E a r ly Pup p y B eh avi o r

Tools for Later Success

Ericka Mendez, DVM

KEYWORDS
 Puppy  Behavior  Socialization  Bite prevention  Anxiety  Aggression
 Housetraining

KEY POINTS
 Early behavior strategies can positively influence a dog’s life.
 Emotional stability can be fostered with early socialization and by building frustration
tolerance.
 Good toileting habits can be formed by taking special care to keep the nest clean, by
providing a toileting area within the play area, and by engaging in early potty training.
 Bite prevention training involves body handling exercises, food bowl exercises, and object
exchange exercises.
 Early life skill training that teaches puppies how to rest calmly in a crate, come when
called, and to sit politely when they want something can make puppyhood and adoles-
cence easier for new puppy owners.

INTRODUCTION

The goals of reproductive medicine are to successfully manage the conception, preg-
nancy, and birth of healthy small animal pets. However, one should not forget that
along with this goal comes an equally important goal, which is to create physically
and emotionally healthy small animal companions that are capable of forging an un-
breakable human-animal bond.
Veterinarians have the unique opportunity to guide and educate breeders with sim-
ple, yet effective early behavior strategies that encourage the creation of emotionally
balanced adult pets. These pets will not only have a greater chance of experiencing an
overall higher quality of life, they will also receive better and more extensive health care
over the course of their lives, because they are better patients.
The 2-, 4-, 6-, and 8-week deworming schedule recommended for neonates gives
veterinarians and their teams an opportunity to implement an educational program to
help breeders learn about and incorporate these early behavior tools and strategies
into their breeding and puppy raising practices (Table 1). There are advantages to

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Vet Clin Small Anim 53 (2023) 1195–1207

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 1196
Mendez
Table 1
In-clinic early behavior program

Visit Questions to Ask Talking Points

Prenatal/puppy count visit What does your whelping box look like? Puppy hygiene
What is your birthing plan? Decreasing stress and anxiety in mother
Have you ever performed early neurological ENS and body handling
stimulation (ENS), Bio Sensor or Super Dog
training with your litters?
Neonatal examination and deworming How is nursing going? Frustration tolerance and fostering good
week 2 What kind of potty set up do you have? mother-pup relationship
Do you have a relatively quiet or noisy household? Early housetraining set up
Emotional resilience and the startle recovery cycle
Deworming week 4 How is weaning going? Fostering good mother-pup relationship
How is mealtime going? Building frustration tolerance with obstacles, food
How is potty time going? bowl exercises, and recall
What kind of things do you have in your puppy pen? Early housetraining skills
Do the puppies ever spend time by themselves? Early socialization to objects
Crate training
Deworming week 6 How is housetraining going? Early housetraining skills
Have the puppies met any people or animals yet? Early socialization to people and animals and how
How do the puppies behave when you try to take to do so safely
things away from them? Object exchange exercises
How are the puppies behaving when it is time to be Sit to say please
let out of their pen? Positive reward marker
What kind of games do you play with the puppies? Learn to offer behavior
First vaccines and deworming week 8 How is housetraining going? Early housetraining skills
What age are you planning on sending the puppies Optimal go home age and go home routine
home? Good puppy class guidelines
Do you know of a local trainer who has good puppy
classes?
What are the classes like?
 Early Puppy Behavior 1197

both parties when this type of behavior program is implemented. The breeder is
creating puppies that have a greater chance of being well cared for and staying in
their homes permanently, which fosters good word of mouth for buyers and poten-
tially increasing value of the puppies because of the extra training and socialization.
The veterinary team is not only helping to create better future patients, but they are
also increasing revenue and becoming a valuable source of information for the
breeder.
With a strong human animal bond in place, these dogs are more likely to be treated
as beloved family members and can be potentially safeguarded from some of the
more devastating behaviors that can weaken or destroy the human-animal bond,
which can lead to neglect, abuse, abandonment, or euthanasia (Table 2).

