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Nervous Pets at the Vet Why your furry friend may be unhappy and actions you can take to help By Michael Forney, DVM VCA Rancho Mirage Animal Hospital
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o you hate going to the doctor or your dentist for a checkup? Your cat or dog may be in the same boat. Do you dread having to take Simon in once a year to the vet clinic for his annual exam and vaccinations? Do you get anxious wondering how on earth you might try to coax Sassy into her cat carrier and worry about getting scratched? Just like you, your pet may experience a great deal of fear related to veterinary visits. And similar to people, their fear may be rational or irrational. There are numerous reasons an animal may be uncomfortable at any point throughout the steps involved with going to the clinic, and there are various remedies that can be employed to help allay those fears.
Reasons an Animal May Fear the Vet
Patient temperament/breed. Certain animals have a genetic predisposition toward higher anxiety and level of arousal. For example, working-dog breeds like Shepherds were selected over hundreds of years to have increased vigilance in order to protect the flocks of sheep or herds they were intended to 24 petcompanionmag.com
protect. I own a German shepherd, her name is Gertrude, and she loves coming to the vet (that’s me, haha), but compared to some dogs, she is definitely more high-strung. There are, of course, exceptions with every breed of dog or cat, but in general, we can see trends toward higher anxiety and potential fearfulness based on breed. Again, there is a genetic component and there is a spectrum (many genes are involved). The takeaway point, I think, is for owners to be aware of what a pet’s expected temperament may be, and therefore realize that one pet may benefit from additional strategies to help make him comfortable at the vet clinic. Socialization. Cats and dogs both have well-defined socialization periods as they mature. For kittens, the age is around 3–7 weeks, and for puppies around 6–14 weeks. This stage of development is a time when kittens and puppies are starting to learn about their environments, explore, and develop emotional responses to the abundant stimuli they encounter. Visiting the veterinarian most often does not occur during a kitten’s social-
ization period. I do often see puppies during this period, but generally only one or two visits. Breeders and owners have the most control over how well an animal is socialized. Prior history at vet office. A component of how an animal learns to respond in a given situation is based on its prior experiences in said situation. Therefore, each encounter with the vet hospital builds the emotional data from which a patient learns what to expect and how to feel. I would say most, if not all, veterinary facilities aim to treat patients with the utmost care and employ strategies to reduce fear in our furry friends (some hospitals and staff have better tools and training than others). Unfortunately, certain aspects of medical care do carry a component of potential discomfort or pain – needles for vaccinations and blood draws, restraint for examination, aversive smells from cleaning agents, loud, unfamiliar noises, strange doctors, and the list goes on. Additionally, patients may be experiencing pain related to their medical condition, and this pain can become associated with the hospital environment.
