Clinical desensitisation training
Reducing stress for vet visits
“EEK I have to go to the vet….”
If you dread bringing your dog to a vet clinic as for whatever reason, they have developed a real fear and nervousness about visiting, we can help. We have a way to help retrain your dog to make your visits as smooth as possible.
Jamie, Teigan and Toni are our fully qualified vet nurses who run desensitisation clinics. They have learnt many of their techniques and skills from a local canine behaviourist Cat Watson and offer clinical desensitisation training for your nervous four-legged friend.
Hear what Jamie has to say..
“You may have a dog that doesn’t want to step foot in the clinic, a dog that misses out on vaccinations because they can’t be given or a dog that has to be sedated for things such as nail clips or to simply look at a sore foot. Whether it’s aggression or fear I’m up for the challenge of helping to retrain the way you and your dog think.
I have worked closely with Cat Watson on a training course for local dogs called the Contented Canine which is desensitising dogs in the clinic environment. It truly is amazing to see the difference 3 classes can make in the behaviour of each of these dogs, us and the owners were pleasantly surprised in the positive progress that all of the dogs had made. The owners of the dogs in these classes continue to see me to keep working on the issues that they have. Training is key to helping your dog in the clinic.
A common issue that many people have is a dog that hates nail clips, so much to the point that they have to be sedated to get them done, generally a couple of times each year. You may say why is this an issue, we don’t want to sedate your dog if not necessary and I’m sure you don’t either. The cost to sedate a dog to trim their nails can be up to $300 that is approximately 11 Nurse consults to help prevent the need for this. You also can do these 11 visits or less and potentially be at the point where we can clip all of your dogs’ nails with no sedation or you may be able to do it yourself at home.
How do we do this: Firstly, we will discuss with you what behavioural issues it is that you are wanting to work on. We will find out what kind of training will work best for your dog, this may be special treats, starting very slow out of the clinic or potentially dispensing medications to help calm your dog down before we start training. We will use our first session to find out what works for your dog and use this knowledge to continue building your dogs own specialised training program.
Coming in to do nurse behaviour consults with us truly is an investment, in your dog and in yourself. It can reduce stress and anxiety around routine veterinary tasks, aggression towards the vet clinic staff and environment. It can save you money in the long run and most importantly it can be beneficial to your dog’s overall quality of life”
Call us today to book your first desensitisation session, these are run out of both Victory and Saxton clinics.
We got this!