Last week, veterinary blogger Dolittler posted a piece entitled “Top 10 Pet Owner Excuses for Aggression in Dogs.” And, while I understand the tone and intent, it made me feel really sad because so many aggressive dogs are actually fearful dogs, who need help. I also noted in my comment to her post that I felt terribly unwanted as a veterinary client. It wasn’t so much what Dr. Patty Khuly wrote, but some of the comments took blame and derision to a level I did not expect. For example:
One person concluded with, “You get the dog you deserve.”
To which someone else said, “Ain’t dat the troof”
I’m no delicate flower. Really, I’m not, but I’ve always heard the phrase
as, “You get the dogs you get for a reason,” which to me says more about
life lessons than blame … like maybe these dogs come to into our
lives with a purpose, but perhaps I’ve always listened through rose-colored ears. (Yes, I’m mixing my metaphors.)
I’ve learned more from Lilly than any other dog in my life. I’m WAY better at being a canine parent because of my dog with issues than I was when I had a “normal” dog.
And, trust me, my profession isn’t immune to emphatic rants. This piece by fellow freelancer Erik Sherman is profound and profane at the same time. So, it’s not that I don’t get the need to write about the things that make us nuts at work. Really. I get it. Those darn, @#$@#%@#$@#$@. :o)
And, yet, I got to thinking about the fearful dog client’s equivalent to the excuse piece. My original title for this was the Top 10 Ways Veterinarians Fail Fearful Dogs because I think many practices do fail them.
BUT, a fellow fearful dog person suggested I turn around my thinking (since I am a positive reinforcement dog trainer, not a punishment-based one). So, here is my best attempt at giving advice to veterinarians and veterinary staff on how they can better serve clients whose dogs have fear-based (or really any) behavior issues. And, for you dog parents, these are things to ponder in the veterinary setting.
Top 10 Ways Veterinarians Can Better Serve Fearful Dogs
Honestly, nearly all of them come back to #1, so it’s in red.
1. Learn more than just the basics about dog behavior. There is so much more to behavior that potty training, dealing with teething, and walking on a leash.
2. Amp down the noise in your practice. Consider psycho-acoustic background music. Take 5 minutes to sit and listen to the noises at your practice. Write down everything you hear … everything. Trust me, this auditory inventory will show you just how noisy veterinary hospitals are.
Squeaky doors, humming instruments, phones ringing, printers churning,
and (yes) dogs barking soak fearful dogs in auditory stimuli. Each sound requires the dog to alert and assess, which puts a tremendous strain on them (and us). Some stress experts consider noise like second-hand smoke to the nervous system. Plus, small exam
rooms amplify voices making even normal conversation, cabinets closing,
and other sounds seem painfully loud to a sound sensitive dog.
3. Offer longer appointments to clients with truly fearful dogs. Paying more for your time is worth it to us.Short appointments result in rushed (human) behavior.
This doesn’t allow a fearful dog to adjust to anyone coming and going
from the room. Fearful dogs (much like autistic children) struggle with
sudden environmental changes (visual, auditory, kinesthetic).
4. Monitor your own emotion and energy level. Impatience or frustration in handling can make fearful dogs edgier.
To sensitive dogs, even an exasperated sigh or a change in tone of
voice (especially combined with physical restraint) can seem like a
severe punishment. Don’t pin them down to get what you need, THEN try to make friends afterward. The fearful dog needs a couple minutes to deal with your presence.
5. Move slowly. Often staff and docs move too fast. Along
with speed of movement, be aware of the effect body position
has on fearful dogs. Move too fast, in the wrong way, and you’ll freak a fearful dog out, much like small children do. Be predictable, please.
6. Offer empathy and support before dire warnings. If you focus too much on the bite risk and liability right away, without other input, it’s upsetting, discouraging, and bond-breaking.
I kid you not, when Lilly first got snarky with other dogs when she was
just over two years old, one of the first things a veterinary staff
member said to me was about financial liability … in a “sucks to be you” kind of way. Not nice.
7. Trust what clients say about their pets fears, behavior, or needs. One
doctor called my description of a change in Lilly’s behavior
“creative.” Many times I got pushback when I asked about testing
something as common as thyroid, which can be related to fearfulness in
dogs.
