How we create Fear Free™ vet visits

Step 1 – Sedated Exams

How it works
When your pet is too fearful to be touched at the vet, it’s impossible to get quality care! By sedating your pet, we can ensure a thorough exam, complete diagnostics, and a positive experience for all. This is the first step toward teaching your pet that veterinary care isn’t scary, all the while maintaining their health and wellness.

We create a tailored sedation plan for your pet. Have you and your vet attempted sedation before only to have it fail? Never fear! We take past medical history into consideration when we develop your plan.

Our sedation technique has been developed with input from a Board Certified Pain Management and Anesthesia Veterinarian! And when your pet wakes up, they are none the wiser that anything even happened!

Coordinating specialty care

Is your pet in need of a dental cleaning? Are they painful, and have difficulty getting on and off the coach? Do they have a pesky ear infection that just won’t go away? We have the resources to help! We partner with the Animal Care Center of Castle Pines to offer many specialty procedures. They host a number of Board Certified professionals, and veterinarians with special interests. We frequently help to sedate fearful pets for specialty dentistry, pain management, rehabilitation, holistic and integrative care, dermatology, cardiology, radiology and ultrasound, orthopedic surgery, and more!

We take a team approach

Everyone at Behavior Vets, from our head doctor to our trainers and administrative staff, are dedicated to your animal’s comfort. We work together to ensure your animal enjoys a smooth visit—and that you do, too.

We balance physical, behavioral, & emotional wellness

We want your animal to be physically healthy, and also behaviorally and emotionally healthy. That requires an integrated practice that focuses on the whole animal—resulting in easier vet visits and a healthier, happier animal at home.

Step 2 – Training for Veterinary Care

We empower your animal
Much of the fear caused at vet clinics comes from a lack of control—people grabbing, pushing, and doing things to animals without their consent. At Behavior Vets, we work with your animal to gain their active, willing cooperation.

We build positive associations
We spend much of that extra time building positive associations. That is, we teach your animal to like us, our equipment, being touched—all the things that make up a vet visit. We even take the opportunity to create these associations in our partner clinic, the Animal Care Center of Castle Pines. If your pet is too fearful to start in a veterinary environment, we can come to your home!

Step 3 – Back to Primary Care

We maintain positive associations
Why spend so much time building positive associations if your pet’s next veterinary experience is going to be unpleasant anyway? Once your pet has graduated from their training program, we work hard to maintain all of the skills you’ve taught your pet. That’s why we keep your primary care vet up to speed every step of the way.

Not welcome back? No Problem!

Many of our patients come to us because their needs can’t be met at a standard veterinary practice. And we’re not standard. We’ll slow down and take the time—whatever time it takes—to gain that consent. Our goal isn’t fast treatment. It’s excellent, fear-free treatment. That’s why we partner with the Animal Care Center of Castle Pines.

Fear Free™ Care with Animal Care Center of Castle Pines

Many of the staff at ACC are Fear Free™️ Certified Professionals, and have had hands on coaching from the Behavior Vets team. Not only can we train directly in their exam rooms, they offer “Happy Visits” for our patients! You can schedule a time to meet your vet and technicians, guaranteeing your pet has a positive experience. That way, they aren’t startled by a stranger when it’s time for a real exam!