Companion Animals

Companion Dog Cooperative Care Training

Cooperative care training teaches dogs to voluntarily participate in veterinary procedures, reducing fear and improving welfare during necessary handling.

Key Facts

Fear during veterinary visits is extremely common in dogs and reduces welfare
Cooperative care involves training dogs to signal consent and tolerate handling
Stationing behaviours allow veterinary procedures with minimal restraint
Desensitisation to examination, injections, and ear cleaning reduces stress
Veterinary professionals trained in low-stress handling improve outcomes for all patients

Welfare Considerations

Veterinary visits can be traumatic for dogs, causing significant fear and stress. This fear compounds over time, making future visits worse. Cooperative care training prevents and reverses veterinary fear, allowing necessary health care to be delivered without distress. This is both a welfare and a practical benefit, as calm dogs are safer to examine.

What You Can Do

Enrol your dog in a cooperative care or low-stress handling training programme
Choose veterinary practices using low-stress handling techniques
Practise handling exercises at home including ear, paw, and mouth examination