How much do you enjoy going to see your doctor? Do you wake up the morning of your appointment thinking “Hooray!” Do you go into the office whistling? No…so imagine how your pet feels. When they are bundled into a kennel, packed in the car, brought into a reception area full of people and barking dogs, and then poked prodded and held by strangers.
Most vets recognize that pets are stressed going to the clinic and many owners see their pets upset that they are reluctant to come back unless it is necessary. That is sad, because it leads to pets not getting checked as soon as they could be and get sicker.
The doctors and staff at Morinville Vet Clinic are aware that a visit to the vet can cause stress for both the pet and the owner. We are dedicated to finding ways to reduce this stress. Working with our clients, we try many things to improve the experience of the visit.
One suggestion is to bring dogs into the clinic a few times to just visit, and have nothing happen except being petted and getting treats. This helps to have the animal be more relaxed, since the clinic is not “the scary place where bad things happen.”
On the subject of treats, it is a good idea to have a pet come to an appointment hungry. That way, the vet can offer treats as a way of having something good happen during the appointment. We have patients that come into the exam room and look straight at the “cookie jar”.
If you are already bringing your pet to the Morinville Vet, you will have heard our vets discuss the benefits of each pet having their own kennel for resting in. One more benefit is that the kennel is a familiar place for them when they have an appointment in a strange room.
For some pets, anything new is upsetting. For others, they remember that they were in pain the last time that they were at the vets or they are scared. These are the ones that may need pain medicine or a tranquilizer just to be looked at.
In the end, our goal at Morinville Vet Clinic is to make every pet visit to our hospital be as stress free as possible.
Written by Morinville Veterinary Clinic
