Practice Certification Info: Client Education
What makes client education Fear Free? In less than 5 minutes, this webinar provides an overview of client education “dos and don’ts” to ensure your client education library meets the Fear Free Certified Practice Standards.
In this one-hour module, client service representatives will learn how to quickly assist pets entering with FAS, educate clients about Fear Free in person and on the phone, guide them in preparing their pets for future visits, provide resources and referrals, organize community outreach activities, and create protocols for the whole team to follow.
This module is open to all professionals that are already signed up for the certification program.
“Veterinarians should routinely ask clients about their pets’ responses to storms,” says Pamela Perry, DVM, a behavior resident at Cornell University College of Medicine in Ithaca, New York.
Ask clients what happens during a thunderstorm. Does the cat hide? The dog tremble? Those mild fears can worsen over several thunderstorm seasons. Waiting to treat them can make the problem that much more difficult to manage. Be preemptive and recommend treatment promptly, while signs are still at the subtle stage.
“They might be coming in for something totally unrelated to storm phobia, but they mention that the dog is fearful during storms or that their other dog at home has storm phobia,” says veterinary behaviorist Lore Haug, who practices in Sugar Land, Texas. “I’m like, ‘You need to get on top of that right away.’”
Suggestions can be as simple as suggesting setting up a safe room or getting the pet a snug-fitting wearable that may have a calming effect.
Know how to advise clients on setting up a safe room. It can be a small guest bath or closet with no windows, a basement, or something as simple as a crate with a cover thrown over it. Their pet may choose his own safe space, such as inside the bathtub. Wherever it is, it should be ready and available at any time.
Clients should encourage pets to go there by placing a stuffed Kong or treat-filled puzzle toy in the room daily so the animal knows that good things happen in that room. Remind clients never to close the pet in the room or crate, which can create a feeling of being trapped. If owners know a storm is expected during a time they won’t be home, they should prepare the room by putting a long-lasting treat or favorite toy in it, turning on a white noise machine or other noise blocker, and plugging in a pheromone diffuser.
Be familiar with product options for pets fearful of storms. Calming clothing includes Thundershirts, Storm Defender Capes, Anxiety Wraps, Mutt Muffs, and Calming Caps. Depending on the product, they fit snugly on the body, providing soothing pressure; reduce storm-related static charges; or limit the pet’s exposure to scary storm-related sights and sounds such as lightning and thunder. Recommend drowning out storm sounds with white noise machines, the whirr of a box fan, or relaxing music such as Through A Dog’s Ear or Through A Cat’s Ear. Certain nutraceuticals and pet foods contain soothing ingredients such as l-theanine, caseins, L-tryptophan, and B vitamins and are marketed for pets with storm-related fears.
“Resources like that are easy for owners to implement and don’t require a huge behavior modification program,” Dr. Haug says.
Finally, be familiar with the client’s lifestyle and environment. If medication is needed, that information will help you determine the best choice for that particular animal.
“Make a choice about the effect you want to have happen, what medication fits with that, and how it can work in the owner’s lifestyle,” says veterinary behaviorist Lisa Radosta, who practices in West Palm Beach, Florida.
For instance, some owners are in and out but have a flexible schedule that allows them to premedicate a pet if a storm is in the forecast. For that owner, Radosta says, “I’m going to send her home with Sileo because that works fast and she’s generally going to be home to administer it.” For owners who are gone all day, she might suggest long-lasting clonazepam or gabapentin.
“Make a choice,” she says. “Don’t just throw a drug at it because you like it.”
This article was reviewed/edited by board-certified veterinary behaviorist Dr. Kenneth Martin and/or veterinary technician specialist in behavior Debbie Martin, LVT.
Administrators are some of the busiest people in the hospital and can use all the help they can get. Have your clients fill out this Pre-Visit Questionnaire to learn more about their pet and his or her needs. Fillable & Print-Ready PDF – Companion Animal.
Mobile practices present unique challenges and opportunities to provide Fear Free care to your clients. Have your clients fill out this Pre-Visit Questionnaire to learn more about their pet and his or her needs. Fillable & Print-Ready PDF – Companion Animal
Avian Pre-Visit Questionnaire
Avian patients have unique needs and concerns. Have your clients fill out this Pre-Visit Questionnaire to learn more about their bird and his or her needs. Fillable & Print-Ready PDF – Avian
Educate your clients on Fourth of July safety with this infographic
Image format: .pdf(Better for printing)
Image format: .jpg (Better for social media)
Educate your clients on Canada Day safety with this infographic
Image format: .pdf(Better for printing)
Image format: .jpg (Better for social media)
Use this infographic courtesy of Trupanion™ to educate your clients on safety during Thanksgiving.
Image format: .pdf(Better for printing)
Image format: .jpg (Better for social media)
Use this infographic to educate your clients about the dangers of New Year’s celebrations and pets.
Image format: .pdf(Better for printing)
Image format: .jpg (Better for social media)
Educate your clients on Australia Day safety with this infographic
Image format: .pdf(Better for printing)
Image format: .jpg (Better for social media)
Educate your clients on Halloween safety with this infographic
Image format: .pdf(Better for printing)
Image format: .jpg (Better for social media)
When it comes to creating Fear Free veterinary visits, thinking about a patient’s individual needs is critical. Communicating those needs to the pet’s owner is also very important, as many of the pet’s preferences and behavioral tendencies carry over into other aspects of the pet’s life and future veterinary visits.
