Pre-Visit Medication

Pre-Visit Medication or Pre-Visit Pharmaceuticals (PVPs) are medications that are prescribed to reduce fear, anxiety or stress (FAS) experienced by pets in the veterinary clinic. Being in the clinic exposes many pets to stimuli that can make them feel very uncomfortable including other pets, new and unfamiliar odours, sounds of dogs barking, handling by vet staff and invasive or painful procedures.

If dogs experience mild fear and anxiety during veterinary visits, it is very likely that this will increase in severity over subsequent visits. When patients begin to show moderate to severe fear responses in the clinic, it negatively impacts the veterinary teams ability to assess your pet and provide complete and thorough veterinary care. Even simple tasks such as examining an ear or an annual vaccination can become nearly impossible to perform safely.

Pre-visit pharmaceuticals can help alleviate these feelings of fear and anxiety so that your pet can attend visits and comfortably engage with staff. They can begin to learn that vet visits are associated with positive outcomes (e.g. tasty food) when their stress and anxiety levels are decreased.

Introducing these PVPs when your pet is showing mild to moderate signs of FAS is when it is most effective. As pets begin to experience profound distress, higher levels of medication is required to facilitate examination and care. I have had several patients that have required heavy sedation or even general anaesthesia for otherwise simple procedures such as nail clips or ear cleaning. If they had the benefit of PVPs early in their exposure to vets these situations are likely to not have escalated to these levels.

The goal is not for your dog to be overly sedated or groggy. The right medication choice should support a very calm and relaxed state that continues from the home into the consult room.

Ask your vet about pre-visit medication if you feel your pet could benefit from additional support.