1. Intro
A dog living with a specific anxiety, fear or phobia in the home can lead to a variety of problems in the household.
Dogs suffering from anxiety in a new environment may not settle and sleep well for example. Dogs suffering from a fear may become aggressive when they’re approached which makes it difficult for owners to handle, while dogs suffering from a phobia including storm phobia may show signs of drooling or panting before stormy weather.
Even though dogs are generally considered to be a very friendly and loving creature, there are some dog owners that do have a fear of their dogs. Anxiety can be experienced in many forms but it is often aggravated by the fact that dogs can be highly emotional and possess higher levels of stress hormones than humans. Anxiety, fear and phobia are some of the common symptoms that can be experienced in dogs.
The most common anxiety is fear or anxiety associated with the presence of something or someone which is unknown to the owner. This can manifest as a feeling of dread or apprehension, followed by an increased tension level within the body, which may then lead to nausea and vomiting, intense sweating, agitation and even seizures. Other symptoms include excessive barking or growling; seeking out objects such as metal objects; panting; pacing; salivating; urinating constantly and having frightful hallucinations (like seeing “ghosts”).
If you have observed your dog for any reason for more than five minutes at all without his owner present, you must consult your veterinarian immediately for treatment of this disorder. If you think your dog has anxiety-related disorders beyond those listed above, it is best to consult a veterinary professional as well.
2. Does Your Dog Have Anxiety?
From a technical point of view, the dog does not have an anxiety. The dog is an animal that can be calm or frightened easily. But if you’re going blind, if you are ill, if you are depressed, or if you are just scared of everything then your dog may have an anxiety.
Anxiety is a natural human emotion. It is a feeling that we all have in our body, but some people experience it more than others. Anxiety disorders and panic attacks is a disorder that makes the person nervous and fearful of life at large.
But what we humans do with our fear and anxiety is different from other animals. We fear things like lions or snakes that may harm us, so dogs can also fear things like lions or snakes (which they might even chase).
3. The Difference Between Fear and Anxiety in Dogs
Fear and Anxiety are emotions and feelings associated with a feeling of being in danger. They are often accompanied by a physical response and include a fight-or-flight response. When the body begins to respond to the threat, the dog’s heart rate increases, breathing becomes more rapid, pupils dilate, and blood flow may become more rapid to certain body organs. These responses are called physiological manifestations of fear or anxiety.
A dog’s body is also in an area of heightened sensitivity and their body becomes more alert as they move through their environment. A dog that is reacting verbally, like jumping up on people or barking at other dogs will also be experiencing physiological manifestations of fear or anxiety.
Anxiety is not necessarily accompanied by a physical response; it can be present without any accompanying physical reaction (e.g., a nervous twitch) and can even cause the body to respond without being threatened (e.g., excessive grooming).
4. What Causes Anxiety in Dogs?
Anxiety in dogs is very common. Anxiety in dogs is not only an issue for them, but for humans as well.
And the reason is that anxiety in dogs can be caused by many different things. Here I will talk about what causes anxiety in dogs and what is the best ways to treat it, as well as some other things which will help you know your dog and their personality.
The first thing to do is to understand why they are afraid of you at all. This will be helpful because you can use this knowledge to try and help your dog avoid situations where they might get nervous, or could try to avoid you altogether.
Common Causes of Dog Anxiety:
-Fear of a stranger or being alone -Fear of not being loved, being abandoned or rejected -Fear of pain/mild trauma -Fear of loud noises like thunderstorms -Fear of loud sounds that are unfamiliar like fireworks or gunshots etc.” (“Nuance: A Guide for the Working Dog Trainer” by Dr. Lorna Coppelman)
5. How Can I Tell if My Dog Has Phobia?
Though dogs can be extremely intelligent, they also have issues with their emotions. They are emotional creatures with a lot of fear and anxiety. That’s why you need to learn how to help your dog overcome some of these fears, so he can live a happy life and not get scared all the time.
For example, if your dog has anxiety about loud noises, like fireworks or thunderstorms, you may want to try training him instead of using loud noises as the trigger for the anxiety. You could use a “noises” like knocking on the door to hear if someone is home or going in or outside to see if anyone is there. You could use music to calm down your dog.
If your dog doesn’t feel anxious around loud noises and thunderstorms but still feels anxious around other things like small electric appliances or voices in the street, like traffic or construction workers talking loudly on motorcycles, then you might want to try this method:
The idea is that when your dog experiences an event that triggers his anxiety it usually makes him cross his leash and start growling at anything that gets too close. This kind of behavior is called “strange behaviour” and it’s normal for dogs without fear.
You can help your dog overcome his fear by teaching him that there are many triggers for strange behaviour – including sounds from people walking by; animals playing; people talking; cars driving by; airplanes flying overhead; fireworks bursting into life over water – so he will eventually learn not to react so strongly anymore when something happens that scares him.
You can also teach your dog new tricks after checking in with him on what he does in his training sessions and watch what he does when you don’t pay attention in class: certain behaviour may become more acceptable if done at home or in private rather than during school time because it doesn’t affect other students. Additionally, dogs who are prone to strange behaviour are often less tolerant of pets being kept outside their own environment during chaotic times such as storms or thunderstorms because they don’t understand why their family members would want them sheltered indoors while they work outdoors through bad weather (while this behavior may not be considered strange behavior by other people).
6. How to Treat Dog Anxiety and Fear
Anxiety and fear are not bad dogs. They just have different types of anxiety and different types of fear.
You can tell if a dog is anxious or fearful by watching how it reacts to something you do, like pet it or treat it. In fact, you can also tell if a dog is anxious or fearful just by watching how it reacts to the sound of your voice or the sight of a toy.
If your dog gets really anxious, he will try to run away from you when you enter his space. This is called fear aggression. If that happens, don’t be surprised if your dog spends most of his time in an isolated room because he can’t find you when he needs you most.
In contrast, dogs with anxiety tend not to get triggered by sounds (clicks and squeaks) unless they are in their own space where they feel safe and comfortable (i.e., home). Therefore, once inside the space where they feel safe and comfortable, they will stop reacting to sounds altogether until they hear someone else in the same space (i.e., family member). A good way to teach dogs with anxiety to react less intensely when they hear sounds is to use novel sounds like a ringing bell or beepers instead of familiar noises like bing-bong-bing-bing-bing! At first this might sound strange but your dog will soon learn that this new sound is not as scary as bing-bong-bing!
7. Conclusion
The most common question that I receive is whether or not a dog has anxiety, fear or a phobia. And if you are asking this question, I am guessing that you are an owner or a breeder.
I don’t want to talk about the health implications of dog allergies but the main thing that we all need to remember about allergy issues are:
1) You shouldn’t be allergic to dogs.
2) Your dog should be allergic to other dogs, cats and humans.
3) If your dog is allergic to you, tell your vet as soon as possible.
4) Take your dog to the vet as soon as possible if you suspect that he/she may have an allergy issue.
For example: if your dog has an allergy toward almonds and a small dose of it causes him/her some discomfort. Then don’t wait until he/she starts loosing weight and looking sick before getting him/her tested for allergies. Take him/her to the vet right away! Dogs can get their allergies from humans, other animals and even other food items but they can also get them from pet foods! So make sure that there are no grains in his/her diet and that his/her owner(s) do not feed it either! Other than doing this, there is nothing else you can do for this at this point but take him/her straight to the vet for a complete blood count (CBC).