Dog anxiety can be experienced by a dog left alone, even for a very short time. But loud noises such as thunder, gunshot sounds or fireworks can also cause anxiety in dogs and is said to affect up to 50% of dogs.
Many dog owners complain about 'bad dog behaviour' not realising that it is the result of dog anxiety and instead blame themselves for having a poorly trained dog. This misunderstanding can lead to an approach to the problem that is only going to make the anxiety worse.
For example, a dog that chews everything when left alone is simply trying to alleviate their feelings of anxiety, but can instead get labelled as a destructive dog. Just as a dog pooping in the house can be thought to need more house training rather than a cure for their anxiety.
Dog Anxiety Symptoms
Because all dogs have different personalities and characteristics, they will also react differently to dog anxiety, but their anxious behaviour largely falls into these groups.
Group 1. Nuisance Noise: Including excessive barking, howling, whining, yelping or crying
Group 2. Anxious Dog Behaviour: Like scratching at doors to try and get out, or chewing up the carpet, digging up the backyard, destroying furniture, and jumping out of windows to follow you.
Group 3. Physical Anxiety Symptoms: Like non-stop pacing, panting, and salivating excessively, also trembling, hiding and refusing to go out. Also includes pooping and urinating in the house, hyper behaviour and jumping up at you on your return and tail or paw chewing until they lose the hair.
Causes of Dog Anxiety
Dog have different characteristics and temperaments and some are born nervous or anxious and will need the right training to increase their confidence in the world around them. With other dogs, anxiety can come about as a result of changes in their life. Changes such as:
*Moving House
*Someone from the family leaving or another dog dying.
*The arrival of another dog
*The arrival of a baby
*An accident or operation that leaves them vulnerable
*A major incident in early life (like abandonment)
*Changes as the dog matures
Pack leadership can be another source of anxiety for a dog as a dog naturally needs to know who the leader is and can decide that it is them. If this happens, they also take on the responsibility for the rest of the pack (family), a job they cannot do when you go out and leave them home alone and therefore can cause extreme anxiety.
Treating Dog Anxiety
Treatment for dog anxiety ranges from leaving a dog with a pile of toys to play with, through the use of non-prescription and prescription medications to training programme and products specifically designed to reduce anxiety.
Dog Anxiety Training Programmes
Training programmes will usually be based on creating behaviour changes by using positive re-inforcement and desensitisation techniques that will gradually increase the dogs exposure to the things that cause their anxiety, while keeping anxiety levels low.
Take for example a dog that starts to panic the moment you reach for your coat. The desensitsation process might mean you take your coat of the hanger and then hang it up again and do this repeatedly throughout a day until the dog relaxes when you make this action. Next you might put the coat on and then take it off straight away and carry on in this manner until it is no longer a trigger for their anxiety because the association between your coat and being left alone has been broken.
As well as patience, training needs you to be consistent in applying it and so giving out consistent messages to your dog. There is no place for using punishment based methods in dealing with anxiety as this is likely to make it worse. Neither should you be comforting your dog when they experience anxiety as it can turn into attention seeking behaviour.
Dog Anxiety Medication
Naturally based, non-prescription meds are designed to calm your dog using ingredients that will not cause the dog any harm. They are easily available through pet shops, or on the internet, though the effects are not often long lasting.
You will need to see your vet to be prescribed anxiety medications. These dog drugs can have a seditative effect on your dog and may alter their general mood. You need to allow a few weeks to get the level of medication right for your dog and need to watch out for side effects which can include lethargy or depression, sickness or diarrhea, allergic reactions and in some cases the potential of liver damage.
Many vets will recommed the use of a training programme alongside medication for maximum effect.
Products That Help dog Anxiety
There are numerous products that are used to alleviate anxiety, including toys stuffed with food to distract your dog or favourites for them to play with. There are also a range of other products including a pheromone plugin that works like an airfreshner, and pressure wraps that work physically to keep the dog calm.
Dog Anxiety Solutions
Dog anxiety is highly unlikely to go away if just left alone, in fact over time it is more likely to intensify and for the behaviour to get worse. And while the problems of dog anxiety can seem too big to tackle for some dog owners, by investing some time and patience into understanding anxiety, identifying the symptoms in your dog, and then using the training and products available to you, you can get rid of your dogs anxiety.