If my dog had been vomiting for 5 years, I’d have your attention.
Why is fear (as a symptom, perhaps) any different?
And, if you have a fearful dog hospitalized, please take extra precautions during potty walks. After a rattlesnake bite, Lilly nearly jumped the emergency hospital fence, which would have put her out close to a very busy street. Fearful dogs often have very strong flee responses. Help us keep them safe.
8. Develop an understanding of the dedication and difficulty of true behavior modification work. It’s a long, tough road, and clients need to know you get that and support it. In my case, not really getting it has resulted in no follow-up to see how things are going.
Heck, I once got a call after a dog’s routine dental, but years into my
saga with a fearful dog? … No one ever asks how she is doing.
9. Learn more about the various drugs that help and hurt fearful dogs. And, please don’t become incredulous or even amused by the idea. Again, not kidding, a veterinary staff member giggled and told me she “thought
she heard they were using Prozac” on dogs. First of all, stop giggling.
Secondly, Prozac has been used for years, but it isn’t the right drug for
a dog like mine. Why do I know that and you don’t?
One quick warning, in case you didn’t know, Acepromazine and Chlorpromazine do NOTHING to ease a dog’s fears. (Thanks to our pals at Fearfuldogs.com for that reminder.) Such chemical restraint might help veterinarians do their jobs, but dogs who may seem physically mellower are still suffering terrible fear on the inside. It’s a quick and easy way to really screw up a fearful dog for life.
10. Recommend only respected trainers who use modern, gentle, scientifically based methods. If you recommend any trainer who drops off business cards or brochures, without any knowledge of methods used, it can result in fearful dogs being subjected to dominance-style, old-fashioned methods, which is why a position statement like this from the American Veterinary Society of Animal Behavior is so important.
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I know veterinarians are busy. I know they are under more pressure than ever to do more advanced medical interventions that take a whole lot of skill and knowledge. I really do understand that, but it would sure help clients like me to have a general practice ally in this quest to help fearful dogs. We need you.
This, in my mind, is a medical issue. So imagine my dismay when the
veterinary teaching hospital, where we met the PhD behaviorist who has
designed Lilly’s medication and behavior modification protocols (after years of trying many other non-drug options), would NOT fill her prescriptions because they were “not medically managing her case.”
*sigh*
How is that for making a client (paying good money) feel unwanted?
Before I truly understood how the world conspires against a fearful dog like Lilly, I thought she was completely bonkers for freaking out, and I mean really freaking out, in everyday situations.
One book changed how I see the world. It helped me understand how common things might trigger a fear episode in my super sensitive dog. It also gave me insight into just how terrible fear can be (hint: it’s worse than physical pain).
Please read it!
Animals in Translation by Temple Grandin
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P.S. Exciting news … I got to interview Dr. Grandin yesterday for a magazine article I’m researching. Very fun to speak with her.
Great work Roxanne, let’s find a way to get it on the radar of vets around the planet!
One more thought about vets and fearful dogs- since CC/DS for the vet’s can be time consuming and probably never enough (heck even my not fearful dogs aren’t thrilled to be there), many fearful dog owners employ the ‘just get it over quickly’ approach. It’s the only time I actually make my scared dog ‘deal with it’.
I have also chosen a vet who is about as non-threatening and supportive as they come.
I leave my dog in the car until a room is ready, we go in, lap some canned cheese, get the work done and then head for the nearest drive-thru window for a burger (I get the pickle).
I’m the first to admit that my vet is very much your “medical basics” kind of guy. He doesn’t know a whole lot about nutrition and has outright said that he’s not great with behavior modification.
He was, however, the only vet after 3ish years to successfully diagnose my cat with having allergies. He cut costs for us, after enduring vet bills into the thousands.
Now, with my dog, he really impressed me on our last visit. He shook my hand and told me I did a great job with her. He takes the time to talk with me about the training I’m doing, the experiences I’m making for her (obedience, agility, etc) among other things. He stayed extra long even though it was only a routine visit and has never said anything negative about the positive methods I’m employing with her.
Great post, Roxanne!
