Fear Free?! What the heck is it and why do I keep bringing it up?
Fear Free is the concept of minimizing and ultimately eliminating fear, stress and anxiety of our pets while interacting with pet professionals such as your veterinary team, groomer or kennel staff.
Here at Paws On The Go, I utilize this methodology as the foundation of my patient care.
Here are just a few examples of how!
Treats!
I always recommend having lots of your pet’s favourite treats in small bite sized pieces readily available. Cut them up if necessary. Your pet likes a variety of treats? Have an assortment! Even your cat’s canned food might do the trick. Treats should be about the size of a pea or a single lick. You might not use all of them, but it is better to have too many than not enough!
2. Delaying Mealtime.
If medically appropriate, reduce the amount of food your pet eats before a veterinary visit. This can help make the treats at the veterinary visit more appealing.
3. Species-specific calming pheromones.
Commercially available calming pheromones can help promote relaxation. Feliway for cats and Adaptil for dogs, are used in every visit with a spritz worn on myself as “perfume” and another coating my supply bag as an immediate safe signal to my patients. Providing mobile services also allows pets to stay in their safe space and comfort for your pet.
4. Lots of Time and Patients.
Booking plenty of time and/or splitting appointments up over multiple visits helps reduce stress on everyone but also allows us to go at the individual pets’ pace.
5. Pre-visit Medications.
In some cases, it may be recommended to try pre-visit medication prescribed by your pets Veterinarian. These medicines are a wonderful tool we use to reduce your pet’s Fear, Anxiety, and Stress (FAS) during veterinary visits. Occasionally, even with Pre-visit medications a pet’s FAS may remain too high, at which point additional medicines or trying again another day will be recommended. Many pets have reduced FAS for future visits as time goes on. Once the FAS cycle is broken, the need to utilize pre-visit medications can result in the reduction to eventually elimination of their need all together!
Interested in seeing how Fear Free may help your pet? Contact me and let's chat! Already have a good idea of what you're looking for? Scroll through my available services and request to book with me, RVT Chelsey!
Learn More About Fear Free and What You Can Do As A Pet Parent At Home:
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