interview
Fear at the Vet: Examining Risk Factors In the second of this two-part article in their occasional interview series with animal behavior researchers, Susan Nilson and Angelica Steinker continue their conversation with Petra Edwards about her recent investigations into dogs’ experiences at the veterinary clinic in which she aims to identify ways to reduce the fear and distress commonly experienced
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ased on the papers Fearful Fido: Investigating Dog Experience in the Veterinary Context and Investigating Risk Factors That Predict a Dog’s Fear During Veterinary Consultations coauthored by Ade laide, Australiabased Ph.D student Petra Edwards, the first part of this interview (see Overcoming Fear of Vet Visits, BARKS from the Guild, No‐ vember 2020, pp.32‐36) focused largely on the setup at the veterinar ian’s office and looked into ways how environment modification, handling by staff, an awareness by both staff and guardians of an ani mal’s triggers, and how prioritizing and respecting the animal’s emo tional state all play a role in the levels of stress and/or fear they experience. Now, in this second part, we expand on the conversation to discuss education, pet guardians, puppies and early learning, and canine behav ior as potential contributors to fearful behavior and/or distress at the vet. BARKS: How important is it for veterinary schools to include behavior as part of the curriculum? Petra Edwards: I would say having an appropriate and comprehensive behavior component in a veterinary degree is vital, but I’m biased of course! I think behavior is equally important to medical knowledge (for safety and welfare, etc.), however, I’m not sure it’s more important than learning every aspect of medicine for every species they’re likely to come into contact with. It would be awesome if they could tack behav ior (body language/low stress handling) on to every animal handling and clinical skills practical they have every year.
Pet Guardians
BARKS: I (SN) have seen people berate their dog for barking because he is stressed or fearful, or dragging him into the waiting room or onto the weighing scales, or telling their cat to be quiet if he is meowing continu‐ ously. What can be done to educate guardians, who may be unaware, on the signs of stress in their pets? PE: I think it would be useful for veterinary clinics to have some nice body language infographic posters up on their walls in the waiting room. These could also be referred to during puppy schools. Veterinary staff can help ameliorate that stress by moving pets into consult rooms to await the vet as soon as possible, or by triaging the waiting room in terms of behavior – asking someone to sit somewhere specific, or rec ommending a dog gets an extra sniffy walk outside for an few minutes while they’re waiting. We shouldn’t underestimate the power of social media. Imagecentric campaigns on understanding body language, iden tifying stress and appropriate responses to identifying stress/fear are in valuable in reaching and reminding people about their pet’s behavior as well.
© Petra Edwards
Petra Edwards trains for cooperative care frequently with her Rottweilers Gus (pictured) and Gwen to build their mutual trust account and help ensure all parties remain calm and confident during a trip to the vet
BARKS: “According to their guardians, 41% of companion dogs displayed mild to moderate fearful behavior when examined by a veterinarian, and 14% exhibited severe or extreme fear. A similar trend was observed with dogs responding fearfully when in unfamiliar situations, including the dog’s first time at the veterinary clinic.” (Edwards et al., 2019b) ‐ What can guardians do to address this? PE: There isn’t enough research (yet) to be confident in an overall strat egy to reduce stress in a veterinary context. However, being able to iden tify and respond to body language appropriately, identify the dog’s triggers for stress or fear at each step of the visit, nonslip mats from home, positive reinforcement training for cooperative care, using lots of reinforcers (food or toy) to help the dog remain calm and focused in the waiting room and during the examination will help. Guardians of dogs that are experiencing severe or extreme fear in response to veterinary visits could also chat with their vets about the use of shortterm anxiety meds or sedation. I would add that, even if your dog looks as if they’re coping well now, any of the above strategies will likely help prevent any fear from developing as your dog gets older. Let’s not take good behavior for granted.
BARKS from the Guild/January 2021
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