By Dr. Marty Becker, March 24, 2016 –

Are you worried that Fear Free veterinary practice is too difficult or time-consuming? Trust me, it’s not.

I’ve been intimately involved with Fear Free from its embryonic stages to the development of education modules for certification. I’ve lectured to thousands on its merits, and practiced it one-on-one in the exam room and veterinary hospital for more than six years. What I’ve discovered is that, like any other area of veterinary practice, there’s a learning curve.

Do you remember the first spay you did in practice? That first ovariohysterectomy seemed so complicated and took so long.

Before the day, you read up on it. You sweated as you dotted every “i” and crossed every “t,” including anesthesia, sterile prep, approach, what to find and legate, what to identify and avoid, closure, pain control, and the rest.

You worried about what would happen if something didn’t go as planned, like anesthesia that was too light or too deep, a dropped stump or vessel, a ripped glove, even trying to spay a tom cat.

You learned the procedure from others more experienced, and with time you became more experienced and confident in yourself. At that point, you could even teach others.

Think of Fear Free the same way. The first ten Fear Free visits will seem so clumsy and slow. You might think, “How can I be expected to do this in the course of a normal 15-minute exam?”

But like anything else you do over and over, providing Fear Free veterinary care soon becomes second nature, a seamless ballet of looking after both a pet’s physical and emotional wellbeing. And yes, in 15 to 20 minutes.

Here’s the best thing: Neither the pet nor the pet owner know any difference as you gain proficiency in surgery. They just assume you do a great job. With Fear Free, both the pet and the pet owner can detect and react to your every touch, vocalization, procedure, and protocol. Through their body language and other social cues, they give you instant feedback, allowing you to smile at success or adapt on the fly.

I can’t tell you how satisfying it is to have a formerly terrified dog wag his tail during the entire visit, bookended by a smiling owner. Same with the former “hell cat” who formerly was restrained in the back with welding gloves held by the person who lost the lottery (or the dedicated  “crazy cat person” in the practice), who now comes in lightly sedated, cradled, whiffing pheromones, eating tasty tidbits, and purring on top of a soft, heated baby blanket in a feline-only exam room.

Embrace Fear Free and you’ll rediscover the very thing that brought you to this profession in the beginning: the simple, pure, powerful love of animals and the desire to help them.