From Fearful to Fear Free is a breath of fresh air. It’s a new book by Dr. Marty Becker, DVM et. al. and available exclusively from Dogwise. The book was motivated by the lead author’s insight after listening to a talk given by Dr. Karen Overall. She discussed the damage being done in veterinary clinics by dogs who were terrified, if not traumatized, by veterinary procedures. Dr. Becker left the talk shaken to the core. As much as he loves dogs, and as experienced as he was as “American Veterinarian” on Good Morning America for 19 years, he had never thought about how much damage standard medical procedures can do to the health of the dogs who are frightened by them. Fear changes a dog’s physiology and how it presents in the clinic. It can suppress a dog’s immune system and exacerbate many medical issues. It can traumatize a dog such that his or her brain is changed significantly, and in some cases permanently.
I heard about the book, and Dr. Becker’s commitment to “Fear Free” during a delightful dinner with him, the night after his talk at the recent APDT conference in Richmond, VA. He’s a wonderful dinner companion, warm, friendly and exuberant in his passion to change the world of veterinary medicine to become “fear free.” But he’s not stopping there; his new book is written for the general public in hopes of convincing all dog owners to use positive reinforcement to eliminate as much fear and distress as we can from the life of a dog.
It’s a great book for the general public. (And it comes out everywhere next April, watch for it in the news.) It’s attractive and colorful, with lots of easily digestible information and stories. It actually had 4 authors: Dr. Becker, Dr. Lisa Rodesta and Dr. Wailani Sung, both board certified veterinary behaviorists, and Dr. Becker’s daughter, Mikkel Becker, CBCC-KA, CPDT-KA and a graduate of the Karen Pryor Academy and the San Francisco SPCA Academy. That’s a lot of hands-on-experience as well as academic knowledge–no wonder it’s a valuable addition to one’s library.
Do I agree with everything that’s in the book? Of course not. I barely agree with everything I’ve written once it’s published. But I would push back on the quote from Dr. Overall that says “Fear is the most damaging emotion a social species can experience. It causes permanent damage to the brain.” All fear is not equal, and being momentarily frightened by someone in a Halloween costume is not going to have the same effect as being attacked without warning at the dog park or years of abuse. I worry too a bit about the section on Socialization, that lists dozens of people, places and noises (among other things) to which to “socialize” your dog. In my experience, many people overdo “socialization” (the term many use for desensitizing at an early age). I see as many dogs overwhelmed by trips to the farmer’s market than helped by them.
But these concerns are easily countered by so much that is great about the book. There’s an excellent two-paragraph section on why punishment doesn’t work that will be far more effective than any explanation of the science behind positive punishment versus reinforcement. There’s actually an entire chapter on the power of positive reinforcement, including short stories from dogs the authors have worked with that help to make the point. (One of my favorites is actually about changing human behavior–a piece by Dr. Radosta about how her husband persuaded her to get on his motorcycle by finding the right reinforcement. Love it.)
One of my favorite chapters is “Visiting the Veterinarian”. This, after all, was the motivation for Dr. Becker’s Fear Free movement–making visits to the veterinarian less stressful by teaching veterinarians and clinic staff how to, as the website says, “Take the pet out of petrified”. Of course, Dr. Becker and colleagues are not the first to make this effort. I consider Dr. Sophia Yin’s work to be the gold standard, and her book Low Stress Handling has changed the lives of thousands of people and animals both. However, the more the better, and Dr. Becker, after 19 years on network television, has a broad and powerful reach. Good for him and his colleagues to make the most of it. Fear Free has already certified over 9,000 individuals in veterinary clinics around the country, so good on them. We need all the voices we can find to keep making the argument that so many of us have made for so many years… Physical force and intimidation might make some animals obedient some of the time, but it comes at too high a cost. Every addition to the work of organizations like The Association of Professional Dog Trainers and The Pet Professionals Guild is welcome indeed. Yeah for Dr. Becker and colleagues for adding their powerful voices to the chorus.
I’m curious: Have you ever talked to your veterinarian about force free or low stress handling? Do they have a copy of Dr. Yin’s book? Do they use those methods? Have they heard about Fear Free and considered being certified? I know my veterinarian will be open to it; we’ll talk about it next time I visit. You?
