Fear Free Care

Do vet visits send your pet into a tizzy? Are you tired of having to battle with your animal family member just to ensure he or she stays healthy?

If you answered yes to these questions, you’re not alone. In fact, according to a recent study, 37% of dog owners and 58% of cat owners say their pets hate going to the vet. At Fullwood Animal Hospital, it’s our mission to make visits to the vet a positive, stress-free experience for everyone.

We begin by eliminating and/or reducing many of the factors that can make an animal feel uneasy. This includes everything from making our facility smell more pleasant to limiting the time pets must wait in the reception area. Our staff also practices gentle handling techniques, which help to calm nervous animals so we can eventually win their trust.

We’ll also work with you to help reduce the feelings of fear often associated with vet visits that may be triggered at home. For instance, we can provide recommendations on things like getting your cat used to the carrier or making car rides a more positive experience.

We always encourage bringing your pet in from time to time just to say ‘hello’. This allows us the opportunity to create positive, happy interactions that can replace past negative experiences.

At Fullwood Animal Hospital, our goal is to make visits to the vet something that your pet not only tolerates, but actually looks forward to. If you’ve had bad experiences in the past or have a pet that struggles with vet visit anxiety, give us a call. We can develop a customized strategy to help you and your pet overcome those feelings of fear once and for all.

Download our Fear Free PDF from the links below to learn more about Fear Free techniques or visits! 

What is Fear Free Care?
Preparing for the Visit
How to Manage a Fear Free Return Home
How to pill your pet with kindness
A Fear Free trip to the veterinary hospital
Giving medications to your pet
10 things your vet should know
10 things that make Fear Free
Dangers of Training Collars
Training Session Length
Fulfilled Dog is a Happy Dog
Keep Calm and Muzzle On

Founded in 2016, the Fear Free method provides education to veterinary professionals and pet owners to help make vet visits better for pets by working to alleviate the fear, anxiety, and stress associated with the visit.

It focuses on not only the physical well-being but also the emotional well-being of your pets. Our goal is to help your pets by making their experience at the vet positive so that they will be happy to come back and see us. We utilize our knowledge of pet body language and behavior and combine it with calming music, calming pheromones, lots of treats and we take the time to gain the trust of our patients.

Fullwood Animal Hospital has Fear Free Certified Professionals on staff and we are so proud to help bring this new standard into our patient’s lives.

Practice Certification takes Fear Free implementation to the next level – from an individual to a joint effort that requires the entire practice team to work together to safeguard the emotional wellbeing of their patients, clients and team members.

Certified Practices will have successfully implemented Fear Free into all aspects of their business. To meet this level of commitment and implementation, practices must measure up to the Fear Free Practice Certification Standards. Mandatory standards are pass/fail; optional standards are weighted, and the practice must achieve a minimum score to pass each category.