Fear and anxiety at veterinary visits affects a significant proportion of companion animals and causes welfare harm during visits while also reducing the frequency of preventive care by owners who avoid stressful experiences.
Veterinary anxiety is a welfare problem that compounds itself: animals that experience fear at veterinary visits are more stressed at subsequent visits, and owners who witness their animal distress delay necessary care. The welfare harm of the anxiety itself is real and repeated throughout the animal lifetime. Fear free handling methods that reduce stress during examination and procedures have been shown to improve both animal welfare during visits and compliance with preventive care schedules.