Description
Learning Objectives:
By the end of this course, you will be able to:
- Shape the environment. Identify how the sights, sounds, smells, and surfaces in your facility may be increasing stress in the animals in your care, and find ways to create a calm, safe, and secure environment.
- Make every interaction count. Recognize how every interaction, including how you approach animals, pick them up, move them from place to place, or restrain them, affects the animal’s perception of you and their willingness to cooperate.
- Read the animal. Recognize early body language signals of fear, anxiety, frustration, panic, and pain so you can adjust your approach before an animal escalates.
- Use towel and wrapping techniques. Apply towel wrap and burrito methods to safely and comfortably handle cats and small dogs for common exams and procedures.
- Handle pets of any size. Select and apply appropriate, low force handling methods for animals of different sizes, ages, and emotional states, knowing when to pause, reposition, or change strategy.
- Build a pet friendly facility. Combine these principles into a consistent, team wide approach that makes your practice measurably calmer and safer for patients, owners, and staff.
