Portland Community College | Portland, Oregon

This course is designed to teach the student the proper techniques used in the handling and restraint of various species of animals encountered by the veterinary technician in modern veterinary practice.  Emphasis will be given to techniques that will maximize the safety aspect of restraint, both to the handler and to the animal patient.  

The student will learn the correct techniques of handling and restraining the following species: dogs, cats, horses, cattle, sheep, llamas, swine, birds, and laboratory animals.  In addition, the lectures will cover animal behavior, which is vitally important in the understanding of handling and restraint.  Other topics covered will include animal nursing techniques such as the physical exam, grooming, bandaging splints, and methods of medication administration.  Handling and restraint procedures for the various species and animal nursing procedures will be covered in the laboratory portion of the course.  

This is a three-credit-hour course consisting of two lecture and three lab hours per week for one term.  

It is designed for first year veterinary technology students and is a graduation requirement for the Associates Degree in Applied Sciences in Veterinary Technology.  Credits in this course are not transferable to a four-year school towards a baccalaureate degree.  

Required texts for the course are: Restraint of Domestic Animals, Sonsthagen, and Clinical Textbook for Veterinary Technicians, 3rd ed., McCurnin.  An optional text is Medical, Surgical, and Anesthetic Nursing for Veterinary Technicians, 2nd ed., Pratt.  

Upon successful completion of the course, the short term outcome will be that the student will have satisfactorily accomplished the goals and objectives of this course content guide and confirmed, as provided in the assessment above.  The desired long term outcomes are for the student to gain sufficient knowledge of the handling, restraint, and nursing techniques utilized in various animal species; to successfully pass the National Veterinary Technician Board Examination, and to effectively utilize the knowledge gained during their Cooperative Education Experience and as a practicing veterinary technician upon graduation.  The course content guides are developed by college-wide subject area faculty and are approved by management.  

Laboratory tasks with an asterisk (*) indicate tasks the student must be able to perform as they are listed as “Essential Tasks” by the Accreditation Policies and Procedures of the Committee on Veterinary Technician Education and Activities. Some of these are tasks the students are required to perform (as indicated in the task description) and some are tasks on which they have been instructed and have observed, but individual performance is not required.

This course is presented as a series of lectures and laboratories.  Handling and restraint techniques will be presented in order based on animal species.  Animal nursing techniques and procedures will also be covered; both in basic principle and as they pertain specifically to each species.  The laboratory will cover the commonly used handling, restraint and nursing procedures used in veterinary practice. 

Prerequisite for this course is Introduction to Veterinary Technology VT 101.  

Grades will be based on the student’s understanding of the course content, as demonstrated by periodic quizzes, one comprehensive written final examination, one comprehensive laboratory practical examination, and attendance in both lecture and laboratory classes. To receive a passing grade, the student must attend a minimum of 70 percent of the lecture classes and all the laboratory classes. Any missed laboratory classes must be made up within a week of the missed class.  