At my last vet visit, I mentioned that K was starting to be scared of being taken to “the room” where they draw blood. I pointed out her subtle fear signals. So, they took her back to “the room” several times, gave her treats every time, and only drew blood on one trip. I don’t know whether the effect will hold over until the next time but they certainly went the the extra mile to try to help (and K isn’t an extremely fearful dog – her signals are subtle in most situations).
I suspect, however, that it depends what kind of day the vet hospital is having as to whether they have time to do stuff like that. If they’ve got a ton of crises going on, I bet they can’t do all that extra stuff.
The main reason I’ve stayed with my current vet for the past 8 years is that she’s so good with the dogs. She knows just how to handle them to keep them from being too afraid and if they are starting to freak out she works with me to get them to calm down.
I’ve been to so many vets that are either very rough and old school in their thinking/handling and/or don’t seem to have the slightest clue about basic dog behavior and how to deal with it and blame it on the dog/client.
Wow – great post! So many things I want to respond to! People who have never had to rehabilitate a fearful rescue dog often just don’t understand. I remember one guy in my old training club whose first dog was an absolutely wonderful, well-bred sheltie. He was very derisive of several people who were working through issues with their rescues – after all, this training stuff was so darned easy! When he got his second dog, also a well-bred sheltie from great lines, he didn’t have nearly the same success. He actually had very minor issues with the dog that needed to be worked through, and he had NO clue how to do it. It was a real eye-opener for him.
My vet has been very good – when Z had his back x-rays taken, they usually have people drop dogs off in the morning and they take the x-rays whenever they get around to it, and have people pick the dogs up at the end of the day. I wasn’t comfortable doing that to Z because he can get panicky, so my vet arranged for me to bring him in later, sit with him throughout the whole procedure (except for the actual x-ray) and take him home as soon as the sedation was reversed.
And, so cool that you got to interview Temple Grandin! I haven’t read her book yet, but I will have to go grab a copy!
I think your experience is quite common. Kisses to Luna.
I wish I could tell you why I get to interview Dr. Grandin, but I can’t … until the piece comes out this summer. Cannot scoop myself. Still … very fun to chat with her yesterday.
This is a great list; my vet always rushes through and can’t understand why Luna is nervous. And he showcases business card of trainers who are not really positive.
Also, great that you got to interview Temple Grandin! What’s the topic of your article?
Thanks, Keith, for your note. It sounds to me like your practice team
does good things for fearful dogs. I understand that not all clients
manage their fearful/aggressive dogs at the level I do. I’m sure that’s
very frustrating and scary. I mostly wanted to point out that those of
us who are … really could use some help and support. I think it’s an
untapped opportunity to build client partnerships and client loyalty.
One of my twitter followers pointed out this article by Dr. Karen Overall, offering some of the same advice from a veterinarian’s point of view.
For those who missed it last week, Dr. Overall’s Relaxation Protocol is the one we began using at first, and it’s the one I created audio files for.
Anyway, thanks again for visiting.
Excellent list. And I particularly appreciate your positive and constructive response to Dolittler’s (understandable) venting. As vets, owners or trainers we should all endeavour to “do no harm” and keep everyone involved safe, first and foremost.
It is a true shame when members of a caring profession forget to take time to care. Fearfull dogs are a challenge, they do take more time, do pose a risk to staff and clients. I think that this post does show the other side (pet owner’s) of the problem of fearfull dogs. We try to take extra time, move slowly, and work with owners to help their pets become less fearfull. In addtion to training and medication, we have actually had owners just come to the hospital and sit with their pets in our waiting room a couple of times a week to decrease the dog’s anxiety in the hospital. I will definately look at our noise levels but this is a difficult thing to change alot of the time. We do house calls as well. This works well with a fearfull pet but backfires horribly when the problem is one of dominance aggression gone bad. Finally, I find that these pets are easier to work with when the owners understand the problem and take some responsiblity for working with the animal. It doesn’t help me when the dog is cowered under the chair in the exam room and the owner is on the cell phone blathering away and won’t help me to calm the pet. Or the owner that squeals when we pull out a syringe or won’t relinquish their death grip on the fearfull dog that is clinging to their necks. (oops I digress).
Great post.