26 www.petloverscompanion.com • 703.780.4400 Anxiety and Veterinary Visits By Rachel Ray, Caring Hands Animal Hospital It’s normal for pets to be anxious when they visit the vet, right? While common, it should not be accepted as a norm. Dr. Marty Becker has been an advocate and champion for “Fear Free” veterinary visits and has helped usher this new initiative into practices today. Low-stress visits are possible when you and your veterinarian work together as a team. In a Bayer Veterinary Healthcare Usage study, 37% of dog owners and 58% of cat owners said their pets hate going to the vet. They also found that 26% of dog owners and 38% of cat owners said that just thinking about going to the vet was stressful. This number can reduce or delay visits that could impact the health of a pet. The fi rst step in creating reduced stress for veterinary visits is to be able to recognize signs of anxiety in your pet. Pet parents and their healthcare team should be able to identify these signs to be able to cater to the pet’s emotions and provide them with appropriate coping mechanisms. Signs of anxiety in dogs include: • Panting, whining, trembling, pacing • Shedding, self-grooming • Yawning, licking lips, drooling • Hiding, freezing, cowering • Diffi culty getting pet in car Signs of anxiety in cats include: • Clinging to their pet parent • Avoiding eye contact, cowering • Hissing, growling, vocalization • Ears lower or fl attened • Diffi culty getting cat in carrier Now that we know what to look for, we can create environments both at home and at the animal hospital that encourage a low-stress visit.
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