Since the first official veterinarian visit in the 1760's in France, pets have been dreading each and every time they are brought into the office.
Through the centuries, veterinary offices have adopted many strategies. Practices revolving around the veterinarian, the client, and even technology have their merits, but they do not focus on the main reason for the practice in the first place: your pet.
In 2006, Dr. Marty Becker founded Fear Free company that offered a new way of thinking: pet-centered veterinary practices. This company provides certifications to veterinary hospitals, clinics, and individual veterinary professionals. We are proud to say that all of our veterinarians and most of our staff are certified.
What Does Fear Free mean?
To put it simply, it means to create a facility and environment to prevent and alleviate fear, anxiety, and stress in pets.
How we make your pet's visit as fear free as possible
- Our scales are recessed into the floor to make the experience of getting their weight less frightening.
- Pet Tunes cube in every exam room that plays pet-calming music.
- Adaptil pet pheromone diffuser in every exam room.
- Our veterinarians and staff give treats—lots and lots of treats.
- If your pet is too stressed during the exam, we will use anti-anxiety medication to help calm them down, or we will reschedule the appointment.
Making a visit free from fear and stress starts at home. Here is a quick list of steps you can take to make the trip from home to the veterinarian's office easier. To get the full list, click here, and you can download tips for either a dog or cat.
Tips to help make your pet's experience fear free:
- Play pet-calming music in your car.
- Spray your car with calming pheromones like Adaptil.
- Please do not feed your pet before they visit the veterinarian's office; your pet will take treats more eagerly for the doctor and staff.
- For dogs, consider using a thunder shirt.
- Reward good behaviors with treats
One of our Exam Room Technicians, Sara Ramirez, shares one of her most favorite Fear-Free success stories:
"Dr. Konsella and I had a patient named Louie Reynard, a little Papillon dog. He's a little bit on the unfriendly side to other people. When he came down with kennel cough and then later pneumonia, we were able to work with a few fear free techniques and achieve a lot for him.
Louie Reynard's owner was having a really difficult time medicating him. He was getting really smart and figured out how to avoid taking his medication. We gave his owner a couple of tips and tricks on how to help her out. I taught her how to do the treat stuff and I would trick him into not knowing which treat had his pill in it. That owner felt that we had saved Louie's life because we were able to give him that medication and he was able to get better, and then from there on the other medications to help him out even more. Louie Reynard was never that sick again."
As you can see, the answer to the question to "Can a visit to a veterinarian really be fear free?" is yes. We have, and will continue to, provide the most stress- and fear-free experience for your pets, and all pets in Boise, Meridian, and the entire Treasure Valley.
