Customer Reviews

Low Stress Handling Restraint & Behavior

5 star:		(14)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
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This book is a must have for every veterinary hospital, veterinary school and client who has a pet with handling issues. The DVD is phenomenal. Dr. Yin has given a valuable gift to animals and the people who love them by creating this fantastic educational device.
Julie Shaw, R.V.T.
Animal Behavior Clinic

Though spendy this book and DVD are great to have for learning and reference. I appreciate the "realness" of the DVD and the gentle, firm and positive approach. Does your vet treat your pet the same way? I am now equipped to better evaluate who cares for my pet and greatly encouraged that what so many of the "dominance" gurus do can be so harmful. If you cringe when you see dogs being jerked around by choke chain collars, zapped with electrical charges, yelled at, scolded and other wise "worked over" because their guardians feel their authority is threatened, then this is for you. Positive reinforcement and just good ol' consistent, positive, and upbeat attitude can work wonders. Dr. Yin shows how to use these positive attributes to help your pet become the confident companion you want. I also recommend any book by Patricia McConnell who recommended this book on her website.

I'm having a difficult time getting through this book. Its not a bad thing, Dr Yin, just writes in such a way that you start thinking about what you just read. So, my mind keeps wondering off. It is easy to find something that your looking for in the book though, so getting back on track is easy.

The only bad thing was the book directs you to the DVD through out the chapter. At first I felt like I needed to stop and view it. In fact you can wait until the end of the chapter and then watch the DVD of the whole chapter.

The information is great and she does not speak over my head. I'm very greatful.

Having recently taken a "Restraint" course from a veterinary technology school where I felt we manhandled the animals and frightened them, this book was a breath of fresh air. I hope to be able to spread Dr. Yin's techniques to other vet clinics. I plan to use her videos for staff meetings to enlighten others who have taken the traditional classes on restraint.

This book and DVD set is impressive in both content and presentation. Anyone who works with dogs or cats needs this book. The handling techniques presented are practical and the instructions are clear. Both the book and DVD illustrate commonly used incorrect techniques as well as the better ones promoted by the author. If readers take the time to learn and practice the techniques, they will have much happier patients and clients. Good for the bottom line for business owners, but most importantly, good for the animals. There is simply no point in struggling with a dog or cat when simple, safe handling methods are available. By putting into practice what you learn from Dr. Yin, you will truly be lowering stress levels of both the animals and people, and potentially saving lives by helping pets behave better at the vet's office and thus encouraging owners to bring them in when needed. Extra time and care taken during initial visits makes subsequent visits so much easier.

This book is useful for all veterinary staff, groomers, shelter workers, petsitters, rescue personnel, etc. It not only explains what to do via practical written instructions, useful photos and helpful video footage, but Dr. Yin also explains what you need to know about animal behavior and learning, essential information for anyone working or living with animals. She also uses great analogies!

One last thing...I have watched several animal behavior videos that were professionally produced yet were still of poor quality. The footage on the DVD provided with this book is clear and well done, and the DVD is easy to navigate with the many chapter titles.

I had the privilege to meet Dr. Yin, the author at a veterinary conference when this book first came out. Her book is a wonderful compilation of the best handling techniques available to minimize the stress of a veterinary clinic. Every technique is photographed and the common pitfalls are shown too. The book is a bit expensive, but worth every penny.

Excellent book with techniques that align with the AVSAB recommendations. The DVD was also helpful. Tons of pictures and easy to understand and apply. My only complaint is the softcover did have some very minor damage to it when it arrived - nothing major but this is an expensive book and I expected it to arrive in brand new/perfect condition.

This book is easy to read and the video clips are good demonstrations of the techniques described. I hope that veterinary medicine will adopt these techniques as a more holistic way of treating animals.

I am a Registered Veterinary Technician and have taught small animal nursing for technicians. I used much of the material from this book during the behavior and handling sections of my class. A description of animal handling of this calibur is long overdue in the veterinary world. The techniques in this text are photographed, desribed, and even demonstrated on video allowing every learning style to benefit. While using the handling methods described here on patients at my hospital, I find that they are more relaxed and receptive to the procedures that need to be performed such as venipuncture, radiology, and of course basic restraint for examination. I can't recommend this book highly enough.

NOTE: My husband and I have had the good fortune to work directly with Dr. Yin. Her techniques are clearly depicted and described in this book. Our vet and vet techs have been able to implement the techniques after reading specific chapters. In addition, we helped review the chapters on cat handling to ensure that the instructions were clear and could be easily followed (and we are not cat owners). What follows is a description of how Dr. Yin's techniques, illustrated in this book, helped us with one of our dogs.

When we first rescued P. as an 8-month-old puppy, she had an upper respiratory infection and was lethargic, so her fear-based behavior issues did not manifest themselves for a few weeks. Once they did, she appeared apprehensive around strangers (e.g., cautiousness, prolonged barking) and would snarl or threaten to bite when we attempted to put a leash on her. When we managed to get P. out for a walk, she would practically crawl through the neighborhood because she was so afraid of everything. In addition, the vet indicated that they had problems handling her after her spay surgery--for instance, the veterinary staff had to double-leash her to remove her from her crate, and they couldn't muzzle her or even examine her sutures due to her lunging, growling, and snapping at them. We wanted to deal with this issue proactively, so we contacted Dr. Yin. In retrospect, that was the best decision we made for P. and for ourselves as her guardians.

We worked with Dr. Yin to address P.'s aggressiveness and counter-condition her to situations where she was fearful. She responded quickly to Dr. Yin's positive techniques--rewarding her with small bits of food or treats for offering the correct behaviors. The day after Dr. Yin's first consultation with us, P. volunteered good manners and sat for her food! It was important that we not ever scold or reprimand her, since a negative tone of voice seemed to make her fearful and unhappy.

Each counter-conditioning effort took only a few days, including training her to accept a leash, Gentle Leader, and muzzle. In a matter of a couple weeks, P. was eager to go on walks and would stick her nose into her Gentle Leader when it was offered to her. We also worked on getting her used to people we knew--as well as strangers--greeting, petting, or handling her inside and outside of our home. In addition, we worked with Dr. Yin and her staff to see how P. would respond to counter-conditioning in a mock clinical setting. A staff member with whom P. was unfamiliar was able to examine her after counter-conditioning her at the beginning of and during the visit.

P.'s training will never end, but she has made a great deal of progress in the last year. As an example, her one-year follow-up vet appointment went very well because we prepared her and the vet appropriately. Before the visit, we gave her vet a specific chapter this book, which illustrated techniques she could use with P. We also took P. to the vet for counter-conditioning on three different days before her actual visit, and she grew more excited each day when we got home because she wanted to go to the clinic and get treats! On the day of her appointment, P. was definitely the most relaxed dog in the waiting room. She was friendly with everyone present, too. She let the vet handle her for her exam with no problem--volunteering "sit" and "shake" for treats. We were present and gave her treats throughout the exam, and she remained calm and happy. I helped distract her and "open" her ear for the vet to examine because she's still a little skittish about that. We put the muzzle on her for her shots, and she paid no attention to the shots at all because she was focused on the bottle of spray cheese I was feeding her thru the muzzle. They were all very pleased and impressed with how well she did. [Update: Her two subsequent visits have been extremely positive, and we have not had to use a muzzle.]

Thanks to Dr. Yin's help, P. is a happy, goofy, and affectionate member of our household! She enjoys visits from our friends and is less fearful of new people. Most importantly, we know that we can continue to work closely with her vets to provide her with any veterinary care she may need.