Fear Free Vet Visits
Making Veterinary Visits Less Stressful for Pets
Littleton Animal Hospital is committed to providing you and your pet(s) with the best veterinary experience possible. We have adapted our policies and procedures to make sure that we are considerate and work to avoid any triggers that cause your pet to be anxious or fearful during their visit. We follow the program for Fear Free Veterinary Visits, created by Dr. Marty Becker, world renowned veterinarian and pet advocate.
If your pet has exhibited fearful or anxious behaviors at their previous visit, please call and speak to us ahead of your next visit to see if medication for anxiety prior to the visit would be a good choice for your pet.
We can’t wait to show you how we can help your pet to be less worried about their next visit!!
Our Fear Free Certified Team Members Can Help
Many of our staff members have completed their individual certification to be fear free veterinary professionals. As a hospital, we are seeking the goal of having our entire practice become Certified Fear Free in 2022!
With this program, we will continually learn new ways to make your pet’s health care easy and stress free.
During a typical Fear Free veterinary visit, you will see our practice team using some of these techniques:
- Offering tasty treats from home to distract your pet and make them happy (and if you forget your treats we have some yummy options to share).
- Providing comfortable, non-slip surfaces for your pet to stand on thus improving balance and reducing discomfort.
- Encouraging pets with a happy voice, smile and treats - we never handle them roughly to get them on a table or into a cage.
- We will work on the floor with your pet if that is where they prefer to be during their exam.
- We use special music that has been shown to be calming, and relaxing to your pet in each exam room- this also helps with reducing outside noises that may worry your pet.
- Creating a calming environment with pheromone diffusers and sprays.
- Prescribing anti-anxiety and calming medications to give prior to their visit.
- If your pet is showing excessive signs of fear, anxiety, or stress, the team may postpone the exam/procedure until a time when the pet is more relaxed - often sending home medication to give prior to the next visit.
- Recommending sedation if the patient needs a procedure that is scary or painful.
The main benefit of a kind and considerate approach to our patients is that they are happy to come visit us!
Please call us at (978) 486-3101 for more information on the Fear Free environment we provide pets.
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