MEANWHILE, back on the farm: Our return to seasonal weather was quite a shock, after basking in the 70’s for much of October. Much of our weekend was spent like squirrels getting ready for winter. No nuts were buried (although we keep tripping on the #%#^ walnuts…) but we got half of a lasagna garden done, I weeded and mulched one of my favorite gardens, “winterized” my closet by putting away T-shirts, and replaced them with turtle necks, and worked Maggie as much as was healthy. She’s a bit out of shape after her spay and our trip, so I am gradually increasing her work outs to ready her for two training clinics by Gordon Watt this week and later in November.
Next week I leave for New York City to give a talk to… can’t say. Honest. It’s a secret. I’m not allowed to say where or when I’m speaking until after I’ve given the talk. No kidding. I promise I’ll tell you as soon as I can. Yes, I hereby acknowledge that it is cruel to tease you, but you’ll notice I’m doing it anyway.
Here’s a photo of the first half of our new lasagna garden for the garden nerds out there,. It’s called a lasagna garden because its layers of “green and brown” material over cardboard, which cooks over the winter into rich, healthy soil. We’ve layered cardboard over clay soil full of weeds (cut to their base), then 3-year old mulch that’s become what I’d call “almost soil,” then 3-year old hay that is no good for the sheep anymore. Soon we’ll add on a few inches of aged manure from the sheep, then another layer of old hay and top it off with all the mulch I have left from the mulch pile (which is double shredded oak). Apologies to those of you who don’t garden for this blatantly boring photo.
The world is turning brown all around us. Not much color left anymore, which is why I am so grateful for these ridiculously hardy roses. Bless them.
I thought it only fitting to add a photograph of real life in the garden. As many do on social media, I usually show photographs of everything–dogs, cats, sheep, garden flowers–looking their best. But then, there’s reality. Here is the peony garden as I write this, which has lovely flowers every spring but succumbs eventually to a raft of disfiguring diseases. I’ll cut everything down as soon as I post this, throw the vegetation away and hope for next year. Truth in gardening. You saw it here.
Chris from Boise says
Happy to report that our vet clinic is certified Fear Free, and Habi and Obi are the better for it. Habi will never be happy about having her ears checked (despite my attempts at counter-conditioning at home), after an unpleasant cheatgrass seed removal experience many years ago, so I was very pleased when our first visit to this clinic included a bit of sedation for that. Going to the vet is now no big deal.
Glad to know about the book behind the Fear Free movement (and a reminder about Dr. Yin’s leading role in this field). Thank you Dr. Becker et al! And what a quote: “Take the pet out of petrified” – brilliant!
Lastly, thank you for truth in gardening. Our yard looks very like your peonies. Oh well.
Frances says
What a timely post – I am just considering how to overcome my dogs’ recently increasing anxiety at the vets. I have taken them there on regular social visits since they were tiny, the staff are all kind and careful and the vets take time to talk and offer treats and accept what I suggest to minimise fear, but inevitably some examinations and procedures are unpleasant. Poppy had an anti-nausea jab that stung; Sophy is recovering from a slipped disc and knows that the examination has hurt in the past. Yesterday she made it very, very clear that she did not want to be so much as touched by the vet, no matter how gently. She was not anxious enough to refuse a treat, but kept up a constant warning rumble to be left alone. Even the stethoscope got a growl! Fortunately only a minimal examination was really necessary – she is recovering well with rest and pain killers – and the vet was wise enough to accept what I said and not go on prodding to find out exactly where it hurt.
