Читать книгу Textbook for the Veterinary Assistant - Lori Renda-Francis - Страница 55

All health‐care team members should be aware of the fight or flight principle when kenneling and restraining animals. If there is an opening to get out of the cage or out of a restraint hold, the animal will take it. Health‐care team members must be aware of their surroundings at all times, insuring that no route is accessible for escape by an animal prior to opening a door to remove a pet and before releasing the restraint of a pet. When taking a pet from a cage or a kennel, the health‐care team member must block the door opening with a knee or forearm to obstruct an obvious escape route.

Figure 4.4 Light restraint.

Source: Courtesy of Kara M. Burns, LVT, VTS (Nutrition).

A health‐care team member can pick up a small‐breed dog that is not fearful or aggressive by grasping the animal’s scruff or by placing a hand under the dog’s chin and placing the other hand under the thorax region. The dog’s body should be kept close to the team member’s, and a leash should be available to place around the dog’s neck. At this point the dog is secure and can be placed on the floor. Large‐breed dogs typically will be placed in a kennel or a larger cage closer to the ground. These dogs can be led out after the cage is opened, the escape route blocked, and a leash slipped around the dog’s neck.

Fearful or aggressive dogs must be removed with caution from a cage or kennel. Common sense plays a huge role in the removal and restraint of aggressive dogs. The health‐care team should muzzle or sedate an aggressive dog prior to placing it in the cage. The dog is protecting its territory, so cornering it will make it feel threatened. This is the perfect time to use voice as a restraint aid and offer approval and comfort. The use of a capture pole may be warranted, especially in instances where the dog is attacking the leash or the area of the kennel in which the team member is standing.