ANIMAL WELFARE (Fear Free Principles) Flashcards
Why is behaviour important?
-why the client brings the animal to you
-many behavioural problems can be indications of underlying physical disease
-more pets die form behavioural problems than infectious diseases
-22-82% of behavioural problems have a pain component
1 cause of death in dogs less than 2 years old:
-undesired behaviour
>dogs surrendered within 1 year of acquisition
Chronic pain is often unrecognized:
-sometimes can only see it in a slow-motion video
-hard to see in a clinic
>stress reduced analgesia: masks the pain
Distress in vet clinics:
-failure to adjust to environmental conditions represents a welfare concern
What’s the big deal with fear, anxiety and stress?
-bad association with going to the clinic (LEARNING)
-change in vitals
-stress can worsen disease states
-risk of injury to animals and humans
-effects other animals
-increase adrenaline
-need more time and staff
Vets and injuries;
-9.2x more likely to experience severe injury compared to medical profession
-WCVM has highest injury rate at U of S
Impact owner’s willingness to seek vet consultation:
-22% dog owners
-28% cat owners
-delays vet care for sick and injured pets
Clinically healthy dogs and stress:
-78.5% are fearful on exam table
>less than half entered practice calmly
>13.3% were dragged
Cat owners and their cats: stress at clinic
-reported that their cats acted remote and unfriendly for days after a vet visit
What is fear?
-increases survival
-response to what is happening
-pain and anxiety/fear share behavioural responses
Responses to fear:
- Freeze: learned helplessness component
Increasing distancing behaviour: - Flight
- Fight
>Not necessarily wanted to fight, but want to be threatening enough
When in a clinical room: response to fear
-they only have the option to either freeze or fight
Learned helplessness:
-inescapable stressor exposure
-reduced capacity to escape the same stressor in circumstances where escape is possible
-associated with increase in cortisol and a negative HPA axis feedback
>stress persists for a longer period of time
Flooding definition
-exposure to maximum-intensity anxiety-producing situation or stimulus, without any attempt made to lessen or avoid anxiety or fear during exposure
Flooding can produce:
-sensitization: need less of a stimulus to feel the emotions
-learned helplessness: I can’t do anything, so I’m going to shut down
-pessimism: I go to the clinic and something bad WILL happen
>hard to get to the positive emotions
Anxiety:
-important for survival
-lack of control/ambiguous stimuli
-unable to predict
-hypervigilance
-follow their owner
*outcome=pessimism
Greatest source of ambiguous stimuli:
-humans
Licking (“kissing”) has several meanings:
-attention seeking (you taste good)
-I’m worried: I need more info
-conflict: I like you, but… (‘stop signal’)
-reconciliation that occurs after biting (only occurs when they have a good relationship with the humans, they are not sorry: just letting the human know they care about the relationship)
Stress:
-physiological response to a situation
*MUST have an increase in cortisol
-get increase in HR, RR, and BP
Cortisol:
-is very important for maintaining glucose
Stressor steps:
- Stressor (good or bad)
- Anxiety and fear
- Increase in adrenalin and cortisol
- Cope or fail to cope
>If cope=build resilience
>If don’t=might lead to pessimism
Many vets:
-believe it is ‘normal’ for pets to be afraid in the hospital environment
-have learned or been taught forceful techniques
Fear, anxiety and stress in Vet clinics
-almost 80% of pets display fear and stress-related behaviour
>when fear, anxiety and stress are not recognized it leads to undesirable/dangerous behaviour
Veterinary clinics:
- Physiological changes
>Increased HR, RR, BP, Temp
>Cortisol: adds to fear and anxiety - Can inhibit accurate diagnosis
>Affects results (ex. bloodwork) - Increase anesthetic/sedation risk
- Decreased eating/drinking
>Delayed recovery
What is it about vet visits?
-unfamiliar people and smells
-previous bad associations
-already feel bad
-what we are actually doing to them
-how we handle them
-in their personal space
-slippery floors
1st puppy/kitten examination:
-routine vet cat contributes to patient anxiety
-8-12 weeks
-cortices still developing
-fearfulness early in life will carry over to adults
-neurochemical changes detrimental to learning
*causes sensitization
Socialization:
-exposing them to things that we want them to have a positive relationship with in the future
-do small amounts
Ex. going to be travelling: need the puppy to go up and down the elevator
*want to make a positive experience (CLASSICAL CONDITIONING)
*try and do it before the cortices have fully developed
Extreme fear produced by frightening vet visits:
-can produced phobic responses in future visits
-one event learning: single exposure can be enough to produce future fearful responses
Phobic responses:
-fear that is out of proportion
Ex. thunder is a natural fear, but actually hasn’t be hurt by it (maybe have been hurt by lightning)
Number one behavioural problem:
-FEAR
What about the senior patient?
-physical limitations (sensory deficits,, re reduced muscle mass)
-pain
-impaired immune system
-previous experiences
-incontinence
-cognitive decline (‘everything’ is new: use dogs and cats for models)
What would you recommend to the puppy that growls during visits:
-fear of heights
-handling them more at home
-add communication (tell them what is going to happen, do it and give a treat)
-crate and travel training
-preventative if possible
-desensitize at a low level (classical conditioning, bring the puppy into the clinic more and increase staff interactions)
