Dogs get anxious for all sorts of reason and while some dogs are anxious by character and will always need plenty of comfort, other dogs will develop anxieties because of a bad experience or a major change in their life or situation.
Many dogs that come from a rescue are anxious dogs, both as a result of their experience of being left or given up to a rescue and because of the unusual situation of a rescue, which is often full of other worried dogs. (That is no criticism of rescue centres, because they do a great job, but exactly the way they explained it to me).
Sometimes dog anxiousness can be so intense that they'll shake or run and hide at the mention of the word 'walk ', and thunderstorms and fireworks are classic situations that may set a dogs anxiety off.
Now and again anxiety can be more of short term problem where for instance a dog that has got a health problem can suddenly become anxious as they feel more vulnerable. In some other cases the anxiousness will set in over time, such as when dogs age, especially if there are younger dogs around them.
What makes dogs anxious is not necessarily simple to understand as dogs can react badly to most anything. I've heard dog lovers say their dog is scared of men, or beards, or anyone wearing a hat, or the sound of one actual newsreaders voice... The list is both weird and endless.
The Best Way To Calm An Anxious Dog
If you take a look at the enormous range of things that can make your dog anxious, from being scared by nature, through bad experiences, to being afraid of loud noises and having unexplainable fears, it is perhaps not what they do that matters, but how you respond to their stress which will make a difference to your dog.
Absolutely key to helping your dog relax is to be calm yourself. Dogs are extremely sensitive and if you tense up when they get anxious or begin worrying yourself, they're going to pick up on that and it'll simply confirm that they have every reason to be concerned. Basically, your dog will be thinking, if you're worrying too , there must be something wrong and they were right to be anxious in the 1st place.
An anxious dog will also benefit very much from you being very obviously the leader of the pack as in nature, the rest of the pack will take their lead from the what the Alpha dog does. This means that if the leader is calm and not worried about what is happening, they will stay calm too.
Anxious dogs have frequently assumed they're leader of the pack and so accountable for decision making and the packs safety. This is a hard job for a dog in a human world as often they do not understand it, that means anything from the postman, to somebody on a bike, or even on the TV may be a threat that they react strongly too.
One of the most useful things you can do for an anxious dog is learn the way to show them that you are the pack leader and in time they are going to learn to trust you and your judgement, which will immediately reduce their anxiety.
Many dogs that come from a rescue are anxious dogs, both as a result of their experience of being left or given up to a rescue and because of the unusual situation of a rescue, which is often full of other worried dogs. (That is no criticism of rescue centres, because they do a great job, but exactly the way they explained it to me).
Sometimes dog anxiousness can be so intense that they'll shake or run and hide at the mention of the word 'walk ', and thunderstorms and fireworks are classic situations that may set a dogs anxiety off.
Now and again anxiety can be more of short term problem where for instance a dog that has got a health problem can suddenly become anxious as they feel more vulnerable. In some other cases the anxiousness will set in over time, such as when dogs age, especially if there are younger dogs around them.
What makes dogs anxious is not necessarily simple to understand as dogs can react badly to most anything. I've heard dog lovers say their dog is scared of men, or beards, or anyone wearing a hat, or the sound of one actual newsreaders voice... The list is both weird and endless.
The Best Way To Calm An Anxious Dog
If you take a look at the enormous range of things that can make your dog anxious, from being scared by nature, through bad experiences, to being afraid of loud noises and having unexplainable fears, it is perhaps not what they do that matters, but how you respond to their stress which will make a difference to your dog.
Absolutely key to helping your dog relax is to be calm yourself. Dogs are extremely sensitive and if you tense up when they get anxious or begin worrying yourself, they're going to pick up on that and it'll simply confirm that they have every reason to be concerned. Basically, your dog will be thinking, if you're worrying too , there must be something wrong and they were right to be anxious in the 1st place.
An anxious dog will also benefit very much from you being very obviously the leader of the pack as in nature, the rest of the pack will take their lead from the what the Alpha dog does. This means that if the leader is calm and not worried about what is happening, they will stay calm too.
Anxious dogs have frequently assumed they're leader of the pack and so accountable for decision making and the packs safety. This is a hard job for a dog in a human world as often they do not understand it, that means anything from the postman, to somebody on a bike, or even on the TV may be a threat that they react strongly too.
One of the most useful things you can do for an anxious dog is learn the way to show them that you are the pack leader and in time they are going to learn to trust you and your judgement, which will immediately reduce their anxiety.
About the Author:
You can find out more about dog anxiety and the best way to calm an anxious dog when you go to the authors site, plus access a free report on the major symptoms of dog separation anxiety.
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