Practice tip: DIY solutions to reduce stress in veterinary patients

A rubber mat in your examination and treatment areas can help arthritic dogs find more solid footing. Shutterstock.comHere are a couple of simple but worthy ideas to implement in every small animal practice to keep fear and anxiety at bay in veterinary patients:

1. You know those loud metal clanging sounds that terrify animals and make clinic staff jump when kennels bang closed? Simply wrap vet wrap around the part of the latch that makes contact with the kennel frame. This muffles the noise, creating a calmer environment for pets and people.

2. Standard tiled or vinyl floors are easy to keep clean, but they're tricky for arthritic animals to negotiate without slipping. Plus, they make it challenging to perform a floor examination on a large dog. A simple rubber mat on the floor in the examination and treatment areas provides an excellent surface for examination, manipulation and observation of the patient. Mats with padding can also help save the knees of the pet holder and examiner. Although the odd clinic has these, the vast majority do not.

Dr. Rocky Lis is a relief veterinarian in North Vancouver, British Columbia.