1.0  Basic Principles of restraint ASIC PRINCIPLES OF
 
Instructional goal: 
The goal is for the student to develop an understanding of what constitutes safe and effective restraint, and why knowledge of proper restraint techniques is vitally important in the day-to-day practice of veterinary medicine.  
1.1   Discuss basic principles of restraint, emphasizing both the psychological and physical aspects that the handler must be aware of for safe and effective restraint of all species, including: 
           1. The differences between effective and ineffective or improper restraint.
           2. Incidence of injury to animals occurring through either improper restraint or unacceptable aggression on the part of veterinary staff, and prevention thereof.
           3. Incidence of injury to handler, other veterinary staff, and animal owners and prevention thereof.
           4. Legal liability of the veterinarian and veterinary technician for injuries to owners, animals, or veterinary staff, resulting from ineffective or improper restraint.
2.0  Small animal Behavior
Instructional goal:
The goal is for the student to develop knowledge and understanding of basic principles of behavior in the dog and cat. 
Objectives:    
2.1   Describe the behavior patterns in dogs and cats and how they may vary between breeds. 
2.2   Identify the behavior patterns that require differing approaches to handling and restraint. 
3.0  SMALL ANIMAL NURSING AND RESTRAINT TECHNIQUES
Instructional goal:
The goal is for the student to gain knowledge and understanding of the techniques of handling, restraint, grooming, medicating, and nursing utilized in small, avian, and laboratory animal practice. 
Objectives: 
3.1   Discuss specific restraint techniques utilized in the small, avian, and laboratory animal patient. 
3.2   Discuss the principles and techniques of history-taking and physical exam in the small, avian, and laboratory animal patient, utilizing the systems approach.
3.3   Discuss principles of first aid and physical exam findings that signal an immediate emergency. 
      3.4   Discuss basic principles of small, avian, and laboratory animal nursing and treatment techniques, including:
           1. Administration of medication
           2. Venipuncture
           3. Physical therapy
           4. Application of bandages, splints, and casts
           5. Expression of anal glands
           6. Toe nail trims
           7. Wing and beak trims
           8. Ear exam and cleaning
           9. Therapeutic bathing and dipping
          10. Care of the recumbent small animal
4.0  Large animal behavior 
Instructional goal:
The goal is for the student to gain knowledge and understanding of the basic principles of behavior in the large domestic species.
Objectives:   
4.1   Describe the behavior patterns and how they vary between the different species of large animals. 
4.2   Learn to identify the behavior patterns that require differing approaches to handling and restraint. 
5.0  Large animal nursing and restraint techniques  
Instructional goal:
The goal is for the student to gain knowledge and understanding of the techniques of handling, restraint, grooming, medicating, and nursing utilized in large domestic animal species. 
Objectives:  
5.1   Discuss specific restraint techniques utilized for each large animal species 
5.2   Discuss the principles and techniques of history-taking and physical exam in the large animal patient, utilizing the systems approach. 
5.3   Discuss basic principles of large animal nursing and treatment techniques, including: 
           1. Administration of medications
           2. Venipuncture
           3. Application of bandages, splints, and casts
           4. Mastitis treatment
           5. Care of the recumbent large animal
           6. Common animal husbandry techniques, including:
 

1. Deworming
2. Castration
3. Dehorning
4. Floating teeth
5. Artificial insemination
6. Routine neonatal care
   6.0  Procedures in small animal nursing and restraint 
   
   Instructional goal:
   The goal is for the student to learn skills and procedures in the handling, restraint, grooming, medicating and nursing of small, avian, and laboratory animal species.
   
   Objectives:   
   
   6.1   Perform physical exams, utilizing the systems approach, on dogs and cats and record exam results in medical records using the SOAP method. 
   
   6.2   Know normal values of temperature, pulse, respiration, and blood pressure for the dog and cat. 
   
   6.3   Perform various techniques used in small animal, avian, and laboratory animal restraint and handling, including: 
   
              1. Removal of animals from and placement into cages
              2. Placement on, removal from, and restraint of small and laboratory
              3. animals on examination tables
              4. Restraint of avian patients
              5. Placing the dog and cat in lateral incumbency
              6. Muzzling the dog and cat
              7. Correctly lifting a large dog
              8. Proper use of the leash, choke collar, and rabies pole in the dog
              9. Proper use of the restraint bag in the cat
             10. Restraint techniques for:
   
                      1. Exam procedures
                      2. SQ injections
                      3. IM injections
                      4. IV injections
                      5. Giving IV injections: 
   
                          1. ephalic vein (dog, cat, rabbit)
                          2. Lateral saphenous vein (dog, rabbit)
                          3. Medial saphenous vein (cat)
                          4. Ear vein (rabbit)
   
      6. Drawing blood from a vein:
   
                          1. Cephalic vein (dog, cat, rabbit)
                          2. Jugular vein (dog, cat)
                          3. Lateral saphenous vein (dog, rabbit)
                          4. Medial saphenous vein (cat)
                          5. Ear vein (cat, rabbit)
                          6. Toenail clip (laboratory animals)
   
      7.  Nail Trim
      8. Temperature taking
      9. Expression of anal sacs
     10. Skin scrapings
     11. Ear exam and cleaning
     12. Application of limb bandages
   
   6.4   Perform therapeutic bathing, dipping, and grooming of small animals, and be able to correctly describe and identify the various grooming tools.
   
