Eliminate Fear with Cooperative Care
Veterinary visits are a necessary part of responsible pet ownership. However, some pets experience extreme overwhelm that makes them hard to handle. It doesn’t have to be this way! With cooperative care your pet remains an active and willing participant in their welfare. Working WITH the pet benefits everyone even if they have tolerated handling without complaint.
Why use Cooperative Care
Lyla was an easy natured lovable 85 pound Labrador prone to ear and skin infections. Lola’s mom, a petite and polite woman, loved her dog and always diligently followed up with her veterinarian as recommended. With each visit Lyla, routinely in pain and given no agency or say in her care, became less and less cooperative. She likely anticipated having her painful ears handled with force and restraint without her consent. One day Lyla’s mom as entered the clinic, Lyla put on the breaks. She had not been a willing participant for a long while. That day she entrenched herself in a full fledged tug of war with her mom!
As she flailed and thrashed, Lyla’s loose collar nearly slid off over her head. Mere yards away from the door was a busy intersection. Luckily for both owner and dog, Lyla huffed and finally relented. She and her frustrated owner both panted as they marched into the exam room for their appointment. Lyla and her owner would both benefit from learning about Cooperative Care. By giving dogs and cats (or other species) choices and agency fear and stress is reduced. Less stressed pet are safer and easier to handle.
What is Cooperative Care?
Cooperative by definition means working together. Quite simply, cooperative care means that the animal is a willing and active participant in their maintenance. This is achieved, first, by building a trust based relationship with between handlers and their charge. Thus, the animal is allowed to disengage or leave at any point. Then, with routine practice and repetition the animal is gradually desensitized to various procedures. In this manner stress and duress are significantly reduced.
Animals ‘Opt-In’ to their maintenance
Cooperative Care relies on the principle that the animal can walk away at any point. If you’ve ever attended a ‘Trainer’s Chat’ at your local zoo you’ve likely already seen it in action. If a sea lion or dolphin wants to swim away instead of performing tricks that’s their choice. The only consequence is that they don’t get the fish. These methods have been used to for decades in Zoos and Aquariums to facilitate husbandry and care in captive populations. Using force to compel a multi-ton elephant or walrus to do anything is a risky undertaking.
How then, does a handler perform a routine blood draw or nail trims on a dog (or cat) with their consent? We teach them how to ‘Opt-In’ by rewarding them for participation. A ‘place’ mat is often utilized for traction and targeting. When the dog ‘Opts In’ by stepping onto the target mat they are rewarded, when the dog ‘Opts out’ the rewards stop. The dog can then indicate overwhelm by simply moving off the mat. Work resumes again only once the dog chooses to return to the mat. This approach intentionally moves at a pace that is acceptable to the subject animal. Long term success requires meeting the safety needs of the individual. The animal must remain below threshold!
Ask any vet tech or groomer and they will recount stories of animals stressed by their visits. Fearful dogs struggle and may show aggression at appointments. Aggression escalates when more subtle signs of discomfort are disregarded. Overwhelming force sets dogs up to fail and as a result they are fearful. They learn to bare their teeth, growl, and even bite as a way to avoid handling. Consequently, these interactions pave the way for even more stress in the future. Luckily it’s all avoidable if you know how to set your dog up for success!
Who Can Utilize Cooperative Care?
Owners can facilitate peaceful veterinary visits by practicing mat targeting and common handling procedures at home. Utilizing their pet’s meal for training time create intentional, short, consistent opportunities to desensitize any dog (or cat) to the experiences that they’ll have at the vet or groomer. Veterinary and grooming staff can use Fear Free strategies to keep their clients from entering states of arousal. Adult dogs with previous negative associations with the vet or groomer will benefit the most but may take longer to fully desensitize.
Cooperative Care is incredibly effective when utilized from the beginning. Puppies learn that husbandry and care are fun and safe from the get go. Anyone who handles dogs professionally will benefit from learning consent based handling procedures. When a pet’s fear is disregarded and they are handled with force and restraint they quickly lose trust in people. Even dogs who seemingly tolerate grooming or veterinary care without complaint still benefit from intentional consent based handling techniques. Learn how to Communicate Calm to your Canine here!
Tenets of Cooperative Care.
One struggle pet professionals or owners face during veterinary care is when the dog is not food motivated. What this means is that the dog is already over threshold or in a chronic state of distress. Reduce triggers and improve trust between dog and handler by using tasty treats to reward desirable behavior. Handlers may believe that it takes too long. Simply learning body language and how to reward effectively create greater efficiency in procedures because the animals remains calm. However, mastering fear free handling techniques, however, will take intention, time, and practice. In cases of extreme duress that don’t have the benefit of time to practice, prescription anti-anxiety medications are highly recommended by Veterinary Behaviorists.
