Canine patients and stress: the role of the veterinary team

The veterinary environment offers many challenges to a dog's capacity to remain relaxed (Shepherd, 2009). However, the majority of domestic dogs are faced with multiple stress inducing and welfare depleting encounters every day (Palestrini, 2009) so that for many dogs, the difficulties associated with the veterinary practice become the ‘last straw’ that leads to an already highly aroused dog becoming difficult to handle and potentially dangerous to the welfare of other patients, owners and staff (Bower, 2002). The role of the veterinary team in alleviating stress in the canine was the subject of discussion at The Veterinary Nurse workshops 2015 (Figure 1).

When a dog displays a behaviour — no matter how inconvenient for us — it is responding to environmental triggers and basing its behavioural decision on genetic/innate influences and the environmental opportunities that it has received for learning about what works to maintain its safety (Bowen and Heath, 2005). Although there is the capacity for considerable individual variation, as many dogs have failed to receive opportunities to learn to habituate to the wide range of social and physical stimuli around them, the influence of genetics should not be underestimated (Mills et al, 2013). Domestication may have created the capacity for cooperation with other species but it hasn't altered the dog's basic drive to succeed, to thrive and survive — nor has it altered the biologically adaptive methods of ensuring this: freeze, fiddle, flight or fight (Yin, 2009). Evolution has provided these natural responses to resolve social problems and the dog will automatically initiate them. Frustration or failure of these behaviours to resolve a problem will only invigorate efforts as the dog has no alternative tools to use (Mills et al, 2013).