Forrest is a 3 ½ year old Austrian Cattle dog. He came to Rock Bridge Animal Hospital back in July for his first examination. Dr. Forbes and the technicians quickly noticed how anxious and stressed he was as Forrest would hide behind his mom on the bench and would not come out from behind her voluntarily. His eyes were very wide, his body was very stiff, and he was afraid to move during his exam. Dr. Forbes then decided it was in Forrest’s best interest to start sessions of desensitization and counter-conditioning to the exams and veterinary staff. During these sessions, Dr. Forbes works on changing a pet’s outlook on the hospital in the hopes that we are making it a more positive experience for them. We do this by associating our presence with something good such as treats and toys, but most times treats! Gradually, we increase our interaction with them as they become more comfortable, only progressing as far as they will allow us without showing any signs of stress. Nothing medical is performed during these sessions. It’s all about making the pet comfortable with the staff as well as getting them used to the instruments and the touching that goes along with it. Our goal with Forrest was to get him to be able to relax during a basic wellness exam.
Since his anxiety levels were so high, we sent Forrest home with some Trazodone for the owner to give at least 2 hours prior to his visit to help him relax. Trazodone is a medication that works by helping to restore the balance of serotonin in the brain. Serotonin is responsible for those happy, relaxed feelings we are supposed to have and helps diminish those anxious, unwelcoming feelings that Forrest was exhibiting. When a pet, such as Forrest, has too high levels of anxiety and stress, they go into panic mode and can’t conceive that the situation might actually be okay.
Once the first behavioral session began, Dr. Forbes started off slow as he was exhibiting high levels of FAS (fear, anxiety, and stress). We gauge these levels based on how the pet reacts to the hospital setting and how we interact with them. Our levels range from 0-5 with 0 being the lowest/least amount of stress exhibited during the session and/or exam and 5 being so high that the pet cannot tolerate any interaction and often becomes outwardly aggressive trying to avoid us. Forrest was exhibiting signs of level 4 FAS when he first started with us. So to get Forrest to feel more comfortable and lessen his level of anxiety, we started off with easy tasks for him to do in return for some play time or yummy treats! These tasks included having him play with a tennis ball and letting him show of his tricks such as “shake”. As more sessions were done, more tasks were added on. He even learned a new command, “target”, over the course of his sessions! Getting Forrest to do the things he knows maximizes his confidence and essentially lessens his discomfort with our veterinary team. Eventually, we began to incorporate the use of medical instruments such as a stethoscope and otoscope. This helped Forrest to learn that these tools are nothing to be afraid of.
By using a slow considerate approach and rewarding with treats, we are teaching Forrest that the clinic is not a scary place. Since Forrest’s first visit, he has improved significantly. He is excited to come to the clinic and knows exactly where the treats are. He will voluntarily jump off the bench to approach the staff and will comfortably allow Dr. Forbes to listen to his heart and palpate his belly without having someone hold him in position. He’s still a little sensitive about his ears, but he’s making good progress. He now has an average FAS score of 2! This is a huge improvement for Forrest, but we still have more work to do. Some dogs may take many sessions to get them to where they need to be and some dogs it only takes a few. But for Forrest, each session is an improvement and we are happy to see him grow with us and as an individual.