Fear free cooperative care starts with one small change. That change is a simple recognition that the animal’s experience matters. Make a commitment to building trust and reducing stress for the animal.
- Take breaks when the pet indicates fear, anxiety, or stress.
- Encourage owners to bring the good stuff with them to appointments. Like humans, the way to a dog’s heart is often through his belly!
- Have clients implement chin rest and mat targeting to reduce fidgeting and streamline the experience.
- Start with the next puppy that walks through the door.
Cooperative Care in Action!
Chin Rest
Desensitizing Ear Drops
Using treats in the Workplace
One of the ‘services ‘perks’ we provide to Johnson County, KS veterinary practices is a treat jar. We fill this jar quarterly or upon request by the practice with RedBarn Air dried Beef Dog Food. The response we routinely get from the front desk is that dogs **LOVE** them. Sure some dogs can’t have them due to dietary restrictions but why turn down free treats that help others? This is how we own the message that using treats proactively builds trust and lowers stress. If you work for a Veterinary Clinic in the area and would like us to fill a treat jar for you please call or email!
The Animal Must Remain Under Threshold
Rushing into procedures without appreciating your dog’s perspective can set you both up for stress and struggle. Once your dog’s nervous system is activated it’s too late to go back and create a positive experience. Working with the needs of the dog in front of you means going at a pace that allows them to remain a calm and willing participant in their care. Most dogs appreciate a little space and time as they to acclimate to a new environment. Arrive at appointments 15-20 minutes early to decompress from the car ride itself. Avoid compelled or arousing social interactions during this time to allow your pet time to explore and investigate the new environment.
Give Your Dog Time and Space
Taking the time to desensitize animals to the care and husbandry results in less stress and more efficient treatments. Consent is key! Calls for bodily autonomy fill the airways. Certainly no one wants to be forced to do something even if it’s for our own good. Consent gives one the opportunity to comply willingly with full understanding and cooperation. Using force makes bad associations that will be compounded by future stressors.
Stop at the First Sign of Distress
Recognizing early signs of distress is crucial to maintaining positive experiences. A good way to determine if your dog is under threshold is whether they are willing to take treats. A stressed dog is significantly less likely to eat offered food, particularly dry biscuits, cheerios, or kibble. Uncomfortable dogs fidget and scratch a lot. They also pant, lick their lips, yawn, and pace. This is your dog’s way of asking for time and space!
When their needs are disregarded routinely they become less cooperative over time and more likely to escalate in defensive. The more force and restraint used the more stress your dog will experience. A good rule of thumb is if your pet struggles for more than 3 seconds, let them go. When our pets willingly comply and participate it makes our interactions much more successful and low stress for everyone!
To learn more about how to make veterinary and grooming visits more enjoyable, and SAFER, for you and your dog schedule a
Sample Cooperative Care Protocols
Rebuilding trust in a dog that was previously experienced a lack of agency takes time. They may love their owner, but they no longer trust them to keep them safe. Trust is largely based on understanding. This understanding is accomplished by breaking down the larger goal, such as a blood draw or nail trim, into small easier to achieve steps. With this in mind it’s much easier to implement proactive cooperative care protocols on young animals who have not already determined that veterinary staff are dangerous. Regardless, it works well with any animal!
A blood draw for example includes the following steps:
- Positing the animal for access to the appropriate body part
- Restrain holds specific to the draw site
- Holding off the vein
- Approaching with the needle
- The needle stick
- Compressing the vein to stem bleeding
A nail trim is broken down similarly and includes:
- Desensitizing the dog to someone reaching for them
- Reaching for the nail clippers
- Picking up the clippers and moving them toward the foot
- Clipping the actual nail.
Let us Help You Master Cooperative Care!
Distressed animals are a danger to themselves and their handlers. Misinformation causes owners and professionals to make costly mistakes. Canine Solutions offers a variety of services to help you have less stressed pets.
Veterinary Practices
For Veterinary offices located in and around Johnson County KS, get on our schedule for treat refills! We want to set a precedent and make positive reinforcement and fear free handling objection free. We’ll bring the lunch and learn about how we can best support your practice.
Pet Guardians
If you want your pet to stress less and be safely handled without constantly needing to sedate them we can help! Canine Solutions trainers are committed to teaching you how to connect with your pet utilizing fear free techniques. Give your dog shots, trim their toenails, apply ointments, or any other husbandry with your dog’s full cooperation and consent.