Veterinary visits are a significant source of fear and stress for many dogs, with fear-free practices transforming medical care into positive or neutral experiences that improve both animal welfare and healthcare compliance.
Fear-free veterinary care represents a paradigm shift from treating patient fear as an inevitable management challenge to treating it as a welfare problem that can and should be systematically reduced. The benefits extend beyond individual welfare — dogs who fear vet visits receive less preventive care, have problems detected later, and are harder to treat effectively. Making veterinary visits positive or at least neutral experiences is simultaneously a welfare improvement and a public health intervention that improves the preventive care dogs receive.