   6.5   Perform the following methods of medication administration in dogs and cats: 
   
              1. Oral
              2. SQ
              3. IM
              4. ID
              5. Ocular
              6. Topical
              7. Intraaural
   
   6.6  Observe and be able to describe how to: 
   
              1. Give an intraperitoneal injection in the dog, cat, and laboratory animals
              2. Pass an orogastric tube in the dog and cat
              3. Administer medications to birds and laboratory animals
              4. Apply and remove a metamason spoon splint, Robert-Jones splint, and Schroeder-Thomas splint
   
   6.7   Perform the following nursing procedural techniques, and be able to describe how they are done: 
   
              1. Weighing small animals
              2. Taking TPR
              3. Auscult the heart and lungs using the stethoscope
              4. Toenail trim in dogs, cats, and birds
              5. Obtaining a fecal sample with a fecal loop in dogs and cats
              6. Expressing the anal glands in the dog
              7. Administration of an enema
              8. Determination of sex in dogs, cats, and laboratory animal species
              9. Ear cleaning and intraaural medication administration
             10. Administration of oral medication (pill and liquid) in the dog and cat using manual technique, pill gun technique, and syringe technique
             11. Application and removal of a paw wrap in the dog and cat
             12. Application of an Elizabethan collar in the dog and cat
             13. Obtaining and examining skin scrapings
             14. Suture removal*
             15. Wing and beak trimming in birds
             16. Tube feeding in birds
   
   7.0  Procedures in large animal nursing and restraint
   
   Instructional goal:
   The goal is for the student to learn skills and procedures in the handling, restraint, grooming, medicating and nursing of large animal species. 
   
   Objectives: 
   
   7.1   Explain and demonstrate the basic principles of performing the physical exam. 
   
   7.2   Know normal values of temperature, pulse, and respiration for the horse, cow, sheep, and pig. 
   
   7.3   Demonstrate the various techniques in large animal restraint and handling and demonstrate the specialized equipment used in the following: 
   
              1. Application of the chain twitch and humane twitch to the lip of the horse
              2. Application of ear and shoulder twitches in the horse
              3. Application of nose tongs in cattle
              4. Application of the hog board and hog snare in swine
              5. Head and body restraint in sheep
              6. Use of the squeeze chute on cattle and llamas
              7. Haltering and leading:
   
      1.  With a rope on horses and cattle
      2.  With a regular halter on horses, cattle, and llamas
   
              8. Picking up a horse’s leg (front and rear)
              9. Tail restraint in cattle
             10. Casting cattle with a rope
             11. Restraint for an equine nasogastric tube
             12. Flanking a calf
             13. Ear twitch in llamas
   
   7.4   Demonstrate the correct procedures used in simple grooming techniques, and be able to correctly describe and identify the various grooming tools. 
   
   7.5   Perform the following methods of medication administration:
   
              1. Orally, by balling gun, dose syringe, and paste
              2. SQ
              3. IM
              4. ID
              5. Ocular
              6. Topical
              7. Intraaural
   
   7.6  Observe and be able to describe how to:
   
              1. Give intraperitoneal injections to large animal species
              2. Administer intramammary mastitis therapy
              3. Insert a nasogastric tube in the horse
              4. Perform a perineal wash in the mare preparatory for vaginal exam/cervical or uterine culture
   
   7.7  Perform the large animal procedural techniques:
   
              1. Taking the TPR
              2. Physical exam in the horse, cattle, sheep, and llama using the systems approach
              3. Auscult the heart and lungs using the stethoscope
              4. Administer medications via an oral speculum and stomach tube in cattle and sheep
              5. Apply and remove a leg wrap in the horse
              6. Administer IV fluids using a large animal fluid bag and simplex
              7. Apply a tail tie in the horse and cattle
              8. Apply a tail wrap in the horse
              9. Trim hooves in the sheep and llama
   
   7.8      Perform the following knots:
   
              1. Square
              2. Surgeon's
              3. Reefer’s
              4. Bowline
              5. Slipknot
              6. Halter tie
              7. Single and double half hitch