Both humans and dogs go through a phase of anxiety. While it is rather unpleasant, it is quite normal to have anxiety. However, in dogs, anxiety in them will affect all different breed dogs, but it affects all dogs differently. Although is something that most dogs get from time to time, it can get worse if left untreated. Then it will lead to other issues.
Anxiety, when do you know when your dog has it? How do you treat the dog when it gets it? We will go through the whole thing slowly.
Reasons of dogs getting anxious are:
Dogs can get anxious if they fear something, like gun noises or loud fireworks. Weird things that they do not comprehend will cause them to have anxiety. Even small things that are uncommon to them will cause them to get anxiety. Some dogs get affected badly while others only briefly.
Anxiety can be caused by separation. The dogs that are affected with separation become anxious and restless when the dogs are all alone or left by their family members. This anxiety often causes them to pee around the house or keep barking and eating up furniture.
Dogs can also get anxiety when they are older. When they get older, their memory start to decline, and this will lead to confusion in older dogs. They need to be given extra care as they are old dogs.
Symptoms of Dog Anxiety:
Some of the symptoms can cause the dog to be anxious. However, the symptoms can keep recurring, and will become even more problems. The worse sign of the dog anxious is becoming aggressive. One of the types is direct aggression and another type is indirect aggression. Direct aggression is when the dog acts aggressively towards a human. Indirect aggression is also dangerous as a human coming between two dogs will be bitten.
Peeing and poop around the house is a sign of anxiety when the dog gets separated from the owner. Dogs that have anxiety will start to defecate even if they have been house trained. This makes it difficult for the owner to clean up their premises.
If the dog is under anxiety, he can get destructive as well. The dog usually poops at the beginning or the end of the door way. However, dogs in a high mode can risk harming themselves too. They might break out of their cages and doors or windows and get themselves badly hurt.
Treatment For Dog Anxiety
If you want to treat your dog for its anxiety problems, you will need to bring the dog to the vet. The vet will help you to analyse the type of anxiety the pet suffers from by the dog’s reaction. The vet also knows if this anxiety is a big problem or a small problem.
The vet will conjure up a plan of treatment. There are many factors that can lead to anxiety, so the only way of treating it is training and medications.
Dog Training For Anxiety
The owner feels that there are few strategies to carry out when the dog has an anxiety problem. One of the method is counter conditioning. The purpose is to let the dog respond differently to other stimuli that can trigger its anxiety. The dog has to be trained to behave properly.
Contact a professional dog trainer to train the anxious pet.
Anxiety Medications For Dogs
If the dog gets severely anxious, the vet can give the owner medications or antidepressants that are supposed to be taken by canines for anxiety. So under events like fireworks and thunderstorms the dog will stay sane and still be under proper behaviour. The vet has to prescribe medication with antidepressant to help the canine react under stress.
Dog Anxiety Natural Oil
Using CBD oil has been proven to treat dog anxiety. It is a type of oil used in different health conditions. Owners said that it can treat dog anxiety.
Dog Anxiety: Prevention
It can be hard to estimate what will cause the dog to get anxiety, and it is even tougher to determine if it will turn into a worse disorder.
Body Language
One method to cure and to help your dog is to read his body language. The dog gets uncomfortable; you need to observe and treat immediately. If the dog gets anxious, write down on a diary.
Exercise
Make sure the dog gets regular training so that it can reduce its anxiety. It is essential for your dog’s health. If you take care of your dog correctly, you can prevent behavior problems from taking place due to stress.
Dog Anxiety: The Conclusion
Dogs will experience anxiety one part of their life or another. I have a Dalmatian that had an anxiety disorder as he left the house in a thunderstorm. He was missing for three years, and every time during a storm, he started getting anxious and aggressive. However, during the festival season, we were forced to bring him to the vet as he couldn’t stand fireworks either. But he was an excellent dog, and we missed him after he was gone.
Make sure to prevent anxiety at early stages, as it is essential as it will develop into anxiety disorder if prolonged. Visit a vet for more expert advice!!
Author Bio:
Tony is the owner of Petpetbuy.com, the pet-parent of two dogs, and he is also an active animal rescuer. He works with multiple non-governmental organisations which work towards providing aid to homeless dogs and cats.