Interestingly she is far less averse to handling by the osteopath, and actively asks for massage from me, which is why I think it is mostly anxiety that something may hurt, rather than that it actually is hurting. I was strongly reminded of myself as a child at the dentist when, after a long and painful course of treatment, I finally decided enough was enough and refused to open my mouth. Like Sophy, I was too polite to bite, but both of us would have liked to. I foresee pockets full of chicken for the next few visits…
Nina says
Another great post this week! I have trigger-specific-fearful dog (certain noises when in an already overwhelming, noise-dense city environment) who has turned out, thankfully, to be far more resilient than I initially, well, feared. But when working on counter-conditioning her specific issues I’ve learned so much about dog fears in general that has been so helpful in keeping an eye out for subtle signs that she might be getting stressed–things I wished I’d known with my last dog. Georgie, my current dog, actually does great at the vet, but my last dog did not, yet at the time it never occurred to me that there was anything more to do than just grin and bear it. I bet a lot of dogs that don’t have major, obvious fear issues still suffer a lot of milder but damaging anxiety in situations like the vet, so the more educational resources like this the better!
Also: Trish, I can’t believe you are going to be speaking in NYC and I can’t go to see you! 🙁 Dont you want to give some kind of coded message that just use New Yorkers can figure out and sneak in.”? 😉
kathi silveria says
How timely. Last night my online Karen Pryor training was about preparing for vet visits. So amazing what you can do to prepare your dog for a blood draw for instance . Anything i can learn to help my rescued, fearful, mini aussie does my heart good.
Ahhh lasagne gardening I use to teach composting in my younger days.
Daniel H. Antolec says
As an accredited force-free dog trainer and a certified canine behavior consultant I applaud Dr. Marty Becker for helping educate pet owners and veterinary professionals alike. I often refer my clients to Dr. Lori Scarlett (Madison, WI) whose clinic is fear-free certified. I also appreciate the mention of The Pet Professional Guild, an organization which has been promoting a force-free philosophy in the world of pet training and care since 2012, and just lauched a No-Shock Coalition to educate others about those devices. Let us all work together to make this world a better place for pets.
Minnesota Mary says
What a great post! In my years of rescue I have rehabilitated several fearful dogs (mostly female). They start out afraid of everything and I have to earn their trust, then slowly (and I do mean slowly – this takes months if not over a year) expose them gently to their fears where I can control the situation and make it positive for them.
Every one made tiny baby steps, then regressed almost immediately. After a period of time they took that baby step again, then again until it became routine.
The three pieces of advice I always give someone who is trying to rescue a fearful pet is 1) time. Expect this to be a very lengthy process and 2) always be positive and control the exposure to their fears to the point where it is always positive for them, and 3) expect set-backs.
withheld says
It’s great that attention is being paid to the vet office experience of the dogs. I am very curious about something which I have experienced at the vets office recently. That is them taking my dog from the exam room to the back for procedures without me. I certainly understand that some procedures require special equipment, but this is now happening for vaccinations. My vet is very good handling my dogs, but I am concerned that the vet techs may not be as good especially with me not there and I want to know the level of stress that my dog experiences. My question, is it reasonable and desirable to insist that my dog not be taken out of my sight for routine procedures? I routinely vaccinate and worm my own livestock, so it’s not like needles, blood, or poo would concern me. I want to see how my dog is handed in case I detect behavioral after effects and I also do not mind observing animal handing procedures that might actually help me in general. I have mildly requested to accompany the dogs, but so far deferred when I was told I did not have to and that they would bring him out to the waiting room when he was done. I am curious if this practice is widespread and opinions on what the risks and benefits to the dog might be.
Heather Ludwig says
I am a RVT working at a small animal veterinary clinic about to move to a new larger location. I would very much like to encourage my clinic to pursue Dr Yin’s low stress handling certification or the Fear Free certication. I am somewhat familiar with both having attended a few of Dr Becker’s Fear Free lectures and I own a copy of Dr Yin’s Low Stress Handling. Any opinions about pursuing one over another?
Bruce says
I look forward to reading “From Fearful to Fear Free” when it comes out. The more I observe dogs, the more I come to believe that many of their troubling behaviors are related to fear.
Speaking of fearful dogs, our Sammy continues to make good progress. However, both adult sons are living at home at the moment and leave for work around 5:30am. When the Sammy hears them moving about she explodes with barking while hiding under the bed (where I was planning to sleep for at LEAST another hour). Sigh.
Trisha, I will be interested to hear how the lasagna garden works for you. I read many enthusiastic comments about that years ago on a gardening forum, but continue to put in new gardens the old-fashioned (read: back-breaking) way because our soil is so rocky.