DISCUSSION
Goals of Early Behavior Strategies
There are 4 key components to creating a companion animal that is capable of forming
and sustaining a strong human-animal bond:
 Physical stability
 Emotional stability
 Good toileting habits
 Early life skill training
When speaking to breeders, it may become evident that some of them are already
using some of these strategies. The goal, however, is for them to develop a process
that works for them that they can then standardize to use in every litter so that it be-
comes a matter of procedure and planning instead of happenstance.
Physical stability
When considering physical stability, good breeding practices that create physically
healthy offspring are essential. However, emotional stability should not be overlooked.
Behavior tendencies such as fearfulness and anxiety have some degree of genetic
heritability that can predispose offspring to nervous-type temperaments.1

Table 2
Behaviors that can weaken the human-animal bond

Aggression  Family members

 Strangers
 Animals in household
 Animals outside of household
Poor toileting habits  Inappropriate elimination
 Coprophagia
Destructive and unruly habits  Excessive and inappropriate chewing
 Jumping
 Chasing
 Barking
 Hyperactivity
Anxiety  Generalized anxiety
 Separation anxiety
 Thunderstorm anxiety
 Noise phobias
 Situational anxiety
 Novel situations
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Prenatal care of the dam should include prenatal veterinary care, good nutrition,
low-stress handling, and emotional support in the form of petting and attention. A
whelping plan should be formulated in an attempt to minimize trauma and stress to
the dam as well as the offspring (see Autumn Davidson and Janis Cain’s article,
“Canine Pregnancy, Eutocia and Dystocia,” in this issue).
Once the offspring are born, ENS can be started on day 3 of life. ENS is a technique
originally developed and popularized by Carmen Battaglia, who was an American
Kennel Club (AKC) judge and breeder.2 It is also known as Bio Sensor or Super Dog
Training. The technique was originally developed for military working dogs as a way
of creating increased physical resiliency (Box 1). Anecdotal support for this technique
is strong, while scientific research suggests that there is some evidence that ENS may
help dogs cope better with stress later in life as long as the stress created with ENS is
not excessive.3
To perform ENS, there are 5 exercises that are performed on each neonate starting
on day 3, until day 16.
 Stimulate the area between the toe pads with a cotton swab (Fig. 1).
 Hold the puppy head up (Fig. 2).
 Hold the puppy head down (Fig. 3).
 Hold the puppy supine or on its back (Fig. 4).
 Place the puppy on a cool washcloth on a flat safe surface and allow it to crawl off
if desired (Fig. 5).
Multiple online video examples exist demonstrating the exercises. Each exercise is
to be done once daily for only 3 to 5 seconds and no more.
In a large and robust litter of offspring, ENS may be unnecessary, as these positions
and circumstances would happen organically. However, in a smaller, less active litter
or in the case of a singleton, ENS would be more beneficial.
It is important to note that more is not better, as too much stress could cause more
harm than good. Each exercise should only be done once a day and for only 3 to 5 sec-
onds each. If the litter is already under some kind of stress from illness or tail docking/
dewclaw removal, then a grace period should be given before starting ENS.
ENS is not a substitution for the regular daily handling of neonates but is to be done
in addition to the regular handling of puppies and kittens in their neonatal period. Reg-
ular gentle handling, stroking, carrying, and touching of all body areas should be done
with all neonates during their awake cycle after the mother has been given the oppor-
tunity to stimulate elimination.

Emotional stability
The goal of employing emotional stability behavior strategies is to produce small an-
imal companions that are even-tempered and well-socialized. This helps to safeguard
these pets from suffering from many kinds of anxieties and aggression.

Box 1
Benefits of early neurologic stimulation

 Increase tolerance of stress

 Promote a stronger heartbeat
 Faster response from adrenal glands
 Increased resistance to disease
 Early Puppy Behavior 1199

Fig. 1. Toe stimulation. Photo credit to Diane Zahorodny, World Ready Pets.

Neonatal period 0 to 2 weeks. Creating emotional stability begins in the neonatal

period from 0 to 14 days, and it begins with the relationship the offspring has with
its mother. It is important for the mother to be an attentive and calm mother.4,5 One
way to facilitate this is the simple act of increasing her comfort during nursing by trim-
ming the offspring’s toenails. Stress can also be reduced by keeping the nest area
clean and avoiding any unnecessary stressors for the mother during this neonatal
period.
Emotional stability training continues throughout this period through the daily strug-
gle of nursing. Not only do neonates have to navigate their way to the dam using only
the senses of touch and smell, but they also must compete with other offspring for
their position at the teat. This daily stress not only helps them with muscle formation
and coordination but is also their first opportunity to learn frustration tolerance. Neo-
nates should be allowed to experience this struggle without intervention unless they
are not growing at a normal rate or have a medical disadvantage.
Socialization period 3 to 12 weeks. Once the puppy’s eyes and ears open, they move
into the socialization period, in which they begin to explore and learn about the world
around them. Puppies have 2 worlds that they need to learn about at an early age. One
world is the world of people and everything that comes with them, and the other world
is the world of animals. It is important that when this early socialization is performed
that both of these worlds are kept in consideration.
Animal world Socialization to the animal world began with the mother-offspring
relationship and continues to evolve as the offspring matures. As weaning ap-
proaches, this adds a new dimension to this relationship, as the mother will begin to
limit access to herself as weaning progresses. It is important that during this period

