Using Cooperative Care to Make Vet Visits Less Stressful
As pet owners, one of our responsibilities is ensuring the health and well-being of our dogs, and regular visits to the veterinarian are an essential part of that commitment. However, for many dogs (and humans), trips to the vet can be stressful and overwhelming experiences.
This is where the concept of "cooperative care" comes into play.
Understanding Cooperative Care
Cooperative care is all about creating a partnership between you and your dog. The aim is to establish trust and cooperation during various aspects of pet care, including grooming, handling, and veterinary visits. The approach emphasizes the importance of your dog feeling comfortable, safe, and in control during these situations.
Cooperative care training can be used to teach your dog to engage in activities like nail trims, ear cleanings, eye drops, vaccinations, and more.
The Benefits of Cooperative Care - Why not just force our dogs to do the things?
1. Reduced Stress: By involving your dog in the process, you can significantly reduce their stress levels during vet visits. Dogs who are actively participating in their care tend to feel more secure and less anxious. Giving our dogs agency - aka the ability to change outcomes - can go a long way!
2. Improved Trust: Cooperative care builds a strong foundation of trust between you and your dog. Your dog will learn that you will not force them to do unpleasant things. This trust is not only incredibly important to your dog’s mental health, but it can make the examination process smoother and more efficient.
3. Safety and Security: When your dog is comfortable with being handled, examined, and treated, the chances of accidents or injuries during vet visits decrease.
4. Empowerment: Cooperative care empowers your dog to have some control over their experiences, leading to increased confidence.
Components of a Cooperative Care Training Plan:
1. Desensitization and Counterconditioning:
Desensitization involves gradually exposing your dog to the different elements of a vet visit, such as handling their paws, ears, and mouth. Counterconditioning means that we pair these actions with something your dog finds pleasant, such as treats, to change your dog's emotional response. In theory, DS/CC is simple to implement. In practice, it can be a bit more difficult and I highly suggest working with a force-free, positive reinforcement-based trainer on this. We want to make sure that we are accurately reading your dog’s body language and going at their pace - otherwise, we can risk worsening their fear.
2. Positive Associations:
Associate the vet clinic with positive experiences. Take your dog for short “happy visits” where they receive treats and attention from the staff without any medical procedures. I also suggest finding out if there is a Fear Free Certified vet in your area who can assist with this.
3. Training and Practice:
You might teach your dog behaviors like "down" on a mat, a chin rest (on your knee or a chair), or a “middle.” Pattern games from Leslie McDevitt’s Control Unleashed series are also amazing for veterinary settings. These behaviors can be incredibly useful during vet visits to give your dog a sense of routine, safety, and agency.
4. Teach a “Consent” Behavior:
Many folks have found success in teaching their dog a “start-button” or “opt-in” behavior. This is a behavior that our dog can engage in that says “yes, go ahead and do the scary thing.” It might look like this: JJ does a chin rest on my knee, so I reach toward her ear with a cotton pad. Then I give her a treat. If she puts her chin on my knee again, I repeat the action.
5. Listen When Your Dog Says “No”:
Perhaps the most important and sacred part of cooperative care training is that our dogs have the ability to opt out of training. It is important that when our dog indicates that they are uncomfortable and do not want to participate, we listen. (Of course, there are some situations in which care is essential and not optional. Please use your best judgement and the advice of your vet.) In the example above, if JJ did not put her head down, I would not reach toward her ears. Even without an official “start button” behavior, you can read your dog’s body language to notice when they are uncomfortable and need a break from training.