Yes peonies can be less than lovely after their short season of glory. We planted mildew-resistant peonies at the old house (“Pink Hawaiian Coral”), and the leaves held up pretty well most years.
Have fun in NYC! There are quite a few well-used dog parks if you need a dog fix while you are there.
Grace says
I’ve had two dogs that resulted in vet issues:
Previous dog’s nails were trimmed – after I specifically instructed them not to – beyond the quick while he was still under anesthesia after ACL repair surgery. Bleeding from every paw and too tender to walk on for a week; he didn’t associate vet trip with hurt paws but I was furious, and helpless. Current dog was very amped up when I picked him up after neuter surgery. In his records that he is aggressive & must be muzzled. It was after I questioned staff that a tech admitted my dog was fully recovered from anesthesia when they tried to put Elizabethan collar on. Grateful for people like you & Dr Becker for addressing this issue.
Jann Becker says
We lucked out when our puppy’s first trip to our vet coincided with our older dog needing some boosters. She’s cool with anyone who’s paying attention to her and doesn’t mind the waiting room, so she taught him how to behave at the vet! “It’s no big deal, ignore the smells, definitely ignore the cats, and the people who get down on the floor with us are harmless.”
Downstay says
We’re so tantalized by your secret presentation. Why is it so secretive? What will you be discussing? Can’t wait for the reveal 😀!
Lucille White says
This is interesting. 12 years ago I was using a vet, and my animals didn’t like going. Things were changing and I decided to use a different vet, not any closer, yet my pets were better about entering and less stressed. Finally a fine vet opened a practice nearby. I knew folks who had used him but the area was quite a trip.
Going to this vet, no upsets. No nervous shaking. Sometimes we just drop in to get a weight. The vet usually is doling out treats, and seldom gives the injections, rather one of the other staff members does it as he talks lovingly to the pet in question. So went from bad to better to best. I recall my malti-pom licking obvious bite marks on his wrist, and he remarked, ” yes, they’re not all as sweet as you are, Possum”!
Rebecca Rice says
I have pondered getting “Low Stress handling” for my vet, but am wondering how that would be perceived. She is awesome, and I go to her since she did an amazing job of dealing with my very fearful dog, and I don’t want her to think that there is anything wrong with what she is doing. But, I think that it would be a handy book to have on the shelf for reference, and when new techs get hired, etc. It is also an expensive book, so I was thinking it might make a good Christmas gift, instead of something like cookies.
I am not the most adept at social interactions, so does anyone have advice on whether this would be a good idea, and how to present it appropriately?
Bruce says
I meant to add two things about dogs at the veterinarian’s office.
Our veterinarian is wonderful with dogs. When he walks in the room he immediately gets down on the floor, feeds the dog treats, and interacts with the dog before beginning the examination. Even the fearful Sammy loves him.
When it is time to draw blood or give injections, the vet or tech provides a tongue depressor (sometimes multiples) coated with squeeze cheese. One of us lets the dog lick the squeeze cheese until the procedure is done. For some of our dogs I’m pretty sure amputations could be performed without anesthesia as long as there was enough squeeze cheese.
Kidding. Mostly. 😉
Trisha says
To Rebecca: What a wonderful idea to give your vet a copy of Dr. Yin’s book for Christmas. What if you said s/t like: “I’ve been so impressed with your progressive version of benevolent medicine that I wanted to give you a special thank you. I know how committed you are to the principles outlined in this book, and I thought you might appreciate having it in your library. If you already have a copy, feel free to gift it to someone else who you think would appreciate it.”
That work? Love your question…
Trisha says
To Downstay, with apologies for teasing you. I just simply couldn’t resist. Sign me up for some impulse control classes. I really can’t tell you about the talk until it’s over. Won’t be too long…
LisaW says
Our vet comes to the house for the dogs’ annual exams. She has the patience of Job when it comes to Olive. I remember once we were all sitting on the kitchen floor, as our vet was trying to get a stethoscope near (not even touching) Olive’s chest, and as she came closer, Olive would back away. Our vet would stop, put the stethoscope down, give Olive a good treat, wait, try again. Finally I noticed that Olive was acting like this was a fine game and would back away more and more and wiggle while she moved away, as she got better and better treats. I said we should just try to place the stethoscope on her chest and see what happened. Olive was fine, she just held still.