Fig. 2. Head up position. Photo credit to Diane Zahorodny, World Ready Pets.
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Fig. 3. Head down position. Photo credit to Diane Zahorodny, World Ready Pets.

the mother has an easy way to limit access to herself (usually by jumping up onto an
elevated platform/bed/couch) so that she does not have to resort to confrontational
techniques such as growling or snapping.
When socializing these young animals to adult animals, it is important to avoid
negative experiences. The animals that they are to be interacting with should be known
well, be kind and gentle, and have a good play history with young animals. These may
be the other animals in the household at first and as the puppies approach 5 weeks,
then animals from outside of the household can begin to enter the environment.
The introduction area should be large and provide high places for the adult animals
to escape, as well as low places for the puppies to hide. Various animals should visit,
some big, some small, some with short hair, some with long hair, some with stand-up
ears, and some with floppy ears. A concerted effort should be made to introduce
puppies to dogs of different breeds in order to generalize their acceptance of other
dogs.
If the puppies are reluctant to engage, sometimes petting the adult animal and of-
fering praise is all that is needed to encourage a hesitant youngster to interact. These
sessions should be short, between 15 and 30 minutes, and the animals they are
visiting with should all be healthy, vaccinated, and without any recent travel or show
history.
People world When considering socialization to people a lot of the same rules
apply. As the puppies are not yet fully vaccinated, safety should be a priority, and peo-
ple should be instructed to take off their shoes before entering the play area and wash
their hands. If they have been at a veterinary clinic, shelter, grooming salon, or show,
be sure to provide a clean change of clothes. These sessions should also be short, no

Fig. 4. Supine position. Photo credit to Diane Zahorodny, World Ready Pets.
 Early Puppy Behavior 1201

Fig. 5. Cold stimulation. Photo credit to Diane Zahorodny, World Ready Pets.

more than 15 to 30 minutes, and positive with lots of attention, pets, and praise, as well
as some treats.
Various people should be introduced: young people, older people, children of vary-
ing ages, different races, men with beards, people with sunglasses, people wearing
hats, people in uniform, and people carrying things. It can be helpful to keep various
wigs, props, hats, and costumes for this purpose so that the puppies can experience
several different-looking people even if you have just a trusted few.

Emotional resilience and environmental enrichment. When discussing emotional sta-

bility, it is important to note that socialization is not the only thing to do during this life
stage. One also needs to consider emotional resilience as well as providing an
enriched environment.
Emotional resilience is the ability to recover from frustration or fear in a timely
manner. This resilience can be strengthened by triggering the startle recovery cycle.6
At 3 to 4 weeks of age, puppies have no real fear response. They will, however, be
startled. To trigger the startle recovery cycle, loud and sudden noises can be made
in the puppies’ vicinity 1 to 3 times a day. This can be in the form of doors slamming
shut a few rooms away, dropped metal dishes, vacuum cleaners running, or dropped
books. When first introducing these sounds, it is best to begin a few rooms away and
decrease the distance as time allows. If the mother is likely to react or become fright-
ened of these noises, then it is best to do this when she is not in the room.
To help puppies continue their frustration tolerance training, novel challenges can
be created in their home environment. These challenges can be as simple as putting
them in a box and letting them figure out a way to navigate themselves out of the box.
Other challenges can include creating an obstacle course between them and their
meals that they then have to navigate over, under, or around. Items such as a
rolled-up yoga mat to go over, a table to go under, and a gate or pen to go around
are useful for setting up such obstacles. Again, multiple instructive examples of puppy
obstacle courses exist online.
Environmental enrichment using food is another way to challenge puppies so that
they continue to learn frustration tolerance along with flexing and developing their
problem-solving skills. Examples of this can include an ice cube tray filled with
food, a food-filled Kong toy, a towel sprinkled with kibbles and rolled up, or a snuffle
mat.
Toys are yet another way of enriching the environment as long as the toys are of
various materials and are rotated frequently to preserve the novelty of the toys. How-
ever, toys can be somewhat limiting and other objects should be brought into the daily
space. This includes all varieties of everyday items such as umbrellas (have them
watch you open and close them), strollers, skateboards, big crinkly bags, garden
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hoses, helium balloons, tools, tarps, chairs tilted over, tunnels, teeter boards, baskets,
chutes, boxes, trash can lids, statues, etc.

