Why Fear Free?

You’re right, vets should be trying not to cause fear, but the truth is that for many of our patients, coming to the vet clinic is inherently a fear-inducing, or at least anxiety-inducing experience. Even for most people, visiting the doctor is not on our top ten list of enjoyable things to do! Our dogs and cats have about the cognitive ability of a 3 year old child, which means that they remember the experience well, but struggle to understand why it’s necessary. They have to leave their house, go in the car which they may not be used to, come to a place with weird sounds and smells, and have strangers touch them and give them injections. It must feel like a well-intentioned alien abduction to them! 

Many veterinary behaviorists (most notably Dr. Sophia Yin) have advocated for low-stress handling techniques for decades. While there is some basic training for this in veterinary and technician schools, it’s limited, due in large part to the sheer amount of material that has to be taught. In past decades, it was normal to take the approach of “do what needs to be done,” not only from the veterinarians but often from the pet parents, who just wanted to get through the appointment. Unfortunately, that would lead to rushing to get everything done and, frankly, manhandling the patients-which would make them more afraid to come the next time. 

These days, it is much more common for our pet parents and the veterinary team alike to try to be more patient and understanding towards what our patients are experiencing. However, that doesn’t change the fact that our patients need care, both preventative medicine and diagnosis and treatment when they are sick. Since there is limited coverage in how to provide that care in a lower-stress way in our schools, there are several different continuing education programs that help us to meet that goal. 

Fear Free^TM is one such program, developed by Dr. Marty Becker to train veterinarians, support team members, groomers, and trainers how to set up the environment and handle our patients to minimize the stress and fear they experience. This means our clinic colors at both our temporary clinic and at our future location are selected to be soothing to both people and pets, and we play music specifically chosen to help relax our patients in the exam rooms. For our final location design, we’re working with a Fear Free^TM certified architect, utilizing dimmable lighting, particular colors, flooring types, and soundproofing to help to control those factors and support our patients. There are specific distraction and handling techniques we use to help our patients build a better association with coming to the clinic, like tasty food, toys, catnip, and comfortable bedding. There are even special cleaners to help control scary odors, and thermometers designed to be less offensive than the traditional rectal option!

All of the partners at our clinic are already Fear Free^TM certified, and have been employing the techniques in our practice daily. We constantly assess and acknowledge the signs of fear, anxiety, and stress in our patients so we can modify our approach when it’s not working for an individual. If a patient is very scared, we may try medication and rescheduling the visit to help reduce their stress level. We encourage our clients to work on desensitizing and counterconditioning their animal companions at home to certain aspects of the visit that raise stress. This includes acclimating cats to carriers, playing soothing music in the car, and getting patients used to having their bodies and feet handled.  

We are excited to be able to introduce this program to our new clients once we open. Starting our patients off with this approach can build a lifetime of happier, more confident vet visits. Our hope is that our pet parents will embrace it, and help us to figure out how best to work with their companions so we can all have a better experience!

Ultimately, we all want the best for the animals we care for. Becoming Fear Free^TM certified is one tool in our toolbox to help us make coming to the vet a less stressful, more positive, dare we even say fun experience for our patients and their humans. I hope that you and your furry (or feathered or scaly) family members are able to benefit from this approach when you need care in the future.

After all, this is why we say we’re building ‘veterinary care that feels better’!