Title : The Human Animal Bond: Is It Possible to be Over-Bonded: And Your Opportunity to See and Impact More Clients
Abstract:
What really is the human animal bond? This is a term frequently used but what is the actual definition? It seems as if the bond is more intense than ever. We know pet ownership is up worldwide. There’s no question that increasingly pet parents in many nations, particularly millennials, are treating their fur babies like human babies. It turns out there’s a real psychological phenomenon called Baby Replacement Syndrome.
Arguably, cats have most especially benefited – as millennials celebrate felines with cat cafes and they are the stars of Instagram or TikTok posts.
Discussed is how training dogs like raising children may be unfair to dogs and even cause behavioral challenges. We do know separation anxiety, as one example, is on the rise. Might this attitude also be contributing to many nations experiencing increasing dog bite numbers? Taking dogs more places than ever have its upsides, but also can be problematic.
Also, the increased intensity of the bond contributes to the increasing number of overweight/obese pets. And more cats in more places are kept indoors only, which is a good thing for many reasons – but not if the environment is not enriched.
Obviously, we want to see clients love their pets. However, note that among the Five Freedoms; two of these globally recognized as the gold standards in animal welfare are unknowingly not followed by even the most loving of many pet parents. When this occurs, dogs/cat do pay a price regarding surprising welfare implications.
This is a vital point in time for veterinary professionals with enormous potential to influence pet parents based on science rather than misinformation. One advantage of the intense bond is that pet parents are hungry for what they can do best for their fur babies. However, that desperation for information today’s clients won’t wait. If veterinarians don’t position themselves as experts and make themselves available (which doesn’t take as much time as you may think and may even mean fewer phone calls, and instead utilizing texts, WhatsApp and telehealth). Today’s impatient generation of people who care so deeply about their fur babies will quickly turn to other sources such as the Internet, about topics ranging everything so basic as to what to feed pets to diagnosing.
There’s tremendous opportunity to connect with clients today more than what’s ever been experienced.