Good elimination habits

Early toilet training for puppies is a simple and effective way to prevent inappropriate
house soiling as adults. It also keeps the puppies clean and healthy and decreases the
likelihood of coprophagia by preventing the experimentation with stool left in a soiled
environment. Puppies are born with a natural aversion to fecal matter, however, if fecal
matter is something that is ubiquitous in their environment, they will lose that natural
aversion, which will make house training much more difficult. By engaging in early
toilet training, the natural aversion to excrement is preserved, which is ideal in a pet
dog.
Early toilet training has several phases that correspond with the puppies’ physical
abilities and maturity level.
Phase 1: birth to 3 weeks. At this stage, it is up to the caretaker and the dam to keep
the nest clean. Frequent changing of the bedding material is recommended to ensure
a clean nest.

Phase 2: 3 weeks. From the time the puppies open their eyes around week 3, they will
begin to naturally move away from the nest to urinate and defecate. It is at this time
that a litter pan can be introduced with pellet newspaper litter. This should be placed
in an area where the puppies naturally gravitate to when they eliminate. The pan
should be shallow to ease their ability to enter and exit and the pan should not be
located near the entry or exit of the nest.

Phase 3: weeks 4 to 6. At this stage, the puppies are ready to be moved to a larger
area consisting of a large play area and a smaller potty area. Again, ensure that the
potty area is away from the door to the pen so that the dam and the puppies do not
have to walk through it to get out of their pen. This potty area should be kept as clean
as possible.

Phase 4: week 6 and up. By week 6, the puppies can begin to be taken outside during
key toileting times such as: when they wake up, immediately after eating, and 5 mi-
nutes into playtime. The puppies should be positively reinforced for eliminating outside
with a high-reward food treat within 5 seconds of elimination or praise. Playtime
outside can begin once the puppies have eliminated.
During early toilet training and socialization, puppies should also be exposed to a
variety of substrates to eliminate upon (ie, grass, artificial grass, gravel, sand, dirt,
and concrete).

Early training
The goals of performing early training with puppies is twofold. The first goal is to begin
bite prevention training, and this training includes body handling training, object ex-
changes, food bowl exercises, and resting place training.
The second goal is to begin training that makes life with puppies and adolescents
easier for new puppy owners by teaching and reinforcing early life skills. This training
includes crate training, installing a recall, creating a positive reward marker, learning to
offer behavior, and saying please.
Bite prevention training. Body handling training is the process of getting puppies
accustomed to being touched in a gentle yet purposeful way. From the moment of
birth, puppies should be touched by people. Starting at 3 weeks puppies should be
 Early Puppy Behavior 1203