We don’t do any restraint, and we discovered that if we simply put a hand under her belly, no pressure or movement, she will hold and wait until it’s over. It’s a tacit understanding that I feel lucky we figured out. This from a dog who if she thinks you picked up a swab or a pill, will high-tail it out. She holds on to some of the fears she came with all those years ago but finally knows that she can trust us. Still, we can see the remains of her inner conflict.
Jen says
Deb Bauer teaches a great class on handing and grooming through her newly launched online school, Uniquely Paws-Able. Although her main goal is to provide training resources for those of us who own blind, deaf, or blind/deaf dogs (preventing future double-merle breeding is a major educational thrust of hers), it is full of good ideas for any dog owner. After all, if your dog is already used to having her paws handled, ears inspected, someone using a stethoscope on her, or having eye drops administered (a common thing for blind dogs), there is a good deal less new scary stuff to worry about at the vet. I also drop in at my vet’s at every opportunity (I make sure they are not busy before bringing in my dog) with lots of treats, so the lobby and the scale are quite familiar without being always linked to exams or procedures. But I’m lucky my dogs have never been so stressed at the vet that we weren’t able to make progress with high-value treats and praise. I’m looking forward to this book, thank you for featuring it.
Mireille says
@witheld I would not be ok with that, that simpel procedures are performed without me present. With two of my dogs I am combineerde that my (physical) support makes a lot of difference.
My current dogs are not to thriller about the vet after some painfull procedures. Both were necessary but nonetheless… it scared them. Spot had a painfull rectal examination when he suffered from colitis. When we ere referered to a wonderfull specialist in internal medicine, I warned her that if she did that, she would not be able to examine him properly anymore, since he would be stressed out and hiding under a chair. She skipped it, since it was not strictly necessary since he was getting an endoscopy. I was very glad she listened to my concern about that. I still cannot imagine what you would have to do to make Spot growl or bite, he just tries to get away, and I guess that is why I want to be there, to easy to steamroller over his feelings.
Shadow is different, he will snap and vets tend to be more carefull. He had one painfull infection when very stressed and he had a nail removed with a quick snap which was painfull and then an infection to make him vomit (Eating chocolat. Hmmm not too good a sequence of visits. But what he absolutely Hates is things to his nose. Last time he needed a kennel cough vaccination we had a sort of rodeo because he dislikes it sooo much and he got very stressed, We now have a deal: I have started clicker training with an empty syringe, the vet will try just once but if it doesn’t work, we can give the vaccination at home. What I have learned is not to underestimate ‘well he does not really like but hey, doesn’t hurt, just do it quickly he’ll have forgottem it by next year. Oh no, Shad remembers… I have now added it to my ‘behaviours to train’ list.
Vicki in Michigan says
Owners can do a lot to help their dogs not be scared at the vet, too. I’m sure you and your other readers are all over this…..
One of my dogs came back from one of those “procedure in the back” trips completely paranoid about the floor in the exam rooms. He was fine in the lobby, but would NOT walk into an exam room, and, if carried, would not take one step after being set down.
I started bringing a baggie of Cheerios with us. I would put a Cheerio where he ….just…. couldn’t reach it. He could reeeeeeeeach for it, and get it. Nothing bad happened; he got a Cheerio. When that was ok, I put the Cheerio a couple of inches farther out.
Etcetera etcetera etcetera. After a few visits, and many experiences of being brave with nothing bad happening when he walked on that floor, he forgot to be scared.
After another dog got a MAJOR dental, we visited the vet many times for no reason (just to walk in the lobby and get treats). She never was scared. (Don’t know if we prevented it, or if she just wouldn’t have been scared.)
I think it has to be really good for dogs to experience unpleasant but basically harmless things on a regular basis at home. Pills. Toe-nail cutting. The old daily-hw-pill days weren’t all bad….. “Get a pill, then get dinner!!!”
