Anxious dogs can be a danger to themselves and their owners. Here are a few tips for relieving your pet’s anxieties and managing their stress levels.
It’s true that some dog breeds are extremely sensitive to environmental distractions. However, a persistently nervous dog isn’t nervous because they were just born that way – they are nervous because of previous trauma or present aggravations. A few of the reasons your dog may be nervous are:
- They are left alone for long stretches throughout the day.
- Sudden loud noises they cannot source frighten them.
- They don’t get along with other pets in the home.
- They don’t get along with the humans in the home.
- They’ve been abused.
Assuaging and managing your dog’s anxiety levels is crucial if you want to maintain your dog’s overall comfort, but it’s also incredibly important for keeping you, your family, and other animals and people safe. Nervous dogs can snap and attack without provocation, so controlling and managing your pup’s emotional wellness serves your dog, your family, and your community. Here are a few things that will help your dog overcome their stress.
- Involve a professional trainer. Nervous conditions that are triggered by specific events – loud noises, for example – can be successfully addressed by developing specific coping strategies and tools. However, general nervousness that has no identifiable source should be handled by someone with expertise. If your dog has pre-existing personality quirks or disorders that cause nervousness, snappishness, or unpredictable and dangerous behaviors, you should enlist the help of a specialist with experience training troubled dogs.
- Make sure your dog has sufficient exercise. When your dog is bored or frustrated by pent-up energy, they probably need a good walk or vigorous play session. Exercise relaxes dogs, elevates their pleasure neurotransmitters and reduces the production of stress hormones.
- Consider doggie daycare services. If your dog can’t stand to be alone, you may want to think about using dog daycare solutions, which allow them to play and socialize with other dogs for a few hours every day.
- Remove stress-triggering elements. Is your dog being made to play roughly by your children? If they don’t like the kind of attention your kids are giving, make sure you monitor their activity closely and prevent undesirable activity.
- Provide a consistently healthy diet. A diet that doesn’t serve your dog’s nutritional needs can render them more likely to succumb to stress, but will make them vulnerable to debilitating health conditions like obesity, heart diseases, and DCM. Zignature, Beneful and Blue Mountain are solid pet food brands that provide appropriate formulas for a variety of breeds, ages, and health needs.
When your dog feels unmoored, they will be more likely to feel anxious in their surroundings. Remember, training your dog gives them structure – they need to feel as though there is a routine they can follow and be safe, rewarded and happy.
I’m a dog lover and pet parent to two beautiful rescue girls. I enjoy blogging about dogs and taking slightly embarrassing photos of my pups.
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