Regardless of age or breed, any dog can feel anxious if it finds itself in a frightening situation. Although each dog shows anxiety in its way, this disorder, if left untreated, can cause destructive and dangerous behavior. Therefore, it’s necessary to monitor your pet, avoid anxiety and use salmon oil for dogs by Vital Pet Life to make your pet happier, healthier, and better.
If your dog is scared, it may have difficulty breathing, drooling, barking loudly, hiding under furniture, and destroying it. Fortunately, there are several ways to overcome your dog’s anxiety. Read about them below.
How to Help a Dog with Anxiety?
Anxiety disorder is one of the three most common behavioral disorders worldwide. The main signs – dogs howl, destroy the house, and are unclean in the absence of their owners.
Most dog handlers, veterinarians, breeders don’t realize how deep this problem is. And because of that, behavior correction is often ineffective (or leads to a worsening of the situation). And the problem itself becomes more and more frequent and, unfortunately, manifests in more and more severe forms.
So, how can you help your dog overcome this anxiety disorder?
Step 1 – Situation Analysis
There is always a reason for everything. First of all, the pet owner must analyze the situation, understand his dog, and why such a problem arose.
In addition, it won’t be superfluous to check up on the health of the pet – to pass tests (clinical and biochemical blood tests, urinalysis), do an ultrasound of the abdominal cavity, and identify abnormalities. Normalize feeding or choose a veterinary diet based on clinical results. You should select the very best brands for your pet only.
Step 2 – Overcoming Anxiety
Once you have identified your dog’s problem (the reason for anxiety), it’s time to face your pet’s fear.
For instance, your dog is afraid of going to the vet. For a start, you can walk the dog near the vet clinic for a while for several days, leaving it alone while you are inside. Remember to treat your pet.
After such walks, you can take the dog inside. And after a while, bring it directly to the doctor for an appointment. Your pet mustn’t meet with the object of its fear suddenly but gradually gets used to the environment.
The same principle can be applied to many other anxieties. If your dog is afraid of other dogs, take a toy dog, put it nearby, and reward your pet if it remains calm. Create positive associations. If the dog is afraid of being alone, leave it at home for 3 minutes, 5 minutes, 10 minutes, and so on.
Step 3 – Don’t Punish, But Discipline
First of all, any punishment is useless. This point must be rethought, understood, and accepted. Currently, all counselors around the world agree that punishment should not be used to tackle anxiety disorder. However, people often continue to.
Punishment – physical or psychological violence – is the most illogical action in response to the natural demonstrations of the animal’s nature. From the dog side, such behavior will be perceived as unreasonable aggression, which can only aggravate everything – cause response aggression (attack) or provoke various fears and phobias.
Step 4 – Play With The Dog
Playing with your dog is a great source of positive emotions. Games are ideal for building relationships and trust between the pet and its owner.
At the same time, play activity is an essential element of cognition of the surrounding world and the formation of certain patterns of behavior. Through play, the puppy learns the boundaries of fun and hunting. Moreover, the need for physical activity is still crucial for an adult dog.
Make sure your dog is getting enough training. A tired dog is a dog with exemplary behavior, and it will sleep peacefully on the pillows and not bite them.
Step 5 – Psychological Comfort
It’s worth noting that the atmosphere in the house plays a decisive role in any pet’s well-being. As strange as it may sound, the health of our pets is a direct reflection of our health – physical and mental.
The dog’s aggression and anxiety can be just a response to quarrels, screams, and noise within the family. The habit of eating unhealthy food leads to disruptions in the feeding regime of the dog.
The indifference and lingering depression of the owner can lead to the dog’s apathetic behavior and other disorders, whose vital activity is suppressed by the lack of games and fresh impressions.
Therefore, harmony and balance should be everywhere – in nutrition, physical activity, in the atmosphere around – in order for your dog to feel as comfortable as possible, not to feel anxiety and stress.
Each dog, like a person, has its character, fears, and uniqueness. To make your pets feel comfortable, you need to create the appropriate conditions for them. Dealing with your dog’s anxiety will take some effort and time. However, your pet deserves it. Find the cause of its disorder and comprehensively and gradually solve the problem that has arisen, then your dog will be healthy and happy. Good luck, and treat your pet!
