Dog's Experience Anxiety Just Like Humans Do
Dog's, just like humans have a huge range of emotions including anxiety. If you may be wondering if your dog has anxiety it may be a good idea to involve a dog training company. Sometimes what appears as anxiety can actually be something else, but it many cases anxiety in dogs is often overlooked as something else. Many times owners think that their dog is being stubborn or disobedience in situations where they're actually experiencing anxiety.
To understand anxiety it's essential to know what anxiety in dogs feels like and looks like. The good news is, you're probably already familiar with the signs and symptoms because many of them are identical to human signs. Things like shutting down, withdrawing from activities, and depressed body language, are all signs of an anxious dog. Dogs also have additional signs of stress and anxiety like lip licking, heavy panting, yawning, and even lifting a paw up. These are the more complicated signs to notice, which is why its a good idea to involve a dog trainer if you suspect your dog may have anxiety.
Management is Key
Management is a huge tool you can use to help your dog overcome anxiety. Management is exactly what it sounds like, managing the situation and the environment around you or your dog so that they're more comfortable. So this may look like you turning on a tv or radio when you leave the house so your dog has some background noise to listen to rather than focusing on the fact that they're alone. Management could also look like you using a thunder jacket to help calm you dog's anxiety under deep pressure therapy. Thunder jackets work similarly to how weighted blankets work in humans. The deep pressure helps to relax the body.
Know When it's Time to Involve a Veterinarian
Just like with humans, there's all sorts of ranges of anxiety and dog's can have mild and manageable anxiety that won't ever lead you to needing to get a vet involved. But there are also cases where the anxiety is so severe that a dog trainer, veterinarian, or veterinary behaviorist should be involved. If your pet is experiencing extreme anxiety, sometimes medications can be used to help the dog to get back to a calm state of mind.
Medications have their pros and cons just like anything else. But they can provide comfort to a dog who is experiencing severe anxiety with all sorts of situations including separation anxiety, car anxiety, social anxiety, and many more. Just like with humans it often takes a while to find the right medication and dosage to best manage your dogs needs. Dog training is a key to not only diagnosing anxiety but to also starting the management plan to getting your dog back to a healthy state of mind. Living with intense anxiety everyday can lead to many unwanted behaviors like chewing, barking, whining, and a wide variety of destructive behaviors. It's always best to start working on these issues as soon as humanly possible to minimize the amount of lasting issues.