examined in a deliberate yet gentle way. Eyes, ears, nose, mouth, toes, and the peri-
anal area should all be gently touched and as the puppy ages, treats can be paired
with the body handling sessions.
Object exchanges are used to teach puppies that having objects taken from them is
a positive experience. This is important to do, as guarding objects is a normal puppy
behavior when directed at other puppies in their litter. However, when they direct this
behavior to people, it can become problematic.
Here is the sequence of an object exchange:7
1. Give the puppy a high-value object to chew on.
2. Leave the puppy to chew for 3 to 5 minutes uninterrupted.
3. Approach the puppy.
4. Touch the puppy.
5. Say “thank you.”
6. Take the object from the puppy (even if growling).
7. Reward the puppy once you have the object with a tasty treat.
8. Give the object back.
When performing these exercises, it is best to keep the treat out of view when
approaching the puppy and only offer the treat after the object has been taken. This
ensures that the puppy associates the object being taken with the treat instead of be-
ing distracted by the treat. If the treat is offered before the object is taken, this qualifies
as a bribe and does not create the desired positive emotional response that would be
created if the treat were given after the object is taken. Bribes can be employed if the
object the puppy is chewing on is dangerous as the goal at that moment is to distract
the puppy.
The goal of object exchanges is to create a “this is no big deal” or “this is great”
feeling when people take their favorite chewing objects. Repetition of object ex-
changes is key to creating a solid emotional foundation, and these exercises can be
done once every few days starting at 4 weeks, although some puppies will only
need this performed once to get the idea.
There are 2 food bowl exercises that can be done to accustom puppies to people
around the food bowl:
The first is the bad waiter routine.8 In this exercise, the puppies are called and only
one-fourth of their usual meal is placed in the dish. When the puppies have finished the
food, the food bowl is picked up, and another one-fourth of their meal is put down. This
is repeated until the entire meal is fed.
The second is the special treat delivery routine.8 As the puppies are eating their
meal, they are gently pushed aside, and a special tasty treat is deposited into the
dish in front of them. The puppies should be touched while they are eating for a few
minutes and then left alone for a few more minutes before repeating the process.
This can be done at every other meal.
The methodology of this training can also be carried over to get puppies accus-
tomed to being disturbed while sleeping, as well as for puppies that are up in arms
or on laps, which can be especially important for small breeds.
For puppies resting,
 Approach a sleeping pup
 Rouse the pup gently
 Offer a treat
 Retreat
For puppies up in arms or on laps,
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 Approach pup in arms or on a lap

 Offer a treat
 Touch pup
 Offer a treat
 Retreat

Early life skill training. Crate training is begun by providing an open crate in the weaning
pen with the door removed. At 4 to 5 weeks, the puppies can be removed from the litter
and placed in a crate with a high-value chew object or special treat. Monitor the youngster
in the crate and let it out before it becomes distressed. Short car rides in the crate with
litter mates for company can also be started to prepare them for departure day.
Installing a good recall is started at mealtime by choosing a recall phrase and using it
every time the puppies are fed. Young animals respond best to higher-pitched fast
sounds such as “puppy puppy puppy.” It is best to think of this as a musical note
or song as opposed to a word. Every time the puppies are fed, this song is used to
call them to the mealtime area. Once they are responding to this call readily, it can
then be used outside of the context of mealtime with food rewards, attention, praise,
or toys for responding. It is important not to use this recall to end outside time or end
playtime as that would weaken the cue. This recall song can be taught to the new
owners at pick-up so that they can continue to use it at home.
A positive reward marker is a useful tool to teach puppies as a means of communi-
cation. It lets the puppy know that the behavior they just performed is about to be
rewarded and is a way of introducing the game of training to them in a positive way.
The positive reward marker is a bridge that links a sound to positive reinforcement
(most often food) so that the dog feels good when it hears the marker.
The sequence for installing a reward marker is
 Give the marker (a word like “yes” or “yup”).
 Present a food treat within 1 second.
The sequence should be repeated for 30 to 60 seconds, and then the training ses-
sion should end. The training sessions should be short, 1 to 3 minutes for pups under
12 weeks, and no more than 15 minutes for pups 12 to 20 weeks. A rest period of 15 to
30 minutes should be given if attempting multiple training sessions per day.
Once the puppies have an installed positive reward marker (PRM), then the puppies
can be taught to offer behavior. By teaching them to offer behavior they are encour-
aged to problem solve, to experiment with their behaviors and their environment,
and opens the door to the game of training. This method of training can be empower-
ing to puppies and helps them to stay encouraged while training. The sequence to
teach is
 Present the puppy with a box.
 Mark and reward any interaction with the box.
The end result of this training is not a specific behavior; it is an opportunity to see
what the puppy comes up with on its own. In this instance, it may paw at the box,
they might crawl into the box, nudge the box with its nose, or bite the box. With
each interaction, the puppy is rewarded for whatever the behavior it chooses to do.
The puppy can then make the decision to do it again and again, to continue getting
the rewards. The goal of this training is to teach the puppy that training is a fun and
rewarding game and helps it to understand that actions can lead to positive reinforce-
ment. The training sessions should be kept short, 1 to 3 minutes each, and should end
on a positive note.
 Early Puppy Behavior 1205

