Influence of low stress handling during clinical visit on physiological and behavioural indicators in adult dogs: a preliminary study

Abstract

Low stress handling techniques or “Fear Free principles” in veterinary clinics are becoming an important research area aimed at improving small animal welfare, considering that the majority of dogs who undergo clinical examinations exhibit fear or anxiety signs. Objective of this study was to compare a number of physiological and behavioural indicators using low stress handling (LSH) and traditional (TT) techniques in order to assess whether the LSH approach had a positive impact on the dog’s welfare. Eight adult dogs were filmed while undergoing both LSH and TT visits (separated by a distance of seven weeks). The same usual sequence of events was followed for both visits (e. g. muzzle wearing, heart and lungs stethoscope examination, etc.) except that 1) during the LSH visit, the dog was free to explore the environment (while receiving treats) and play for five minutes before and after the visit 2) throughout the medical examination the veterinarians’ attitude and handling techniques were always aimed at preventing stress and guaranteeing the best physical support possible. The videos were then evaluated for the number of fear and stress signs the subjects showed. The examined physiological variables were respiration (breath/min), heart rate (HR) and rectal temperature (RT). Physiological variables were analysed by t-Test for paired data while frequency of behavioural fear indicators by Wilcoxon signed-rank test. Rectal temperature was within range in both groups but significantly higher (P<0.05) during LSH visit, while low head, lip licks and whale eye behaviours were significantly higher (P<0.05) during TT visit. These results suggest that low stress handling decreases frequency of some fear-related behaviours and could improve the quality of human-dog interactions. Future research that aims to replicate and further investigate these results in a large canine population is required.

At the heart of a dog's veterinary experience: Heart rate responses in dogs vary across a standard physical examination

“…In the present study, the examiner and researcher were very conscious of reducing the risk of behavioural escalation to aggression and the examiner was very experienced in practicing low stress handling techniques, which may reduce behavioural signs of stress (Scalia et al 2017). Additionally, rectal temperatures are associated with an elevated HR in comparison to axillary or auricular temperatures (Gomart et al 2014).…”

“…sitting, standing), yawning and overall posture have been previously associated with physiological signs of stress in dogs outside of the veterinary context (Beerda et al 1996;1997;2000). Studies investigating a stress reduction intervention within a veterinary clinic compare the frequency or presence of fear-related behaviour between groups (Csoltova et al 2017;Doring et al 2009;Hauser et al 2020;Scalia et al 2017;Stellato et al 2019a;), yet those behaviours were not correlated with a physiological measure within the study. As fear-related behaviours (e.g.…”

Surgical and Behavioral Relationships With Welfare

“…These can include low-stress handling methods, playing music, and suitable housing. This is an increasing area of research, and many resources are available by which staff can learn and practice these techniques (30)(31)(32)(33)(34)(35)(36)(37). Effective pharmacological interventions include trazodone, gabapentin, and transmucosal dexmedetomidine, as well as the use of pheromones (26,(38)(39)(40)(41)(42).…”

Comparison of Axillary versus Rectal Temperature Timing in Canine and Feline Patients

“…Stress in the clinical environment can negatively influence not only the current visit but subsequent visits [ 14 , 15 ]. Some inherent stress may be from interactions with practitioners in the clinical setting; this is often referred to as a “white-coat effect” and has been described in both dogs and cats [ 1 , 3 , 16 ].…”