Recognizing stress and anxiety in dogs is very important, these emotions can cause destructive behavior if not handled correctly.
Understanding what causes your dog to get anxious or stressed is understanding your dog’s personality.
This knowledge helps you build a happy and safe environment for your dog to live in.
Some of the most common behavior that exhibits a nervous or anxious dog is spontaneous peeing or pooping, destructive behavior, tucking their tail, dilated pupils, packing, fidgeting, whining/whimpering, panting, avoiding eye contact, trying to hide, excessive licking, avoiding interactions.
On the other hand, some dog breeds are known to have less energy and are overall more relaxed.
In this article, we will cover the following topics:
Article Summary
Fear, Phobia and General Anxiety – What’s The Difference?
Fear, phobia, and general anxiety in dogs all have similar symptoms and are very hard for us to differentiate which is which.
The difference can usually be distinguished by how extreme your dog’s behavior is during the incident.
Fear
Fear is a normal response in animals. Dogs naturally keep an eye out for potential threats. This is a common response when your pet is in a new environment or is introduced to someone or something new. This response gradually dies down as your dog is exposed to it more. Most fear responses in dogs can be unlearned with gradual exposure and constant reassurance that everything is okay. If not dealt with in a timely manner, this fear could lead to a long-term phobia.
Phobia
Phobia is when your dog exhibits persistent and excessive fear around a specific trigger.
Some dogs can develop phobias of insects because of a painful sting they had once received, or even humans wearing a blue shirt because their abusive past owner used to wear blue a lot.
Dogs usually develop phobias if exposed to the same trigger over and over again without reassurance from their owners that everything will be fine.
If reassurance is not given, your dog could develop general anxiety where your dog thinks that their world is always unpredictable and anything could harm them at any time.
Anxiety
General anxiety disorder is a problem that occurs in dogs with low self-esteem.
This can be caused by a number of things such as traumatic events in the past that were not handled properly as mentioned above, and even a change of routine or environment that is completely new to what your dog knows is safe.
Dogs with general anxiety disorders or any other form of anxiety always seem to be on edge and unable to let their guard down.
How To Help
According to experts, most dogs develop fears, phobias, and anxieties during the first 12 to 36 months of their life. It is advised to expose your dogs to new environments such as socializing with other dogs and humans, walking, and exploring different environments, objects, and surfaces. However, sometimes that is not always the case. Even if older dogs experience anxiety and stress, it is never too late to help fix this problem. Conditioning your dog to have a positive response with treats is the most widely known technique to work. Using natural calming aids such as aromatherapy and essential oils, Crystal Healing for Pets, and other proven ways is great to reduce or even stop stress and anxiety in your dogs. When using crystal healing, beware of where you source your crystals to ensure your crystals aren't fake.
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