Recognizing, Treating, and Healing Anxiety in Dogs

It can be easy to miss signs of anxiety in your dog.

Sometimes it is clear that your dog is anxious when you notice them shaking, trembling, or hiding, but often the signs are more subtle. Noticing these subtle signs of anxiety at the moment can not only improve your bond with your dog and your dog's quality of life but also prevent your dog from experiencing long-term anxiety or developing behavioral or health challenges due to anxiety and stress. As our animal’s caregiver, it is our job to notice when our dog's are feeling uncomfortable and then to do what we can to help.

Some signs of anxiety are

• diarrhea

• yawning

• destructive behaviors

• compulsive behaviors such as obsessively licking or chewing

• increased or excessive drooling

• increased shedding

• excessive barking or whining

• panting or lip-smacking

• pacing

It is important to note that these signs can also be signs of other health issues.

What causes anxiety in dogs?

All dogs are different and will react differently. Build up your dog's confidence and coping skills so that when they do feel anxious or stressed they can regulate and cope to prevent their anxiety from becoming chronic. Some common things that may cause your dog to be anxious are the following:

• boredom

• recent changes in the household or family

• punishment-based training methods

• forcing your dog to be touched, hugged, or held when they don’t want to be

• not providing your dog with enough rest - dogs need 18+ hours of sleep a day

• Lack of opportunities to express normal species- and breed-specific behaviors such as sniffing, running, retrieving, or herding
  

Treating Anxiety

When it comes to dealing with or treating anxiety you want to get to the root cause of what is causing it

and remove the cause of the anxiety. You also need to provide your dog with more moments where they feel safe, calm, and happy. Build up your dog's confidence. Teach your dog that they can trust you to handle anxiety-provoking situations.

To start assisting your dog in dealing with anxiety:

• discover and remove the stressful trigger

• provide daily exercise (mental and physical) as well as rest and calming activities

• reduce activities that cause high arousal, are too exciting or cause your dog to become over-stimulated

• use calming tools - anxiety vests or wraps, oils and sprays, massage, etc.

Treatment varies between dogs. Working with a professional helps.

Instead of feeling frustrated or overwhelmed by your pets' behavior, improve your relationship with your dog and help them heal from any physical, mental or emotional issues. I offer a unique combination of positive reinforcement training methods with energy healing techniques, animal communication, and tarot. Apply to work with me.

For more details on recognizing, treating, and healing anxiety in dogs, watch the video below.