Canine distress precursor scenarios based on patient needs during the veterinary consultation

Abstract

Objective. To assess the distress main sceneries, based on the needs of the patient during the first vaccination in the veterinary appointment, for that, 24 patients (n=24) of all ages were examined, without difference of sex or race that come from the city of Loja, Ecuador. Materials and methods. The distress, stress, comfort, and physiological gauge signs were examined in three times (before, during, after) for 15 minutes each one; the same procedure was executed in three different sessions, with different sceneries per appointment (traditional, environmental enrichment and home). Results. It was highlighted that the traditional appointment (S3), produces greater canine stress in vaccination with 9.36 (p<0.05), compared to the other sceneries, due to the perceived circumstances were stressful, influencing in signs as: scratching 0.44%, chewing 0.27%, growling 0.23% and yawning 0.21%, making threatening the routine appointment; the appointment with enrichment (S1) has a minor percentage 4.74, making it better to treat patients, which were reflected in comfort and physiological signs: real smile 0.38%, tail wagging 0.28%, heart rate 0.32% and temperature 0.29%. Conclusions. The data indicated that S3, followed by the home appointment (S2) has a higher prevalence of stress, which is why they are less convenient sceneries to interact with pets; on the other hand, it has been verified that S1 is optimal to conduct the needs that the patient requires at the appointment time.