It’s little wonder that a visit to the vet isn’t a favourite experience for many pets. But it doesn’t have to be that way!
At Bryants Road Vet, we do everything we can to make your pet feel more comfortable during their visit. As part of this commitment, we have recently undertaken further training as a team, and are now a Stress Free Pets accredited vet clinic.
What does it mean to have a Stress Free Pets accreditation?
This accreditation validates how we treat our furred clients in our clinic and our dedication to creating a stress free experience for your pet when visiting the vet.
As part of the accreditation process, the Bryants Road Vet team has completed further training on animal handling and behaviour to formalise our approach to stress free vet appointments. This training covered a range of topics including:
- Prevention of stress, fear and anxiety prior to arrival at the clinic
- Creating a stress free clinic environment
- Recognising and reducing stress, fear and anxiety
- Understanding body language
- Stress free handling techniques
- Cooperative care techniques
- Medication to reduce patient stress
In a nutshell, the Stress Free Pets accreditation officially recognises our team’s commitment to providing the highest standard of patient care by actively reducing stress in our clinic.
How is Bryants Road Vet a stress free environment?
We have a number of measures in place at our vet clinic to ensure we provide a welcoming and stress-free experience for your cat or dog.
Stress free waiting
At Bryants Road Vet, our smaller-sized clinic mean you’ll never experience an overly crowded waiting room when you visit us. We will also do our best to send you through to the consult room as soon as possible, even if your vet isn’t quite ready to see you, to ensure a calmer environment for your pet.
Calm examinations
We aim to create a sense of calm during a consult, and never rush your pet. To help put your pet at ease, we use synthetic pheromones Feliway (for cats) and Adaptil (for dogs) in our examination rooms. We also use a few other techniques to gain your pet’s trust, including not using gloves unless required, and letting them smell instruments before using them.
Use of treats
Treats are a very effective measure to gain a pet’s trust, especially when they are feeling a bit anxious. At our clinic, we use treats (with your permission of course) to calm a more nervous pet on their arrival, as well as during and after anything your pet may view as a bit scary or uncomfortable, such as vaccinations or taking their temperature.
Early visits for dogs
We strongly encourage you to bring in your puppy or dog for a visit before their first “official” appointment to help create a positive association with our vet clinic. We love nothing more than meeting new animals, and whenever possible, we will also take your pup into the consult room, have them sit on the table, and hop on the scales to get them used to the clinic.
Individual strategies
If your cat or dog finds a visit to the vet an overwhelming experience, we are very happy to have a chat before their consultation to work out a strategy to help them. This may include having the appointment on the grassed area alongside the clinic or choosing a time when the clinic is less busy for your visit. For pets with more severe displays of fear and anxiety, a mild sedative can be prescribed to enable the vet visit to take place.
Experience a stress free vet visit
Our team will do anything to make your pet feel more comfortable during their visit. We work hard to provide a stress-free environment at our vet clinic and are very proud to be officially accredited for this commitment.
To book an appointment for your cat or dog in a comfortable, fear-free environment, you can call us on 07 3801 1744, book online or drop by the clinic at 141 Bryants Road Loganholme.