{"id":2724,"date":"2021-05-17T07:00:33","date_gmt":"2021-05-17T07:00:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.fearfree.com\/2021\/05\/dogs-less-stressed-with-owners-present-at-exams-study-shows\/"},"modified":"2024-09-04T19:59:14","modified_gmt":"2024-09-04T19:59:14","slug":"dogs-less-stressed-with-owners-present-at-exams-study-shows","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.fearfree.com\/2021\/05\/dogs-less-stressed-with-owners-present-at-exams-study-shows\/","title":{"rendered":"Dogs Less Stressed With Owners Present at Exams, Study Shows"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n
Linda Lombardi<\/strong>Some aspects of the experience of visiting the veterinarian are generally recognized as stressful to pets, such as strange noises, unfamiliar people and animals, and being handled in uncomfortable ways. Less clear \u2013 and now even more relevant in the wake of the pandemic \u2013 is a question asked by a recent study: how are pets affected by whether or not their owner is present during the exam?<\/p>\n

In research published in Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association in November,<\/a> 32 dogs underwent a standardized exam consisting of examination of the head, palpation of lymph nodes and body, axillary temperature measurement, heart rate assessment, and respiratory rate assessment. The exams were recorded on video under two conditions, with owners present or absent. Behaviors indicating fear were assessed, including reduced posture, avoidance, escape, lip licking, body shaking, yawning, and vocalizing; physiological measures were also taken.<\/p>\n

Based on their findings, researchers concluded dogs were less stressed when the owner was present during the exam.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen the owners were allowed to be present with their dogs, they did have more reduced fear levels: reduced vocalizations and reduced temperature, and we also saw some female dogs had lower heart rates when they were with their owners,\u201d says coauthor Anastasia C. Stellato. \u201cSo our results show that, if possible and if it\u2019s appropriate for that client, to allow owners to be in the exam room could have a beneficial impact.\u201d<\/p>\n

Owner presence didn\u2019t eliminate fear: more extreme responses, such as attempting to escape, were the same in both groups, despite the superficial nature of the exam. \u201cIt\u2019s important to keep in mind that the exam we conducted was very passive,\u201d says Stellato. \u201cIt was on the ground, they had a traction mat, we didn\u2019t even use rectal temperature, and yet we still saw those fearful responses.\u201d<\/p>\n

So while those reactions indicated that the dogs would have preferred to avoid the exam, owner presence apparently allowed them to tolerate it somewhat better.<\/p>\n

The study found an age difference in that older dogs lip-licked less than younger dogs when their owner was present. It\u2019s possible that this was the result of a stronger bond developed over the years, but since length of ownership was not recorded, this remains a hypothesis for further investigation.<\/p>\n

One finding that was surprising to the researchers was that owner-present dogs yawned more. Yawning is a complex behavior in dogs, so this result is difficult to interpret. \u201cIt was contrary to our expectation, so it requires further investigation,\u201d says Stellato.<\/p>\n

On the whole, the results suggest that when possible, allowing the owner to be present can be a simple way to reduce stress.<\/p>\n

Veterinary behaviorist Karen van Haaften, senior manager of behaviour and welfare at British Columbia SPCA, says: \u201cI think it\u2019s a nicely designed study. It\u2019s randomized and controlled, which is nice to see in a clinical study. I personally am not surprised by the results of this paper, but I think it\u2019s really useful information for both veterinarians and pet owners to know, and I think it\u2019s a timely one to consider, because during COVID, most vets are not allowing pet owners into the hospital.\u201d<\/p>\n

Even after the pandemic is over, pets will still need to be separated from their owners sometimes, so ways to mitigate the stress of this experience need to be considered. Van Haaften says: \u201cWhen I read this, I\u2019m asking myself, why are we seeing this response? Is it the social support — the bond that the pet has with the owner — that is reassuring to them? Or is the lack of familiarity? They don\u2019t see anything in this clinic environment that feels familiar to them. Probably it\u2019s both, but if the second, we can work on that.\u201d<\/p>\n

When pets do need to be separated from their owner, she says, consider how to include things familiar to the pet in the experience.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe can interact with them in the way that we see that the owner does \u2013 use cues the owner uses, use training that they already know, walk them in on equipment that\u2019s familiar, maybe bring something familiar from the owner into the room with them.\u201d<\/p>\n

Post-pandemic, we can return to the idea that familiarizing pets with the clinic in advance; for instance, dropping in simply to get some treats and meet friendly people. \u201cIf you do that a couple times a week they\u2019re going to love going into the clinic — now it\u2019s a familiar place where good things happen to them.\u201d<\/p>\n

And in some cases, a very little bit of familiarization right before an exam can make a big difference. \u201cFor some dogs, it doesn\u2019t take that long to bond with a person,\u201d van Haaften says. \u201cIf a technician or someone spends five minutes feeding cookies, performing trained cues with a dog, suddenly, now they\u2019re good friends, and the dog has a familiar person they can go into the clinic with.\u201d<\/p>\n

Some clinics are doing exams outdoors for pets who are stressed inside the clinic, which can allow the owner to be nearby and this might be worth continuing for some pets as well. In general, van Haaften recommends flexibility and attention to individual differences.<\/p>\n

\u201cBehavior during vet exams is really complicated, and different techniques are going to work with different animals,\u201d she says. \u201cBe creative, be willing to be flexible about how you do exams to give your patients the best experience.\u201d<\/p>\n

This article was reviewed\/edited by board-certified veterinary behaviorist Dr. Kenneth Martin and\/or veterinary technician specialist in behavior Debbie Martin, LVT.<\/em><\/p>\n

Linda Lombardi writes about the animals that share our planet and our homes for magazines including The Bark, websites including National Geographic and Mongabay.com, and for the Associated Press. Her most recent book, coauthored with Deirdre Franklin, is The Pit Bull Life: A Dog Lover\u2019s Companion<\/em>.<\/strong><\/h6>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Owner presence didn\u2019t eliminate fear, according to study results, but it did help dogs to better tolerate the experience. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2723,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[83],"tags":[260,145,134,261],"content-type":[47],"duration":[53],"membership-type":[],"profession":[35,45,37,36],"species":[31],"topic":[26,29],"class_list":["post-2724","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-blog","tag-barrier","tag-cats","tag-fear-free","tag-hospitalized","content-type-blog","duration-5-minutes-or-less","profession-owner","profession-student","profession-technician-nurse","profession-veterinarian","species-canine","topic-studies-research","topic-veterinary-visits"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nDogs Less Stressed With Owners Present at Exams, Study Shows - Fear Free<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.fearfree.com\/2021\/05\/dogs-less-stressed-with-owners-present-at-exams-study-shows\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Dogs Less Stressed With Owners Present at Exams, Study Shows - 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