Many of us groan when we see a “difficult” dog or cat on our schedule; this is going to be a stressful appointment. If this is how you feel, imagine how the animal, as well as the client and your staff, is feeling? Wouldn’t it be great if we all could feel differently - better? This section will help you change such visits into the positive encounters they can be, as well as prevent them from developing in the first place, without taking much extra time during this appointment, and saving you time and stress during future visits.

So, if stress is causing the problem what is the solution? Low stress handling.

Why is this important for us as veterinarians?
• Enhance welfare
• Increase job satisfaction
• Bond clients to our practice
• Reduce time and resources spent on subsequent visits
• Avoid personnel/owner injury and associated costs and liability

Select from the pages listed in the side left column for more details about the concepts of low stress handling, how to evaluate stress in our animal patients, when and how to implement various handling and safety tools, and list of troubleshooting tips.