Both dogs and cats will experience veterinary related anxiety at some point during their lives. It is almost impossible to avoid; when you think about it, a trip to the vets often ends up with either a stranger touching them all over, a injection, or a thermometer placed where they’d rather not let anyone go! All of these things can emit feelings of fear, anxiety and stress in your pet.

Whilst we can’t control every aspect of their anxiety, we can help to reduce it. Below are some simple steps we can take to make their visit to the vets a lot easier.

But before we talk about easing anxiety, lets go through some of the common signs of stress that we see on a daily basis in the veterinary practice.

Dogs 🐕
There are a variety of behaviours dogs will produce when they feel threatened in any way. Some are quite subtle whilst others are very obvious to most of us.

Some of the signs we might immediately recognise as fear and anxiety at the vets include:

• Panting
• Pacing or pulling to get out the door
• Growling and or barking
• Snapping and or biting
• Shaking
• Toileting inside
• Whale Eye (showing the whites of their eyes)

Some signs of anxiety we often misinterpret as other things include:

• Lip-licking and hypersalivating – whilst this can mean that they are hungry, a lot of the time when they are visiting the vets it is also an indicator of anxiety.
• Yawning – this is very different to a relaxed, tired yawn. It is a lot tighter and happens multiple times as a self-soothing behaviour.
• Front paw lift – again, we often misread this as a dog wanting to shake hands with us! But in the veterinary practice, it is often a sign that a dog feels nervous of its surroundings.
• Stretching and Scratching – these are more self-soothing behaviours a dog will partake in when nervous, the same way we fiddle with our clothes, skin or hands when we are nervous!
• Belly roll – this is another behaviour that is often miscommunicated to us by dogs when they offer it to us. In most cases at the veterinary practice, dogs will show their bellies as a way of showing us they are not a threat and asking us politely to please not hurt them. In this situation, it is important for us to take a step back to let the dog know we have understood.
• Frantic energy/excitement – in many cases, dogs can fly through the veterinary doors seemingly happy and full of beans! And often they are. However, it can also mean that a dog is hyper-aroused, offering little space in their tank left to cope with the vet appointment.

So, how can we help our dogs when they visit us at the vets?

1. A calm and normal morning routine. Dogs need to sleep up to 16-18 hours per day. If we keep their routine normal on the day of a vet appointment, it avoids any extra stress. This also includes positive, fun emotions – for example, taking your dog for a long walk to tire them out before a vet appointment can often have the opposite effect and lower their ability to cope with the vet examining them, because they are too overstimulated.
2. Classical or Reggae music. Playing calm and soothing music has been scientifically proven to reduce stress levels in our canine patients. This could be played at home, or in the car on the way to your appointment.
3. Waiting outside. You do not have to utilise the waiting area. A lot of the time, anxiety is an anticipatory fear of the vets based on a reinforced history of a stressful time when they’ve visited us. If your dog finds it easier to wait in the car or walk around outside until the vet can see you, this can be accommodated – just make sure our team are aware.
4. Providing food and enrichment. Bringing favourite toys and treats to your appointment can assist in promoting a calming experience. As long as the item does not cause too much over-stimulation, having a ‘comfort blanket’ can often make our canine patients feel a little more soothed.  This can be in the form of a ball, a stuffed toy, a blanket, a food toy – or their favourite snack!
5. Training. Asking our dogs for focus in the waiting area can be challenging for a lot of them but for some, it can be a lifeline. Giving certain dogs (depending on breed and temperament) direction can help desensitise them to the veterinary environment and, in turn, allow them to tolerate their visits better. Training like this can include what we call cooperative care, which is a type of training method used in Zoos! If we can teach a dog what is expected of them during a veterinary appointment, and give them an element of control, it reduces the need for restraint and sedatives.
6. Anti-anxiety medications. These medications need to be discussed and administered before your visit but if we feel your dog would benefit from them, this is absolutely something we can accommodate – you can discuss this with a vet using our video consultation service.
7. Confidence Clinics. These clinics involve a mixture of fun and training to help make the vet experience easier for our canine patients and included in our Gold Lifetime Care Club membership.

Cats 🐈
Cats have a fundamental need to be in control, or at least to be seen as if they are. Their first port of call will often be to simply avoid something that makes them nervous, and this can prove challenging when they visit us.

Here are some examples of cat behaviour that let us know they aren’t too happy:

• Hiding (in their box or under towels or tables)
• Swishing or fluffy tail
• Flat ears or rotated backwards
• Open mouth breathing
• Arched back
• Crouched down
• Vocalising (yowling or growling)
• Hissing, spitting and biting
• Swiping
• Stress purr (different from a relaxed purr, the stress purr is a self-soothing behaviour)

So, how can we help our cats when they visit us at the vets?

1. Where possible, have their carrier out and ready at least 24 hours before their appointment. In emergency situations this isn’t always an option but for routine appointments, having the carrier out in advance makes it less of a threat.
2. Blanket in their carrier for them to hide under. Allowing them to avoid their worry over the vets as much as possible gives them some of that control they love so much! It is also beneficial to have a carrier that helps to keep them hidden but the top half can still be removed, taking away the need to coax them out of a front door.
3. Towel or blanket over their carrier at all times. This helps reduce scary noises and visual triggers as much as possible.
4. If possible, holding the carrier from the bottom rather than from the handle. This makes the journey much more stabilised for our feline patients.
5. Location in the car. Some cats prefer to be more hidden – in the footwell behind the passenger seat is a good option for this. Alternatively, if your cat prefers being up-high (away from danger), they may prefer the passenger seat of the car (try to use the seatbelt to secure the carrier).
6. Pheromone spray. These sprays can help promote an idea of calmness.
7. Anti-anxiety medication. These medications would be discussed with a vet before your visit to us but if we feel as if your cat would benefit from them, this is absolutely something we can discuss and may be able prescribe via video consultation.
8. Having a separate blanket to place them onto the veterinary table, or to hide their heads under whilst they are being examined. Again, another way we can give them some agency when dealing with a veterinary appointment.

Ultimately, if your pet is overly anxious about coming to the vets, please talk to us and we can do our best to make accommodations for them.