing hundreds of animals from finding good homes by putting up unnecessary and ineffective barriers isn’t the answer to protecting them.”
In St. Louis, the Humane Society of Missouri found a clever way to showcase black dogs.
“In 2016, we had a large number of black dogs here, so we developed the Black Dog Club,” says shelter animal behavior manager Linda Campbell, RVT, CPDT-KA, who is one of only 16 veterinary technician behavior specialists. “Everyone who adopted a black dog got a Black Dog Club t-shirt and every six months or so, we would host a get-together with Black Dog Club adopters at a park we have across the street from our shelter. Now, we no longer have a problem adopting out black dogs.”
As for black cats, Campbell says giving clever names to adoption campaigns works. The shelter has been successful with its “Desperate House Cats Looking for Homes” (a play on the popular television shows named Desperate Housewives) and “Pick Your Price” (a play on long-running game show The Price Is Right). Adopters often receive a free bag of cat food and qualify for a free veterinary visit. Black kittens and cats up for adoption often sport pastel-colored collars to help them stand out.
“Our volunteers are trained in our feline enrichment program,” says Campbell. “These volunteers interactive with cats and kittens in our get-acquainted rooms with battery-operated toy bugs for cats to chase. For our shy or reserved cats, we spend time helping them relax in their kennels by taking the stick end of a wand toy and wiggling it under newspaper. We have found that they are not as afraid of seeing the stick moving as the other end of the wand toy. And, we do a lot of brushing for the cats. It has helped bring out the confidence and the personalities of our cats.”
The walls in the dog kennels have been lightened in color to help black dogs show up better. And, to encourage these dogs to be more interactive with potential adopters, the staff has installed Snack Tracks with a how-to sign posted on each kennel that sports glass fronts, not open cage bars.
“We take a colorful PVC pipe and install it in front of the kennel and into the cage,” explains Campbell. “There is a cup with dog food next to it. Anyone passing by can drop kibble into the tube to fall into the dog’s food bowl. So, instead of the dog jumping, they stand and look at the potential adopter and then look at the bottom of the PVC pipe. Kids especially love dropping treats in. This has really helped our adoption rates.”
Equally effective has been working with photographers who know how to use proper lighting and welcoming settings to take photos of black cats and black dogs up for adoption.
“A lot of these animals have wonderful personalities and we make sure to tell their stories so that when people come into our shelter, it is the personality of that animal – not the color of his coat – that matters most to them.”
In the Minneapolis area, the Animal Humane Society ranks as the third largest animal shelter in the United States. It actively works with shelters in the South and local rescue groups to transport black dogs and black cats to their large shelter to give them better chances of being adopted.
“We do four transports a week to Alabama, Texas and Mississippi to bring back to our shelters senior dogs, special-needs dogs and of course, black dogs,” says Mary Tan, Animal Humane Society public relations manager. “We purposely tell them not to send us their highly adoptable pets – send us the ones who need help getting adopted. About 70 percent of the ones sent to us have behavior or health or age issues.”
Tan shares the story of a black dog named Buddy who was extremely obese. The staff worked with shelter veterinarians to help this Labrador retriever shed 50 pounds and surgically remove fatty tumors. When Buddy was down to 150 pounds, they staged weekly public weigh-ins – an event covered by the local media. As he lost excess pounds, his friendly personality emerged and so did his activity level. He got adopted when he was at a healthy 98 pounds.
“The story of Buddy’s weight loss was highlighted during the television ratings sweeps, so that helped bring attention to him and black dogs,” says Tan.
Tan also sees the value of teaming up with non-pet groups in her area. She recalls the day a young man surrendered a young black cat because he could not find an apartment that permitted pets.
“This young cat was scared, cowering in the back of his cage and would not eat,” says Tan. “So, we moved him into my office and within a day, he was all over me with affection. He had also been declawed and a senior living home was looking for a declawed cat for their residents. Binx is now happy bringing joy to residents there.”
This article was reviewed/edited by board-certified veterinary behaviorist Dr. Kenneth Martin and/or veterinary technician specialist in behavior Debbie Martin, LVT.
One such skill that can be helpful for the veterinary team is targeting: teaching the dog to touch the nose to an object or hand. This behavior can be helpful in a few different ways.
Many patients are uncomfortable with moving onto a lift table, scale, or even moving down the hallway. Instead of forcing the pet, we can use a hand target to move patients who have limited FAS. If this behavior is strong enough, most patients will be more excited about the opportunity to nose-target a hand to gain reinforcement and be less concerned about the “scary” object they need to step on. Using a hand target also gives us the option to keep our hands off of patients if they are concerned or conflicted with being touched by an unfamiliar person.
Many patients are fearful of the veterinary instruments used during examination. With targeting, we can change the way they feel about the tools while allowing them to control the interaction. This can be done by presenting an exam tool and allowing the patient to interact with it on their own and then giving reinforcement.
In short, repeated training sessions, the patient learns that when the object is near, amazing things happen when they interact with it. Instead of a fear-related response, we can create a positive response toward presentation of these tools.
