Why more clinics may stop letting pet parents hold dogs

Veterinarians are getting a clearer picture of why handling decisions during dog exams can be so difficult, and why letting a pet parent “just hold” a dog may not be the safest answer. A new qualitative study in Frontiers in Veterinary Science interviewed 17 veterinarians in the U.S. and Canada and found that handling choices are shaped by more than patient behavior alone: safety concerns, urgency of care, staffing, clinic setup, client expectations, and the veterinarian’s own stress and well-being all play a role. Those findings land alongside a new dvm360 “Veterinary Vexations” risk-management article that argues clinics should avoid client restraint, use trained staff and appropriate tools, and set clear policies before an exam turns into an injury event. (frontiersin.org)

Why it matters: For veterinary professionals, this is both a safety story and a workflow story. The Frontiers paper suggests that low-stress handling is widely valued, but not always easy to deliver consistently when teams are short-staffed, appointments are tight, or clinicians are burned out. AVMA PLIT’s client-management guidance is blunt on one key point: “Avoid client assistance—especially with restraining animals.” That lines up with the liability concerns raised in the dvm360 piece, where bites, scratches, and falls can injure pet parents, team members, and patients, and leave clinics exposed. (frontiersin.org)

What to watch: Expect more clinics to formalize written restraint policies, pre-visit screening, and sedation or pre-visit pharmaceutical protocols for dogs that can’t be handled safely in the exam room. (frontiersin.org)