Chewie and I are celebrating our progress with vaccine training. This past Friday, Chewie stood on her platform at liberty (no halter or lead rope) and was relaxed and happy as our vet gave her a vaccine.
This was a big deal for Chewie!
Last summer, our vet came out to the barn to give Chewie a vaccine for strangles. When the vet poked Chewie with the needle, Chewie pulled back and bolted across the paddock with the needle and syringe hanging out of her neck. Chewie told us very clearly that she did not want to be poked with needles!
Chewie and I have spent the past several months working diligently on vaccine training in preparation for the two vaccines Chewie needed this spring. My desire is for Chewie to be happy and calm during vet appointments so that everything is safer and easier for both Chewie and my vet.
I don’t have any photos or videos from our recent vet visit, but here’s what happened.
To start, I cleaned Chewie’s neck with alcohol before the vet arrived. Chewie tolerates me putting alcohol on her neck. But, she still doesn’t love this step, and I want to minimize the number of unpleasant events that she associates with the vet.
Then, I had Chewie eating hay in the yard outside the barn so that she could see the vet arrive. She and the vet got to say “hi” to each other in the yard. Chewie spent a little time sniffing the vet, and the vet gave her a few scratches.
Then, we went to the barn to get started!
Our training routine for injections involves a big plastic platform. Chewie gets her food pellets in a bucket that is approximately 15 feet away from the platform. Then, she tells us that she is ready to start the next training repetition by standing on the platform. The platform gives her a clear way to opt-in or to opt-out. It also lets her control the pace of the training session or the actual vet visit.
Once Chewie is on the platform, we do one repetition for whatever training step we are working on. Then, I say the word “Nice!” as our reinforcer signal. “Nice” is the cue for us to both leave the platform and walk back to the bucket for a handful of food.
At the actual vet visit, we did three repetitions with Chewie on the platform. Each time, she came over promptly and happily to stand on her platform.
Repetition 1 was our warm-up rep. The vet and I stood in front of the platform. After Chewie got on the platform, she sniffed the vet for a few seconds. Next, the vet moved to Chewie’s side and petted her shoulder and neck for around 10 seconds. Then, we went back to the bucket for a bit of food.
Repetition 2 was the vaccine rep. Again, the vet and I both started in front of the platform. Once Chewie was on the platform, the vet moved to the right side of her neck, and I stayed by her head. The vet stroked her a few times, poked her with the needle, and then injected the shot. Chewie did not move or flinch at all! After the needle was out, I gave Chewie a handful of food on the platform. Then, we went back to her blue bucket in the barn for another handful of pellets in her bucket.
Repetition 3 was a follow-up rep. I wanted to make sure that Chewie would still come back to the platform. After Chewie finished her food in her bucket, she did indeed come promptly and eagerly back to her platform. My happy vet talked to Chewie and fed her a few treats while she was on the platform. Then, we left the platform and went back for more food in the bucket.
All in all, the whole session took around five minutes.
I’m really proud of our success! This spring, I will write some more about our training steps and share some photos and videos from our practice sessions.
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