WellHaven Pet Health partners with Fear Free to train veterinary professionalsApril 2, 2019WellHaven Pet Health says it is partnering with Fear Free to provide training to its medical staff on emotional well-being, enrichment, and reducing fear, anxiety, and stress in pets. "Adopting Fear Free across our practices will result in better medicine, better business, increased safety, and improved practice culture," says WellHaven Pet Health chief medical officer, Bob Lester, DVM. The partnership will allow WellHaven Pet Health to achieve American Animal Hospital Association (AAHA) certification in all its clinics. "Their commitment to the emotional and physical well-being of pets demonstrates WellHaven Pet Health's leadership in the field of veterinary medicine," says Marty Becker, DVM, Fear Free CEO and founder and columnist for Veterinary Practice News. "Fear Free is proud to partner with them in creating better experiences for pets, people, and the profession."
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VetSuccess and Fear Free team up to increase fecal testingMarch 18, 2019VetSuccess and Fear Free have partnered to create Fear Free Fecals, a reminder program designed to increase compliance for fecal testing. The program sends pet owners prescheduled reminders, which include a personalized letter, as well as a stool collection bag. Clients are then encouraged to collect their pet's sample at home and bring it in for testing. "The Fear Free Fecals program is fully automated, making it very simple and affordable for practices to be more successful in terms of profitability and patient care," says Martin Traub-Werner, VetSuccess CEO. "Practices can create positive client touch points with zero staff time." VetSuccess sends monthly performance reports showing how many reminders were sent out and how many fecal exams happened as a direct result of the program. "Partnerships like the Fear Free Fecals program with VetSuccess are crucial in helping every pet be happy and healthy," says Marty Becker, DVM, founder and CEO of Fear Free, and columnist for Veterinary Practice News Canada.
Fear Free issues request for research proposalsMarch 5, 2019Fear Free is now accepting proposals to help researchers focus on reducing fear, anxiety, and stress related to veterinary visits or/and enriching the lives of pets at home. To qualify, proposals must be original, evidence-based research that will increase and enhance the understanding of the science and knowledge on which Fear Free training and education is based. Fear Free is offering a grant amount of up to $2,500 to individuals, groups, or teaching institutions looking for assistance to help fund their study. Submissions can meet one of two categories: 1) Research in dogs and/or cats exploring the prevention, reduction, or assessment of fear, anxiety, stress, and pain associated with veterinary visits, including travel, facilities, procedures, hospitalization, or the return home. 2) Research in dogs and/or cats studying the effects of techniques, approaches, and strategies to decrease fear, anxiety, and stress in the home including environmental enrichment, meeting behavioral needs, therapeutic interventions, and measures and tools for evaluating stress and distress. Research projects should have Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee or Welfare approval. Submissions are accepted throughout the year, but are now being reviewed. Proposals can be submitted to: fearfreepets.com/fear-free-research
Fear Free awards grants for veterinary behavior researchJanuary 8, 2019A number of emerging animal health professionals have been honored for their contributions to veterinary behavior research.
BabelBark, Fear Free partner for pets, owners, veterinariansSeptember 26, 2018 Pet software developer BabelBark has announced a partnership with Fear Free, an educational initiative designed to train veterinarians, pet professionals, and pet owners to ease the fear, anxiety, and stress of the pets in their care. The new agreement enables BabelBark to educate pet owners with tailored content developed by Fear Free and become a tool for veterinarians to create unique pet profiles that can be accessible and shared online. "Both [organizations] share a common mission of connecting pet parents, veterinary professionals, and the pet professional community through every step of a pet's health and wellness needs to ensure pets have a Fear Free experience," said Roy Stein, BabelBark founder and CEO. According to Stein, the partnership will provide a new level of support to veterinarians through technology, allowing them to deliver individualized information and consultations to each pet parent. "Fear Free and BabelBark believe in creating a strong bond with the entire pet community, ensuring that each pet visit is a positive and enjoyable experience," said Marty Becker, DVM, Fear Free founder and Veterinary Practice News columnist. When the professional team and pet parent are on the same page regarding a …
Ceva, Fear Free offer veterinary practice certificationApril 6, 2018Ceva Animal Health and Fear Free have partnered to offer practice certification to qualifying veterinary hospitals. Since the Fear Free training and certification program launched in 2016, more than 20,000 professionals have enrolled. "Fear Free is excited to leverage Ceva's existing talent of highly-qualified, educated, and passionate veterinarians for practice certification," said Marty Becker, DVM, founder and CEO of Fear Free. "This collaboration will allow us to offer a larger number of certification visits, with a highly trained team, at affordable rates to hospitals." "Ceva is proud to be an inaugural sponsor of Fear Free and believes strongly in the program and its mission," said Craig Wallace, CEO and NAPAC Zone Director at Ceva. "Our veterinary services team and territory managers know firsthand how adoption of these protocols improves the experience of the pet, the pet owner, and even hospital staff leading to more frequent and more in-depth appointments. We look forward to helping veterinary hospitals become certified by embracing the Fear Free approach, which benefits all involved." The Fear Free way The certification program was based on the input of its 160-member advisory panel, comprised of board-certified veterinary behaviorists, veterinary practice management experts, and …
Behavior basics for the emergency clinician and technicianJanuary 22, 2018Emergency and/or critical care workers are often faced with urgent cases and fast paced environments. Unfortunately, this setting is not always conducive to caring for patient's emotional needs. Here are some easy ways to help patients in even the most trying situations. 1. Keep patients with their owners as long as possible. Being in an unfamiliar environment can cause fear. Having a familiar person there is one way to help minimize fear, and therefore, anxiety and stress. 2. Control pain. Pain can contribute to fear, anxiety, and stress. (Remember, acepromazine is contraindicated for treating anxiety and aggression.1) 3. Provide a comfortable kennel. Providing adequate bedding goes a long way for patient comfort. Provide lots of padding for large dogs. Inexpensive bolster beds are easy to wash, and small dogs usually love them. Cats like to hide. Provide a box, or cover part of the kennel with a towel or blanket. Giving cats their own, quiet space in the clinic will help lower their stress levels.4 4. Keep things quiet. If there is a howler in the hospital, do something about it. Not only for the howler's sake, but for the rest of the hospital's sake, as well. Humans included. …
