Over 50% of dog owners believe their dog has some form of anxiety. This could branch from separation anxiety or general anxiety. Separation anxiety in dogs is similar to what a human experiences when having a panic attack and happens when a dog is hyper-attached to their owner and gets super stressed when left alone. Separation anxiety can be extremely hard to overcome if it is not addressed in the early stages, so needs to be identified and attended to as soon as its recognised.
Some signs of separation anxiety in dogs may include crying and destroying the house, pacing, and even urinating and defecating inside, out of fear of being alone. Becoming familiar with your dogs body language can help you identify the anxiety they may be experiencing, and will therefore help you better understand what to do. Anxious body language in your dog may include ears pinned back, tucked tail, yawning, and lip licking. Teaching your dog that it is okay to spend time on their own is important at all stages of a dogs life, for them to be comfortable and confident to be left alone. There are a few ways to teach and tackle this issue before it arises.
Ensuring a calm and quiet greeting and departure, as well as ignoring your pup for the first few minutes after you get home will assist in maintaining your dogs anxiety levels. It is important to remember that dogs are expert sniffers. Dogs can smell thousands of times better than us humans can. This means they can also smell your moods, so making sure to stay calm in stressful situations will help your dogs anxiety levels tremendously
Other general anxiety in dogs may show the same symptoms, but no matter what the cause of the stress, it is important that us dog parents recognise and treat the issue. Other general anxiety in dogs may be caused by fear, or age related illnesses.
Firstly, talk to your vet to rule out any medical problems. Sometimes dogs have accidents in the house because of infections or other problems. It could also be due to not being fully house broken. Once these problems are ruled out, there are other steps to take in ensuring your pooches emotional quality of life is met.
You can use training techniques to slowly desensitise your dogs triggers. The
two most common training techniques are known as counterconditioning and desensitisation, both commonly used together. Counterconditioning is working with your pup to change a negative response to a positive one. Desensitising is introducing your pup to a trigger in a slow and controlled way.
Making sure your pets exercise needs are met is crucial for your dogs mental
and physical health and well-being. This includes plenty of family play time and games as well. Dogs need exercise, yet sadly many dogs aren't being walked regularly. Nutrition is also a highly important factor to remember.
Making sure to meet your dogs nutritional requirements will help you prevent any behaviour problems from progressing.
Dog anxiety can be stressful, for both the animal and the owner. While the condition can result in behavioural issues, it can be treated through training, conditioning, and prevention.
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