The terms force free, stress free, fear free, restraint free are terms that are used more and more often every day in the pet industry. As the pet industry has largely shifted towards positive training as the standard, these terms have picked up popularity among pet owners and professionals alike.
But what do these terms mean exactly? And who can justify using these terms?
The pet industry is largely unregulated - dog training and dog grooming businesses especially. Anyone can use any term they like to advertise and promote their business even if they don’t have the clout, skill, experience, or certification behind it.
The term Fear Free is a legitimate organization that provides curriculum material for pet professionals from veterinary professionals to trainers to groomers. They have a certification program for individuals and businesses. Claiming a Fear Free business should come with proof of certification through the organization. More information on Fear Free certification can be found here: https://fearfreepets.com
The terms force free, restraint free, and stress free are looser terms used to describe the environment a business is striving to create. Each of these terms makes an assumption regarding the scenario and environment surrounding the dog’s care.

Force free implies that every aspect of the service - be it training, grooming, or veterinary care - is the choice of the dog and no physical or emotional force is applied to the dog.
Restraint free is similar and implies the lack of restraints - be that leashes, crates, or people physically holding the dog.
Stress free implies that the dog will not experience any stressors while in the specific scenario or environment.
Each of these terms then creates a blanket statement about what the dog experiences and needs. Unfortunately these terms cannot show the whole picture and can be deceptive to those taking them at face value.
Restraints are an important component of safety - we use leashes and crates to keep our dogs from getting into potentially dangerous trouble. Restraint is a huge part of veterinary care as it allows for vets to provide life saving medicine, administer vaccines, and check vitals. Restraint is important in grooming as we work with sharp tools on a moving target. This is important for not only the dog's safety, but the human's safety as well. Mistakes can happen in the blink of an eye and restraints can help minimize risk of injury or potential bites.
Eliminating restraint is not the solution. Conditioning and training a dog to various restraints is imperative to their wellbeing so that when the time comes to utilize those restraints the dog does not experience high levels of stress.
Claiming stress free assumes the dog’s background, temperament, and threshold for experiencing stress. We can make a dog’s individual experience as stress free as possible but guaranteeing stress free is a different ballgame altogether. Stress is not a switch that toggles on and off, rather it is a spectrum of emotions of varying degrees.
Eliminating stressors is only possible to the extent with which the dog experiences stress. This meaning that if a specific tool causes stress, using an alternative tool is an easy management strategy. However if the building as a whole causes stress, that requires more careful and thoughtful management to reduce stress along the way rather than eliminate altogether.
Some stress can even be necessary for learning - in training scenarios we introduce low level stressors to help the dog be successful and become more resilient! Counter conditioning is accomplished by pairing a controlled stressor with a reward to shift the dog's association from negative to neutral to positive.

Eliminating force is a bit more of a gray area to define. The concept of choice in dogs is a topic of much debate in the dog world. An example would be walking into a building where the dog may experience stress. On one hand you can utilize the leash to move the dog inside even if that might not be their first choice. On the other hand you can wait them out, coaxing with treats and hoping they make that choice to walk inside. The difference between these scenarios is how the individual dog experiences stress. For some dogs tension on the leash is the stressor so pulling or forcing the dog inside could escalate to a larger problem. Other dogs can experience stress at the idea of something being a trick or the stress of having to make a decision when they don't know the correct answer. These dogs need the decisions crafted and presented to them in such a way that they can see which option is the right choice without pressure. We as their humans are responsible for making the decisions for their care. We are the ones with critical thinking and reasoning to provide the care that they need. Scenarios like this should be addressed by assessing body language and proceeding with the least offensive option.
This can also be real physical force or perceived force - tension on the leash or the dog feeling mentally trapped in a situation. Simple actions can be tough to identify like lifting a dog's foot - is it forced if the dog did not lift the foot first? Is it forced if the dog had to be lifted on the table because they don't know how to jump onto a platform?
One can easily see how the term force and subsequently force free is subjective to the individual dog, human, and scenario. Caution should be taken with this terminology as definitions vary. Similar to stress, we can only make the dog’s experience as force free as possible whereas guaranteeing the lack of perceived force may be impossible.
Terminology aside, what should a pet business look like in terms of reducing stress, fear, and force?
I can only speak to my own business and care for the dogs; everyone has different comfort levels, safe business practices, policies, etc.
For me, safety comes first. Physical wellbeing and mental and emotional wellbeing go hand in hand.

A very extreme case for example would be if I see a matted dog come in to the point where they are physically suffering from the mats. You can assume the dog will experience higher levels of stress than a regular well maintained dog may experience. In that moment the matted dog’s physical wellbeing takes priority over the emotional toll. That being said, I have a threshold for what stress I may put a dog through and may be quick to recommend a sedation grooming for that dog. However, that comes with weighing pros and cons as well - veterinarians book out sometimes months in advance for services requiring sedation. The physical toll of having mats for months versus an hour or so of potentially stressful grooming is a decision that needs to be made. I don’t make these decisions single-handedly - all decisions would be made with the owner. In this scenario then, I am doing everything in my power to make that grooming as easy as possible for the dog, knowing the alternative may be worse.
In day to day grooming there is more flexibility as most dogs are not in critical condition. We can often revisit things later. Minimizing stress, fear, and force may look like an imperfect haircut, a dog not dried completely, or nails not clipped back as far as possible. I am constantly evaluating every dog in my grooming salon for stress signs and working to manage the situation to provide the easiest and best care. Then I am informing the owner honestly so that they may train, counter condition, and desensitize the dog to those stressors in a more controlled environment.
I set the dogs up to be successful and make the correct choices but the dog can always opt out. I never push past what they can handle emotionally and never pull a dog to do something that is overwhelming to them.
I never correct a dog if they react, rather I respect the boundary they have just set and find ways to understand what caused the reaction. There's a common phrase in dog training; "the dog is not giving you a hard time, they are having a hard time." I can pull a lot of management tricks to make things easy and successful but the dog has the final say.
At the end of the day, the only definition of stress, fear, or force that matters is the dog's definition.

My job is mainly management, while the owner's job is mainly training. I work around and identify the issues while the owner (and trainer in many cases) should work through the issues in a controlled manner.
I'm fortunate to be able to provide a largely stress free environment as my salon is in my home or set up in the dog's home. I look at things from the dog's perspective to set up for success - what is the dog seeing, hearing, smelling, tasting, feeling? There are rarely other dogs in the house, minimal noise, generally no negative associations, and no overpowering scents. I set up a generally successful environment based on collective stressors that most dogs experience and then adjust as needed for the individual, constantly evaluating the dog's body language and deciding the best course of action for the individual dog.
In summary, if you are being kind and respectful to the dog and looking out for their safety and wellbeing, you are providing the best care for them!
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