10 Signs Your Dog Has Anxiety (And how to help)
Dogs, just like us, have emotions and feelings. It could be hard for them to communicate their feelings, and not understanding signs of stress and anxiety could lead to aggressive and dangerous encounters with your furry. So, watch for these ten early signals so you can address them as soon as possible.
1. Hyperactivity
Dogs are known to exhibit excitement with outbursts of energy and activity. However, if these became frequent and they could not remain well-behaved in situations you expect them to be, like excessive digging, running, jumping, and even constantly chewing up something like your pieces of furniture, you should take it as a sign of stress.
2. Stereotypes are evident in your dogs
Stereotypies are repetitive actions your dog does without purpose. Though sometimes it could just be playful gestures, frequent acts of continuous movement like too much biting of their tail, running in circles, non-stop barking, and chasing imaginary prey could potentially be signs of anxiety.
3. Overreactions
Dogs are prone to act recklessly and excessively at times. However, it should not be daily. Overexcitement like loud and excessive barking, running and jumping, and sometimes aggressive episodes indicate that your dog was anxious over something.
4. Excessive salivation and licking
Dogs salivate and lick themselves regularly to clean themselves, but it could be a warning signal of stress if they drool too much and lick themselves until they wear their coats off and sometimes begin to wound themselves.
5. Inability to maintain attention
Stressed dogs struggle to get a hold of their attention spans. When you’re walking your dog, they pull you and wander around like a mad dog; this is a tell-tale sign that your dog is nervous and stressed. At this point, you should begin to consult your veterinarian and a dog behaviorist, as this issue may be hard to address and could be an attention deficit disorder that needs medical attention.
6. Excessive panting
Stressed dogs are restless, which could manifest in excessive panting. Like in humans, it could signal that they are nervous and in anticipation of something that stresses them out.
4. Excessive salivation and licking
Dogs salivate and lick themselves regularly to clean themselves, but it could be a warning signal of stress if they drool too much and lick themselves until they wear their coats off and sometimes begin to wound themselves.
5. Inability to maintain attention
Stressed dogs struggle to get a hold of their attention spans. When you’re walking your dog, they pull you and wander around like a mad dog; this is a tell-tale sign that your dog is nervous and stressed. At this point, you should begin to consult your veterinarian and a dog behaviorist, as this issue may be hard to address and could be an attention deficit disorder that needs medical attention.
6. Excessive panting
Stressed dogs are restless, which could manifest in excessive panting. Like in humans, it could signal that they are nervous and in anticipation of something that stresses them out.
7. Hair loss
Apart from excessive licking leading to hair loss, generalized hair loss in their body without external factors should be read as a big red flag. Hair loss brought forth by stress should not be taken lightly as it may start a phase where their anxiety begins to show physically, and it may even be a sign of disease.
8. Reactivity or flight
We all know our furries always react to strange things, but such cases should not trigger their fight or flight response if they do not pose considerable danger.
9. Muscle stiffness
Stressed dogs tend to stiffen up their bodies due to anticipation. They began showing tensions in the body and limbs when they waited for something like danger, for example.
10. Changes in behavior
This sign is an umbrella for everything listed above; however, there is something more than it meets the eyes. As pet owners, we should be familiar with their behavior and know everything about them, including all their actions. If these changes happen to exhibit negative actions and begin to pose a danger, you should immediately call your vet and seek the help of the experts.
Proven Ways to Help Your Anxious Dog:
Dogs chew to relieve stress, frustration, and anxiety.
The act of chewing has a calming and comforting effect on the adrenal-pituitary axis in the brain - it triggers the release of endorphins, and as such is a tool that the dog has at his disposal in order to 'self-medicate' for anxiety and stress.
Providing healthy treats and chews is a great way to keep a stress-free dog.