Start this skill during preventive exams with pets who have a low FAS score. Puppies and kittens may be the best patients to start working with because they don’t have any preconceived notions. Patients with a high FAS score may need more therapy, and using this technique may cause additional FAS. Wait to add it until after Victory Visits show that the patient’s FAS is reduced in the veterinary hospital.
If you are a Fear Free Professional, using treats in the exam rooms should be old hat to you. As you teach this skill, use treats to reinforce any interaction with exam tools, the patient stepping onto the table, or interacting with the veterinary team (hand target).
Using a word (Good!) or a tongue “click” may be helpful as an event marker. An event marker gives the patient information about the behavior goal and can capture the desired behavior. In the case of teaching a patient to target, the goal or “wanted” behavior would be to use the event marker when the patient interacts (noses, touches, licks, or sniffs) the object or hand we are using as the target. Always follow the event marker immediately with a treat.
When teaching this behavior, offer the object one to two inches from the pet’s nose. When the patient interacts with the object, use the event marker and reward the patient with a treat. If the patient shows concern regarding the object or FAS increases, move the object farther away until the patient is more comfortable. You may need to break down the behavior into smaller steps to get the patient to interact with the object. These small approximations may include capturing the behaviors of looking at the object, moving toward the object, touching the object with paw or nose.
With an FAS 0 to 1 patient, present the bell of the stethoscope a few inches from the patient’s nose
Observe for any nose touching or interacting with the stethoscope
Say the word “Treat” when the patient’s nose touches the stethoscope
Move the bell of the stethoscope away and give a treat
Repeat if the patient is loose, relaxed, and eating during this training session. If the FAS score increases, discontinue and reassess with the veterinary team.
This article was reviewed/edited by board-certified veterinary behaviorist Dr. Kenneth Martin and/or veterinary technician specialist in behavior Debbie Martin, LVT.
There are lots of ways to make visits Fear Free when there is time for you and the client to discuss the animal’s FAS, add pre-visit pharmaceuticals, take your time, and even postpone non-essential procedures. But, what about in an emergency or critical care situation? Even though the procedures are not elective, there are still things you can do to help ease patients’ FAS.
This course, approved for 1 RACE CE hour, was written by Kenichiro Yagi, MS, RVT, VTS (ECC, SAIM)
There are four lessons in this course.
Lesson 1: Challenges in Emergency and Critical Care
Lesson 2: Why is Fear Free Important for ECC Patients?
Lesson 3: Solutions for Patients in the Emergency Room
Lesson 4: Solutions for Patients in Critical Care
Kitten Socialization: Do Kittens Need Kindergarten?
Getting kittens off to a good start lays the foundation for an adulthood free of fear, anxiety, and stress. But just what does a “good start” mean? What exactly is kitten socialization? What role does genetics play, and what should we be doing for our kitten patients? In this webinar, Dr. Krista Sirois answers these questions and discuss the benefits of establishing a Kitty Kindergarten program in your clinic for your patients, pet parents, and your team.
Although animal trainers can typically recognize the external signs of an animal in serious pain or distress, they are not necessarily aware of what’s going on inside the animal’s body and how it can affect their behavior. This module will discuss common conditions as well as take an in-depth look at pain management strategies and the effects of pain and stress on an animal.
This module has been approved for 1 RACE CEU and 1 CEU from CCPDT, IAABC and KPA.
This module is divided into three lessons.
Lesson One: Medical Conditions and Special Considerations When Training
Lesson Two: Understanding Pain: Effects, Signs, and Treatments
Lesson Three: Stress and Its Impact on Body and Welfare
How Fear Free and Best Practices Go Hand in Hand in Shelters
Implementing best practices in shelters means less animals enter the shelter and if they do, the shelter operates within their capacity for care. In this webinar, Dr. Sara Pizano, Fear Free Certified Professional and animal welfare strategist, discusses how a Fear Free experience in the shelter must be top priority and can only be achieved when the shelter is operating efficiently and all resources used strategically. Tune in to learn how Fear Free and best practices are intricately woven together.
Sponsored by Virox.
A recent review of the literature published in Applied Animal Behaviour Science sums up the findings and points to directions for future research. While there’s much we still don’t know, there are a number of results we can put into practice to give cats more enriched lives.
Research into cat play with toys confirms a common observation: it is a lot like hunting. “The patterns of behavior are similar, and the things that entice cats to hunt also get them excited about toys,” says coauthor Mikel Delgado. “What we see from research is that the more similar to realistic prey the toy is, the more of a response the cat shows.”
There’s always going to be the individual cat who likes to play with a ball. But for the most part, the more a toy looks, feels, smells, and moves like prey, the better cats like it. They do have preferences, so it’s best to offer choices: toys that resemble different kinds of prey like mice, birds, bugs, and snakes.
Movement is important as well. After about 21 weeks of age, kittens start to lose interest in things that don’t move. Sure, you can bat a ball with your paw, but it’s not the same.