Many dog owners complain about 'bad dog behaviour' not realising that it is the result of dog anxiety and instead blame themselves for having a poorly trained dog. This misunderstanding can lead to an approach to the problem that is only going to make the anxiety worse.
For example, a dog that chews everything when left alone is simply trying to alleviate their feelings of anxiety, but can instead get labelled as a destructive dog. Just as a dog pooping in the house can be thought to need more house training rather than a cure for their anxiety.
Dog Anxiety Symptoms
Because all dogs have different personalities and characteristics, they will also react differently to dog anxiety, but their anxious behaviour largely falls into these groups.
Group 1. Nuisance Noise: Including excessive barking, howling, whining, yelping or crying
Group 2. Anxious Dog Behaviour: Like scratching at doors to try and get out, or chewing up the carpet, digging up the backyard, destroying furniture, and jumping out of windows to follow you.
Group 3. Physical Anxiety Symptoms: Like non-stop pacing, panting, and salivating excessively, also trembling, hiding and refusing to go out. Also includes pooping and urinating in the house, hyper behaviour and jumping up at you on your return and tail or paw chewing until they lose the hair.
Causes of Dog Anxiety
Dog have different characteristics and temperaments and some are born nervous or anxious and will need the right training to increase their confidence in the world around them. With other dogs, anxiety can come about as a result of changes in their life. Changes such as:
*Moving House
*Someone from the family leaving or another dog dying.
*The arrival of another dog
*The arrival of a baby
*An accident or operation that leaves them vulnerable
*A major incident in early life (like abandonment)
*Changes as the dog matures
Pack leadership can be another source of anxiety for a dog as a dog naturally needs to know who the leader is and can decide that it is them. If this happens, they also take on the responsibility for the rest of the pack (family), a job they cannot do when you go out and leave them home alone and therefore can cause extreme anxiety.
Treating Dog Anxiety
Treatment for dog anxiety ranges from leaving a dog with a pile of toys to play with, through the use of non-prescription and prescription medications to training programme and products specifically designed to reduce anxiety.
Dog Anxiety Training Programmes
Training programmes will usually be based on creating behaviour changes by using positive re-inforcement and desensitisation techniques that will gradually increase the dogs exposure to the things that cause their anxiety, while keeping anxiety levels low.
Take for example a dog that starts to panic the moment you reach for your coat. The desensitsation process might mean you take your coat of the hanger and then hang it up again and do this repeatedly throughout a day until the dog relaxes when you make this action. Next you might put the coat on and then take it off straight away and carry on in this manner until it is no longer a trigger for their anxiety because the association between your coat and being left alone has been broken.
As well as patience, training needs you to be consistent in applying it and so giving out consistent messages to your dog. There is no place for using punishment based methods in dealing with anxiety as this is likely to make it worse. Neither should you be comforting your dog when they experience anxiety as it can turn into attention seeking behaviour.
Dog Anxiety Medication
Naturally based, non-prescription meds are designed to calm your dog using ingredients that will not cause the dog any harm. They are easily available through pet shops, or on the internet, though the effects are not often long lasting.
You will need to see your vet to be prescribed anxiety medications. These dog drugs can have a seditative effect on your dog and may alter their general mood. You need to allow a few weeks to get the level of medication right for your dog and need to watch out for side effects which can include lethargy or depression, sickness or diarrhea, allergic reactions and in some cases the potential of liver damage.
Many vets will recommed the use of a training programme alongside medication for maximum effect.
Products That Help dog Anxiety
There are numerous products that are used to alleviate anxiety, including toys stuffed with food to distract your dog or favourites for them to play with. There are also a range of other products including a pheromone plugin that works like an airfreshner, and pressure wraps that work physically to keep the dog calm.
Dog Anxiety Solutions
Dog anxiety is highly unlikely to go away if just left alone, in fact over time it is more likely to intensify and for the behaviour to get worse. And while the problems of dog anxiety can seem too big to tackle for some dog owners, by investing some time and patience into understanding anxiety, identifying the symptoms in your dog, and then using the training and products available to you, you can get rid of your dogs anxiety.
About the Author:
The Author has learnt about dog anxiety directly with her own rescue shelter dog and has been learning about the effects of anxiety and the best ways to reduce anxiety for the last 2 years. Find out more about dog anxiety by visiting her blog.
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