Fear Free

There is a burgeoning movement within veterinary medicine. One that recognizes the intimate connection between the experience that a pet has and the healthcare they receive. When animals experience stress, hormones alter their body temperature, heart rate, and blood pressure. These are the very systems that veterinary professionals use to assess a pet's overall health. This can make it difficult to distinguish a stress response from an actual illness. Not here. Many of our team are experienced Fear Free staff members, and have undergone extensive training and testing in how to significantly reduce stress during a pet's visit. It means happier pets, healthier pets, and longer lives. Because they deserve no less

Happy and Victory Visits

Building trust. Reimagining care.

Happy and Victory Visits are our way to provide a safe, exceptional experience for the pet you love. These visits are scheduled in advance. You and your pet will meet with an experienced Fear Free staff member to familiarize them with the new environment and handling. The objective of the first visit will be to get a great feel for your pet’s unique behavioral needs, and to design a plan for future visits to desensitize them to stress triggers.

How it works

During each visit, we will make incremental steps towards an end goal of making your pet feel totally safe and relaxed. Small improvements in the beginning will build on themselves and will set the table for larger improvements down the road. More frequent sessions tend to mean accelerated progress, though every pet is unique, and progress can also depend on their previous veterinary experiences, their personality, age, and training background.

Happy Visits

Trust is an incredibly important part of any relationship - even for pets. When pets don't trust the team that cares for them, they don't feel safe and exhibit a fear response, which complicates the level of care they can receive. Happy visits are specifically meant to build trust for your pet. We avoid any potentially stressful events, such as poking, prodding, or restraining. There are often plenty of treats and toys to be given. Before a Happy Visit, our team will assess your pet's overall stress level, and will acclimate them to their new surroundings in a safe, fun way. The end result will be your pet starting to associate a visit to us as being a positive experience, instead of a fearful one. This is an important part of providing high level veterinary care without stressing out your pet.

Happy visits are typically only about 5 minutes and scheduling is based on how the pet is doing with the visits. The goal is to acclimate your pet to us and to the environment in a positive way. Happy Visits are free of charge.

Victory Visits

Victory Visits are 20 minutes and are a desensitization training session. These are customized for each pet and centered around the specific area your pet needs training on, for example: nail trims, receiving vaccines, or allowing the doctor to examine ears. Victory Visits are $40 per session.

We do Happy and Victory Visits because we believe your pet is family. We believe they always deserve to feel safe, protected, and cared for. We believe they deserve the best veterinary care imaginable, and to live the longest, happiest, healthiest life possible.

Behavior Consultations

Understanding behavior. Strengthening the human-animal bond.

Behavior is a key part of your pet’s overall health. Many challenges, like anxiety, fear, or unwanted habits, are often linked to stress and environmental factors, not just medical issues.

At Northwest Animal Hospital, our behavior consultations use Fear Free techniques to identify the root cause of these concerns and create a personalized plan to help your pet feel more comfortable, confident, and supported.

We work with both dogs and cats and can help with:

• Anxiety and fear-related behaviors
• Aggression or reactivity
• Difficulty with handling or vet visits
• House-soiling or litter box issues
• Adjustment to new environments or changes

Learn more about our behavior consultations and how we can help your pet thrive →