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Clinical
Behaviour

Canine stress in the veterinary environment

02 November 2022
Clinical
10 mins read
02 November 2022
Volume 27 · Issue 11
Figure 2. Dogs' Trust veterinary consultation room.
Figure 2. Dogs' Trust veterinary consultation room.

Abstract

The Cat Friendly Clinic, Dog Friendly Clinic and Rabbit Friendly Vet accreditation schemes recognise that vet visits can be fearful or distressing experiences for both pet and owner, and advocate making small changes within the clinic to make the vet visit calmer and easier for everyone. The first step in reducing canine stress within the veterinary environment is to understand why the veterinary experience might cause distress. Factors such as the clinic environment, situation stacking during the visit, and how dogs learn, are all worthy of exploration. Adapting the clinical environment and clinic–patient interactions, alongside educating owners about effective preparation for veterinary visits, can help make these calmer and easier for everyone involved.

The ‘stress response’ is a term commonly applied to an individual's physiological, psychological or behavioural reaction to any perceived threat to wellbeing. The hypothalamus–pituitary–adrenal axis and the sympathetic nervous system are activated (Notari, 2009), thus any stimulus that triggers this bodily change could be considered a stressor.

Ryan (2021) raised the increasing importance of meeting the emotional needs of veterinary patients. This is highlighted by the success of the Cat Friendly Clinic Scheme (https://catfriendlyclinic.org/), Rabbit Friendly Vet Scheme (https://rabbitwelfare.co.uk/) and the launch of the Dog Friendly Clinic Scheme (dogfriendlyclinic.org.uk) this year (Figure 1). These accreditation schemes recognise that vet visits can be fearful or distressing experiences for both pet and owner, and advocate for making small changes within the clinic that can make the vet visit calmer and easier for everyone.

This article will focus on identifying why the veterinary experience can cause distress for our canine patients and will include:

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canine stress
veterinary visit
veterinary clinic environment
canine learning
situation stacking clinic–canine patient interaction
owner education