Learn useful tips on how to handle and train your dogs in a Fear-Free way, and how to prepare for successful vet visits. Watch the replay of our workshop, held in partnership with Noble Canine.
Fear-Free pet handling
Hosted by dog trainer Fraser Noble, founder of Noble Canine, the hybrid workshop was conducted in-person at the Paws N’ Claws clinic premises as well as streamed live online. Fraser is a canine behaviour specialist with more than 20 years’ experience in the field.
Read on for highlights from the session!
The comprehensive session covered topics including:
- How stress can build up in your dog and yourself
- Understanding your dog’s behaviour and building a stronger bond
- How pet owners can prepare your dog for successful vet visits, in a Fear-Free way
- Keeping your dog calm, trained, and socialised
- Training tips, such as muzzle training and conditioning exercises
- Handling and safety pointers
Check out the following selected snippets of Fraser’s session to learn more! Excerpts have been edited for clarity and brevity. To watch the full video, click here.
How a dog’s breed influences behaviour
(Video timestamp: 07:59)
Understanding your dog’s breed will help you understand what he or she is genetically shaped to do and how they tend to communicate. Genetics play a role in a pet’s behaviour, although they do not solely determine it.
For instance, Singapore Specials are typically rescued from the streets, jungle, industrial zones, and construction sites — environments with many potential dangers. Over generations, Singapore Specials generally became more skittish in order to adapt to their living environments.
Border Collies are another example. They were originally bred to work on a farm and therefore most of them have a huge amount of energy. When you keep a Border Collie in an apartment in Singapore, you have to find ways to burn off that energy daily, or else you will likely face some behavioural problems with your pup.
Knowing your dog well
(Video timestamp: 27:58)
Understanding your furkid is important especially as you prepare for a veterinary visit.
Here are some basic information about your pet that you should know and share with your veterinarian:
- Your pet’s previous and current health issues
- Your pet’s estimated stress levels: Think about the last 4-8 hours that your pet experienced — did they encounter any triggers? Are they in pain? Are they itchy? These factors will bring their stress levels up even before the vet visit.
- Any previous difficulties at other vet clinics
Be sure to inform your veterinarian of these details. You can also act on them, such as by actively removing negative stressors to minimise your pet’s stress levels.
Your pet’s learnt behaviour
(Video timestamp: 11:52)
Learnt behaviour can be either good or bad. Just like humans, our pets will also learn behaviour from their experiences, including positive or negative experiences at a vet clinic.
If a vet clinic does not use Fear-Free methods and forcibly pins down your pet with a towel (a common industry practice), your pet will be scared and stressed. He will react to that, learn to expect a similar experience from other vet clinics, and respond similarly at future vet visits.
Fear and pain will not work when you are training a dog with behavioural challenges. This is because, for fear and pain to be effective, you have to be scarier and create more pain than the trigger that’s making them behave in a certain way.
On the other hand, if you reinforce good things with what your furkid enjoys, such as treats and pets, you can also shape their behaviour in that way. It’s simple.
Your pet’s social behaviour
(Video timestamp: 15:19)
In general, if you grew up in a household with calm parents, you’re more likely to have a calm temperament. Our pets are the same. Your household is extremely important in shaping your pet’s behaviour.
If you have kids who often scream and play rough, you will need to be aware of that and make sure your pets have the ability to escape that situation.
Help your pet have a Fear-Free vet visit
(Video timestamp: 31:58)
To facilitate a Fear-Free experience for your pet, remember the 4Cs: calm, clear, confident, consistent.
- Be calm: You are your dog’s leader. Be calm when you’re dealing with your pet and while you’re at the clinic. Keep your cool. If you get worked up and agitated, it directly influences your dog’s experience, as they can detect when you are stressed and react to it.
- Be clear: Communicate with clarity to both your dog and the veterinary team. Use clear verbal commands and hand signals with your pet. Speak or write clearly when informing the vet clinic about your pet’s health issues, behaviour, and other information.
- Be confident: If your pet is having a meltdown and reacting to a trigger, don’t shout at him or panic. Instead, be reassuring and confident, and speak in a measured tone.
- Be consistent: Keep your behaviour and commands consistent. Don’t be calm one moment and then agitated the next. Don’t switch up your commands to your pet; telling them to “sit”, “sit down”, and “plant your butt” on different occasions will be confusing.
How stress can build up in your pet
(Video timestamp: 17:14)
The concept of trigger stacking is well-known in dog training. Your pet’s stress can accumulate from being exposed to multiple triggers, usually at the same time or one after another.
For example, a dog may be sensitive to loud noises and is afraid of children. If this dog hears a loud thunderstorm before he sees a kid, he is more likely to bite than if he had met the kid under calmer circumstances.
There are negative stressors that your pet does not like or fears, such as loud noises, being scolded, car rides, and other animals. There are also positive stressors, which will lead to them getting excited or overwhelmed by joy.
Too many triggers in a short period of time will cause your dog’s stress to reach a level that he cannot cope with or handle, and pushes him into fight, flight, or freeze response.
It’s therefore important to minimise the stressors or triggers in the lead-up to a vet visit, so that your dog is not trigger-stacked and overwhelmed by the time he arrives at the vet clinic.
Watch the replay of the workshop
Prefer to watch the full workshop at your own convenience? Check out the recording below!
Fear-Free veterinary care for your furkid
At Paws N’ Claws Veterinary, we believe that your pet’s emotional health is as important as their physical health.
To learn more about what a Fear-Free approach means in the context of a vet clinic, click here.
At both our Yishun and Upper Thomson clinics, our veterinary team is capable of reducing fear, anxiety, and stress from the examinations and procedures under the guidance of Fear-Free certified professional Dr Esther Lam.
To find out more information or to book an appointment, please WhatsApp us at 8891 4417 (Upper Thomson) or 8809 0787 (Yishun).