The last early training technique is to teach the puppy to say please. The goal of this
training is to create a default behavior that the puppy will offer when it wants some-
thing. For most pet dogs, the default behavior that is most helpful is sitting. For
puppies that will one day enter the show ring, the default behavior can be “four on
the floor” or stand/stay.
By creating a desired default behavior that the puppy displays when it wants some-
thing, it is automatically avoiding more rambunctious attention-seeking behaviors
such as barking, pawing, biting, or jumping. This is achieved by reinforcing the puppy
when it naturally offers the default behavior during interactions. When teaching this
tool, the caregiver is not asking the puppy or cueing the puppy to sit or stand/stay.
They are simply in possession of something the puppy wants and then gives it to
the puppy when it offers the default behavior. This can be opening the exercise pen
door to play, opening the door to go outside, food bowls, treats, toys, engaging
with a toy (throwing it or playing tug), petting, or attention.
The sequence to teach say please
 Sit or stand in the puppy’s presence with something it wants (the puppy should
know that you have the item).
 Wait until the puppy “says please” (ie, offers the desired default behavior [sitting
or stand/stay]).
 As soon as the puppy “says please,” give the reward marker and follow with the
thing it wants.
Again, you need to keep the sessions short, 1 to 3 minutes. You can do this outside
of the puppy pen and reward all the pups that “say please” instead of jumping. This is a
great way to give puppies a way of politely asking for what they want and establishing
a means of communication.

Going Home
The general consensus is for puppies to go to their new homes between 8 and
12 weeks of age. This age range allows them to go to their new homes after their first
vaccinations.
Fear periods should also be taken into consideration. This is typically a brief period
in which the puppy begins to show fear in situations or around objects that they had
previously felt comfortable around. In puppies, these generally happen around
8 weeks of age and again at 20 weeks of age. A fear period can last a few hours, a
day, or as long as a week. If puppies must be taken to a veterinarian during this
time period, it is important that low stress handling techniques are used to minimize
negative interactions that can leave a lasting impression.
If the new owners live close enough, then they should be encouraged to visit their
puppy before go home day so that they can become acquainted with their puppy
and they can begin to learn about the early training that has been started. If they do
not live close by, then time should be allowed to show the new owners the early
training exercises and instruct them on how to continue the training and socialization
in a safe manner. They should also be encouraged to attend well-run puppy classes.
Good puppy classes should follow these 10 guidelines:
1. Off-leash play that is managed (puppies are separated by temperament and play
style, not necessarily by size)
2. No physical punishments
3. Nothing scary (meaning no shaker cans or water bottles)
4. Places for pups to hide
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5. No prong or choke collars

6. No verbal corrections
7. No stopping behavior (owners should be coached to teach puppies what to do
instead of stopping what they do not want them to do)
8. Building good behaviors
9. Good instructor-to-puppy ratio, 1 instructor per 2 to 3 pups
10. Behavior and puppy-rearing help (so that owners have someone to answer their
housetraining questions and other behavior questions)
Summary
Veterinarians are duty-bound to be advocates for patients and a champion for their
physical and mental well-being. These early behavior strategies are preventative med-
icine for behavior problems much like deworming and vaccinations are preventatives
for disease and are just as essential. Like most diseases, prevention is much easier,
and requires much less money, time, and effort than treatment. This is especially
true when it comes to behavior problems, as treatment failure can often result in
behavioral euthanasia, which contributes to the moral distress that veterinarians and
their teams face.9 Incorporating the education of early behavior strategies to breeders
and puppy owners into daily practice can not only greatly benefit the puppies, but also
benefits the entire veterinary team by creating future patients that have a strong
human-animal bond with their owners, and are a joy to interact with and care for.

CLINICS CARE POINTS

 During prenatal visits and litter deworming visits, time should be allotted to educate
breeders about early behavior strategies, specifically
 Early neurologic stimulation and body handling
 Early toileting training
 Early socialization (and how to do so safely)
 Early food bowl and object exchange training
 During the first puppy visit, time should be allotted to educate new puppy owners regarding
 Continuing socialization safely
 Food bowl and object exchange training
 Toilet training
 Enrolling in a good puppy class
 Low stress handling techniques should be used with all puppies, but especially puppies
around 8 and 20 weeks of age, when they may be in their fear period. Invasive procedures
or handling may leave lasting negative associations to veterinary care.

DISCLOSURE

The author has nothing to disclose.

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