As somewhat of a client-friendly variation of a pet’s emotional record, use this digitally fillable or printable Fear Free Report Card to help connect with the client and ensure they go home with an understanding of their pet’s needs and emotional health while at the veterinarian.
Use this report card to take your grooming service to the next level. This report card lets your clients know you value their pet and strive to give them the most Fear Free grooming experience possible. You can mark what their pet enjoyed, what treats you gave them, any sensitive areas they may have, and even additional behaviors owners can work on to make their next grooming experience even better.
This report card can help you educate your training clients and help increase compliance. Mark what treats and activities their pet enjoys, what behaviors and ques they already know, and what behaviors they should work on.
When it comes to creating Fear Free grooming visits, thinking about an animal’s individual needs is critical. Communicating those needs to the pet’s owner is also very important, as many of the pet’s preferences and behavioral tendencies carry over into other aspects of the pet’s life and future grooming visits.
Use this digitally fillable or printable “Groomer Client Report” to help connect with the client and ensure they go home with an understanding of their pet’s needs and emotional health while at the groomer.
If we asked a client, “what are you doing for environmental enrichment?” the likely response would be, “what?”
And that’s a problem.
In our profession, we suffer from compassion fatigue. I get it. I really do. Our clients break our hearts and wear us out. When they are at the end of their ropes because their cats are chronically urinating outside of the litter box, they might implore us to perform a convenience euthanasia. When their cat has destroyed their furniture and they just can’t deal with it anymore, they ask us to perform a declaw. When their cats keep fighting with each other we drain their abscesses, sew them up and talk about re-homing. And to top it off, if we either recommend an alternative or tell them that we don’t perform a debatably ethical service, we risk having our Yelp reviews tarnished. Some days it is just too much to bear.
But, my colleagues, we CAN get in front of this problem. After all, isn’t this why we became veterinarians? Our clients are looking to us for education and support at their first kitten visit. They are looking for more than vaccines and screening blood work at their annual visits. The time to inform and educate our clients about environmental enrichment is before the human-animal bond, and our professional spirits, are broken.
The science is there. The American Association of Feline Practitioners has beautifully laid out the 5 pillars of feline environmental enrichment, why they are important and the consequences of denying our cats the resources that they need to be physically and emotionally healthy in the indoor environment.
In case you have not had the opportunity to read this entire paper, here’s my favorite bit:
“Many behavioral and physical disorders that are seen in cats are often secondary to stress from lack of appropriate stimulation. Environmental enhancement (EE) should be part of the overall treatment plan for these disorders. As part of the wellness exam, it is the responsibility of the veterinarian to discuss the current state of the environment and to provide resources for EE to indoor cat owners.
It is well known that if an appropriate environment is not provided for indoor cats, they are at greater risk of stress induced illnesses such as the following:
- Feline lower urinary tract disease
- Obesity
- Different forms of aggression
- Over grooming and other compulsive disorders
- Upper respiratory infection
In an attempt to prevent the above conditions, it should become routine for the veterinary team to inform owners of the importance of EE and to provide resources to owners. It is also important to consider EE in shelter cats for the same reasons.”
The cats are counting on us to get this information from the page to their caretakers. One way or another, this is a veterinary job—our job!
We study kidney disease, endocrine disease, ophthalmology, oncology, along with so many other specialized areas of medicine and thus we are prepared for those cases when they walk through our exam room door. But do you know what every cat in our care has in common? Every cat is our care is completely dependent upon their human to create an environment where they stand a chance of being physically and mentally well. Are we prepared with information and resources to treat or cure this?
If I haven’t convinced you yet, I would like to share with you the statistic that changed my life. Do you know the #1 cause of death for cats? My guesses were kidney disease, or hyperthyroidism. Nope. Well, we know so much about feline obesity and it’s consequences, perhaps that’s the answer? Again, no. The #1 cause of death for our feline patients is euthanasia.
So what do we do about that? Where and when do we talk about environmental enrichment? We are already squeezed with the amount of information we need to simultaneously digest and communicate back to our patients in addition to the procedures that we need to cram into a 15-20 minute appointment, it might seem impossible. Easier said than done, of course, but why not simply train our technicians (and ourselves) to carve out just a little extra time for every feline appointment to walk the client through the five pillars of environmental enrichment. At the very least, there are resources available both digitally and in print that we could simply email to our clients or hand out in our waiting rooms or at check out.
Just like with Fear Free, I promise you it’s worth it. Sometimes those seemingly small things can make all the difference for the pets we took an oath to help treat. And also like Fear Free, the benefits will actually save us time in the long run.
As a profession, we can figure out how to incorporate this into our practice. I know we can. And the time starts now, with a very simple question:
“What are you doing for environmental enrichment?”
Looking for a creative, touching, narrative way to communicate Fear Free to clients, colleagues, coworkers and more? These promotional videos are the perfect combination of heartfelt and realistic about the way Fear Free is changing the veterinary industry. We encourage you to share directly from YouTube, embed on your website, share across social media and more.
Adding one of our promotional videos to your site is easy! Simply click on the link below the video and you will be re-directed to the video’s page on YouTube. Click the ‘Share’ button and then click ‘Embed’. Copy and paste this HTML code to your webpage.
[wcm_restrict plans=”level-1-group-leader, certified-practice, certified-practice-leader, groomer-certification, animal-trainer, student, sitter-certification-program, boarding-daycare-certification-program”]
[ddownload id=”109263″ style=”button” button=”blue”]
[ddownload id=”109262″ style=”button” button=”blue”]
[/wcm_restrict]