Fear Free Practice

What does Fear Free care look like?

• Frequent offerings of treats, such as cheese, peanut butter, or biscuits and tons of verbal praise and encouragement.
• Gentle handling by all team members.
• Speaking in low, encouraging tones.
• A focus on all of our patients’ physical and mental status. A stressed pet is not a happy pet, and we want to keep all of our patients as happy and healthy as possible. If a patient becomes overly stressed for their visit, we often offer the option to return on a different day or offer to administer anti-anxiety medications.
• Anti-anxiety medications prescribed for particularly anxious pets to avoid creating a more fearful and negative experience for your pet. If you know that your pet becomes very anxious while at the veterinary clinic, please let our team know ahead of time so the veterinarian can formulate a plan specific to your pet to keep them more comfortable and calm.
• Adaptil use for dogs. These dog appeasing pheromones are the same chemical messages that a mother dog releases for her puppies to make them feel safe and secure. Available in spray of diffuser form,
• Adaptil is used at our veterinary practice and can also be used in the home.
• Feliway pheromone use for feline patients (see more about our feline friendly practices here).