How to Have a Stress-Free Vet Visit for Your Pet

Does your dog shake all over and whine as you approach the vet's office? Does your cat run and hide when you bring out the carrier?

Do YOU shake all over when you're taking furry beloved to the vet?

Here are some ways to calm your pet down so BOTH of you will have an easier time:

1. Keep Some Treats On Hand-Most dogs WILL eat at the vet's (most cats won't) so treats are a great distraction. Feed your dog less the day before and nothing that morning to increase longing for the treats and also prevent carsickness.

2. Use Aromatherapy-Place a few drops of lavender oil (it's calming) in your pet's carrier. And for cats, use Feliway (ask the vet about it), which is a synethetic version of "friendly" feline odors that reduce anxiety by about 50%.

3. Rub The Ears-If your cat's too nervous to go into the carrier, hold furry beloved on your lap and do a quick massage (fast, light touches around the body), gradually working (or approaching) the ears. (They contain acupressure points that stimulate the part of the brain associated with emotion). This will greatly mellow out kitty.

4. Go Through A Practice Run-Every so often before checkup time, "examine" your pet to get them used to the procedure, so the less anxious they'll be (place them on a table, look in their ears and mouth, lift the tail and prod the paws and belly-gently).

You can also take your dog to the vet one day for an uncheduled visit; dogs learn by making scent associations-and the "vet smell" will bring up a negative connotation (or association). So one day just walk in if possible, let furry beloved sniff around; see if the staff can give furry beloved a treat (!).

5. Try for midweek or being the first or last appointment of the day. There's fewer "patients" then and your pet won't be so stressed out. Avoid Monday and Saturday mornings.

How Animals Cure Us

Did you know that pet owners tend to lead longer, healthier and happier lives? It's because pets help us:

Focus On The Positive and distract us from our problems.

Communicate-Kids often reveal information about (or regarding) themselves by projecting it onto a pet. Like "Snowball's tummy hurts."

Relax-Being around animals can lower heart rate and blood pressure.