QUARTERLY BEAT / JULY 2025
HUMAN COMMUNICATION WITH DOGS AND CATS Threatening gestures include prolonged eye contact, approaching directly, and distance-increasing vocalizations (deep, guttural sounds). To provide our patients with a considerate approach, we should avoid direct eye contact and a direct approach, turn sideways to look smaller and less threatening, move smoothly and calmly, talk slowly and softly, allow the pet to approach you, offer treats if medically appropriate to do so, avoid aversive scents and use calming ones instead. Rather than reaching toward the pet to offer a treat, try tossing the treats to allow the pet to keep some distance from you initially. This can help prevent putting the pet in a motivational conflict (he wants the treat but is afraid of you at the same time). ASSOCIATIONS Associations are being made all the time. Because we tend to be systematic in our approach to veterinary medicine, animals quickly learn the order of things to come. For example, when placed on a table and the tail is touched, the thermometer will follow. When the technician gets the nail trimmers out of the drawer, nail trimming is about to occur. We can create pleasant associations rather than neutral or negative ones with stimuli in the hospital by pairing pleasant stimuli with a neutral or possibly unpleasant one. For example, nail trimmers can become associated with getting canned dog/cat food. Consequently, the dog or cat may experience happy anticipation when they see the trimmers. A proactive approach to creating pleasant associations with veterinary care is imperative. Changing the pet’s mind after an unpleasant association has been made is much more difficult. Strive to be proactive instead of reactive.
SENSORY PERCEPTION CHART Make a list of stimuli that the pet or client will see, hear, smell, taste, or feel in your hospital. Visually transport yourself from the parking lot to the housing/kennel area. Group the stimuli in categories of potentially pleasant and potentially unpleasant. Take into consideration that for the veterinary setting, promoting calm and relaxed behavior is more conducive to providing veterinary care than promoting active and excitable behavior. Consider how you might be able to minimize potentially unpleasant or over-exciting sights, sounds, smells, taste, and touch and increase pleasant or relaxing ones within the veterinary hospital. Recognize that stimuli that might be pleasant for one patient potentially could be unpleasant for another.
Sights
Sounds
Smells
Taste
Touch
• Pleasant
• Pleasant
• Pleasant
• Pleasant
• Pleasant
• Unpleasant
• Unpleasant
• Unpleasant
• Unpleasant
• Unpleasant
CONCLUSION: Our patients are often more sensitive to environmental stimuli than we are. Consider how you will provide pleasant sensory input and avoid unpleasant ones. Listen to what your patients are telling you and adapt your approach. Set up the environment and our patients for success to create pleasant associations. Through early recognition of behavioral signs of fear, anxiety, and/or stress and intervention on our end, we can prevent the escalation of fear in our patients. Constantly evaluate and re-evaluate and modify as needed. Consequently, we can facilitate pleasant associations with the veterinary hospital and the procedures we want to perform and create a safer and more enjoyable work atmosphere. Your patients and clients will thank you!
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