interview
Overcoming Fear of Vet Visits In this first of a two-part interview, Susan Nilson and Angelica Steinker speak to Petra Edwards about her recent studies that investigate dogs’ experiences at the veterinary clinic as a means to find out how fear and distress could potentially be reduced
B
ased in Adelaide, Australia, Petra Edwards is currently working on her Ph.D, which focuses primarily on how dogs experience visits to the veterinary clinic while also looking at possible strategies that could be implemented to reduce or prevent stress. Last year, she and her coresearchers published the papers, Fearful Fido: Investigating dog experience in the veterinary context in an effort to reduce distress and Investigating Risk Factors That Predict a Dog’s Fear During Veterinary Consultations in an effort to see what measures could be implemented to reduce the levels of fear and/or distress expe rienced by many dogs when they go to the vet. There are a number of reasons why stress during veterinary visits is counterproductive, including “the negative impact of stress on long term health; how frequently a guardian brings their dog to the veteri narian; the veterinarian’s ability to accurately diagnose health concerns; and, stressed dogs can place veterinarians at greater risk of injury.” (Ed wards et al., 2019a). Yet, as the researchers also point out, all dogs will require veterinary care during their lifetime, and each of them will experience their vet vis its differently: “From the dog’s perspective a ‘routine’ veterinary visit encompasses walking into a strange place with slippery surfaces, being surrounded by strange sounds, sights, smells, and potentially stressed animals (Hewson, 2014), and then being handled or restrained, while potentially enduring painful or invasive procedures.” (Edwards et al., 2019a). “At this stage, the research indicates that veterinary visits are stress ful for at least some dogs, but we don’t know exactly how common it is,” said Edwards (P. Edwards, personal communication, 2020). “Previous studies vary in their estimates of prevalence of fear and/or stress at the vet. Last year, we published a study from a large worldwide sample that looked at predictive factors for dogs fearful of their veterinary visits and found approximately 40% of guardians reported their dogs showed some form of fear at the vet, and one in seven dogs displayed severeex treme fear (Edwards et al., 2019b). “There are lots of aspects of a veterinary visit that may exacerbate a dog’s fear or stress response, but unfortunately there isn’t enough re search yet to confirm which aspects will make the most difference. The review of the literature Fearful Fido: Investigating dog experience in the veterinary context in an effort to reduce distress (Edwards et al., 2019a) provides some useful tables summarizing the different approaches peo ple and veterinary clinics can use to help ameliorate a dog’s stress or fear during veterinary visits.”
“I don’t want to take my dogs’ good behavior at the vet for granted. My ability to cope with various things that life throws at me is constantly evolving, I see no reason why our dogs would be any different and I want to give them every chance of success as long as it’s safe.” - Petra Edwards
32
BARKS from the Guild/November 2020
© Petra Edwards
Petra Edwards (above, with Gus) has recently published two papers that examine how dogs experience vet visits and identify some of the risk factors that may promote a fearful response
Veterinarian’s Office and Staff
BARKS: In my (SN) experience, vet offices are not necessarily always set up with the animal in mind – e.g. reception areas (which can get noisy) may be located right outside the treatment rooms, or the practice entry doorway might be located right next to one of the treatment room doors, causing a potential bottleneck if both doors open at the same time, or the waiting area is set out more for humans than considering the needs of, say, cats who do not want to be near dogs, or dogs who do not want to be situated near other dogs etc., or floors may be slippery. What can be done in terms of actual setup to avoid adding to already elevated stress levels? Petra Edwards: I think veterinary clinics often seem to be built with a focus for practicality, or are existing properties converted into a veteri nary space, rather than built with companion animals in mind. Unfortu nately, this field of research is only just gaining traction, so we don’t yet know the extent to which clinic layout or surfaces (or smells) play a part in a dog’s fear or stress. Having said that, from a ‘common sense’ per