Knowing that people will do icky things to you from time to time, but there’s always a treat coming, makes it easier for dogs to tolerate vet procedures, in my limited (5-dog) experience. And makes it easier to give pills when they are necessary at home, too.
Eileen says
I love reading your blog. Just wanted to give you some extra +r!
Trisha says
To withheld: I agree with Mireille. There’s simply no reason to take a dog out into the back room away from the owner for a simple procedure like a vaccination. I’d ask why they insist on that practice, and suggest that they consider trying a simple procedure in the office with you there. How I proceeded next would depend a lot on their response. If I had a choice of another clinic, I’d check them out. If I didn’t, then I’d work hard to gain the trust of the clinicians and find a way to be with my dog during simple procedures.
LisaH says
I’ve usually been given the option of my dog having procedures in the exam room with me or his being taken in back without me – I want to be present for a vaccination, blood draw, temperature being taken, anal gland expressed, & sub-q fluids, but I didn’t want to witness urine extraction on my guy. My anxiety in that situation would certainly affect him. Vet said they offer the choice as often owners don’t want to see things being done.
Frances says
I am aware that my dogs – Sophy in particular – are badly affected by my anxiety. Sophy was once stung by a wasp. I got worked up about the possibility of anaphylactic shock, and dashed with her to the vets. When we got there Sophy was a trembling, shaking, barely standing mess – I thought I was being remarkably calm under the circumstances. The vet nurse took her from me, with some difficulty found the tiny pimple where she had been stung before I had flipped the stinger away, and poimted out that there was practically no swelling or other physical reaction and Sophy’s symptoms were a response to my anxiety. Within less than a minute my blood pressure was back to normal, and Sophy was wagging her tail and begging for treats.
It has been hard for me to accept that sometimes my presence may actually make things worse for my animals, but I have had to recognise that it is the case. I trust the staff at my vets to be kind, careful, and to minimise pain and fear (they have in the past insisted upon a sedative for minor procedures that might be painful). Very rarely do they ask to take one of the animals away for a test or procedure, but when they do, and explain why, I agree. I trust them – if I did not I would change practices.
Kat says
Finna actually does better at the vet if they take her away from me into the back. We all know this is true and I trust them to use safe handling techniques. She’s come a long way since her first visit but she’s still not a safe or sane patient. If I’m with her she thinks she needs to protect me, at least her behavior is consistent with protecting something she values. If she’s on her own she’s more likely to just comply with what they ask.
I’m fortunate to have a vet that listens to me and respects what I say. The current office policy is to take the dogs in the back for procedures since they’ve had a few too many owners that made things worse rather than better. Sometimes Ranger goes in the back alone, sometimes I go with him, sometimes the procedure is done in the exam room. We all listen to what he says he needs. If he strides confidently off with them when they reach for the leash he goes on his own, if he looks back at me I go with him, if he moves away when they reach for the leash he stays with me and they come to him.
I have five creatures that they see. Three are good patients and two are really not good. We’re constantly working with Finna and The Great Catsby to make them safer and to address their concerns about the vet. Catsby HATES being restrained so the vet examines him as he strolls up and down the exam table. He also HATES having his temperature taken so unless there is a really good reason to do so we just skip that part. With Finna sometimes I do all the hands on parts (can you show me her teeth now) and the vet just looks. The fact that the vet is willing to work with me to that extent is why I still go there.
Chris from Boise says
Then there’s the time that cheerful, boisterous Obi went to the vet for an annual exam. The vet inserted a rectal thermometer. Approximately 0.1 seconds later it was propelled across the exam room by a mighty sphincter squeeze. She just smiled and said “I think we don’t need that information anyway”.
Melanie Hawkes says
What is the best way to bring it up with my vet? I have a pretty good relationship with my vet and don’t want to make it sound like they could do a better job by bringing it up. Maybe I should email them your post and start the conversation that way?
Stacy Braslau-Schneck says
So, would you say this is a book for the general pet owner who is starting out on their relationship with their dog? Or is it more for the owner of an already-fearful dog? Or for we professionals who try to help those dogs? I’m curious to find out!