1. Happy Visits
Pets associate the vet office with shots and uncertainty. Consider bringing your pets in for a visit where they have a purely positive experience. They can do a meet and greet with the staff, get showered with treats, and come away with a better memory of the vet. It may seem like a lot of extra work, but the effort goes a long way toward making an animal more comfortable in the office.
2. Keep control of your pet while in the office
Keep dogs on a leash and cats in a carrier. You may have the best-behaved pet in the world, but the vet lobby is not the place to try and test the limits of their listening skills. Also, try to keep your pets from crawling up under furniture away from the staff. The harder we work to pull pets out from under exam tables and chairs, the more stressed they become.
3. Pets feed off our energy
Some visits are stressful by nature. When a pet is sick or injured, it is sometimes hard to keep your composure. Dogs and cats will pick up on the emotional state of their owners. If you are nervous, your pets will be more nervous. If you are calm, your pets will be calmer.
4. Be mindful of your pet’s stress level
Don’t expect every pet to act perfectly in the vet office. If the lobby is full, consider keeping your nervous cat or dog in your vehicle until the staff is ready for you, versus sitting in the loud lobby with the more boisterous animals. If your pet becomes aggressive, realize that behavior is coming from fear and stress. If we acknowledge they are stressed, we can work with you to handle them in alternative ways.
5. Don’t be afraid to premedicate!
No matter how hard you try, you can’t explain to a pet that going to the doctor is for their own good. Premedication is one of our best tools to break cycles of fear and stress with visits. There is no shame in admitting your pet may need a little chemical help with their visit. It keeps everyone safer and reduces their overall stress over time.
I hope these tips help you and your pets in future visits.
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