“They can’t really get lost in the hunting experience like they can when someone else is moving the toy,” says Delgado.
Novelty also matters: cats get bored quickly. In one study, cats presented with the same toy three times became progressively less interested, then showed more response to a new, clean toy that was identical except for color.
The practical takeaway: leaving a bunch of toys lying on the floor all the time isn’t enrichment, because they don’t move, and they don’t change. Owners need to play with their cats: move the toys and remember that they get bored with the same object before they’re bored with play itself.
Although cat play resembles hunting, research doesn’t really support the idea that play is a kind of practice; it doesn’t seem to help cats be better hunters later. “What seems to be most effective for hunting later is exposure to prey. Hunting experience helps you be a better hunter,” says Delgado.
Play does seem to be important to social development, however, which makes it all the more important to understand, given that most of us want sociable cats more than we want mousers.
It’s a common misconception that cats aren’t sociable. “Even cats that are living outside of human homes, free-roaming cats, live socially in colonies together,” say Krystin Vitale of Oregon State University. “They live both socially and solitarily. We see a lot of flexibility.”
Kittens learn to get along with other cats by playing. The first type of play seen in kittens is social, and research shows that kittens who don’t have playmates have difficulty with other cats later. Singleton kittens tend to direct play at their mothers, even though their mothers find this behavior irritating.
“As a cat behavior consultant, I get so many calls from people who can’t understand why the kitten is attacking their legs and hands,” says Delgado. “Kittens who don’t have littermates will direct that behavior toward other beings: their mother, their human, or the poor 12-year-old cat who the person adopted the kitten to be a companion to.”
The takeaway: encourage people to adopt more than one kitten at a time. “When we allow kittens to get adopted without littermates, we’re not recognizing that we’re tearing apart families,” she says. “Social play is very important for kittens and a lack of outlets for social play can be very problematic. Toys don’t fulfill that social need.”
Research into cat behavior lags behind the recent explosion of studies about dogs, partly because they’re harder to study in the lab. “Dogs are used to being in new environments. But a cat that is friendly and playful in a home environment, if you take them to a strange place, they’re going to be terrified,” says Delgado. “So their behavior is not valid beyond that context; it doesn’t tell you anything about how they normally behave.”
Now that we have better technology that lets us study cats in their homes, research is increasing, but many questions remain. For instance, little research has been done on play between adult cats, so right now, science can’t tell you whether your cats are getting along. From her observations, Vitale suggests concentrating on what happens before and after the interaction to distinguish rough play from aggression.
“Before, was there aggressive vocalization? Was their fur already standing on end and were their eyes dilated and were they baring teeth? After, what did they do? Often when it’s play, you’ll see that afterwards they’ll plop down and lay together and start grooming each other. If you see one run off and try to get away that might be more of an indication that it was aggression.”
Social play with humans also hasn’t been well studied, but it may be important to cats. In one study, Vitale tested how cats reacted to a moving toy controlled by a human who was in the room, or one controlled remotely from outside the room. Cats preferred the person moving the toy to be visible, which suggests that kind of play may have a social component.
Delgado also wants to see more research into the process of object play. Prior studies have focused on actual contact with the toy, but for cats, watching and stalking seem important. This makes sense given their natural hunting style. “The way cats hunt is not highly cardiovascular. It’s very cognitive,” she says. “When they play with cats, people tend to concentrate on the cardiovascular aspects and expect backflips and running around, but that’s not really cats’ hunting style.”
Delgado says there’s an assumption that play must have a survival benefit. We don’t know for sure if it does, and in fact, research has shown that cats spend a fairly small proportion of the time playing and that it’s not very energetically costly.
But we’re not just concerned about what helps animals survive. We also want to know what helps them thrive.
“I think that one big thing that’s come out of studies about cat play and that this paper shows is that it’s really important for cats to engage in play in order for them to engage in healthy normal behaviors,” says Vitale. “If you’re giving your cat an under-enriched environment with low stimulation, potentially aggression can come out of that, and stereotyped behaviors like overgrooming, that they’re doing because they don’t have anything to engage with.”
One measure of an animal’s welfare is whether they have the opportunity to engage in species-specific behaviors. Owners need to understand what those behaviors are and how to provide the right toys and social situations to “allow cats to behave in the ways that make them cats,” she says. “They need something for all those motor patterns and biologically relevant behaviors to be directed towards.”
This article was reviewed/edited by board-certified veterinary behaviorist Dr. Kenneth Martin and/or veterinary technician specialist in behavior Debbie Martin, LVT.
Weathering the Storm: Disaster Preparedness for Pet Professionals and Pet Owners
If a disaster hit your community tomorrow, would you and your business be prepared? How about the animals that live in your home or community? It is never too late to begin planning for a disaster or business disruption. In this webinar, representatives from State Farm talk about disaster preparedness, having a business continuity plan, and what insurance does and doesn’t cover. Whether you are a pet professional or a pet parent, this webinar can help you prepare for and recover from the unexpected.
Sponsored by State Farm.