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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 first 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
• Difficulty 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 flattened
• Difficulty 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.
At home, get your pet used to their carrier. A lot of
times pet parents only bring the carrier out when
the pet is getting ready to go to the vet. The carrier
then becomes an anxiety trigger for your pet. If
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