Does your dog persistently bark or chew up furniture when you leave them alone? Or, have you noticed your dog trying to find a hiding place when they hear a firecracker sound? If you are also facing something similar, you are not alone. 

As a pet owner, you might be scared by watching the sudden strange behavior of your lively and lovely pooches. These could be signs of dog anxiety. Anxiety in dogs is one of the common yet misunderstood issues that many pet owners face.

If you’re one of those caring pet parents looking to help your furry friend with anxiety, we’re right here to assist you! Stick with us until the end, and we’ll uncover the reasons and some dog anxiety signs together to find out why your dog is feeling down

Decoding Pet Anxiety: Understanding the Causes

Being a pet parent comes with a lot of responsibilities. One of them includes knowing how to help your pet when they are anxious or stressed. Anxiety in dogs is common; however, sometimes aggression and anxiety in dogs can be mistaken for one another as they both sign similar behavior. 

Watching our dogs in anxiety and fear can create distress to pet owners, too. Still, rather than trying to suppress the anxiety, you need to search and find ways to calm anxiety in your dogs and address the root causes that are inducing anxiety in your fur babies.

What are the Key Signs of Anxious Behavior in Dogs?

Before there is dog anxiety, every pet parent should have a keen eye on their physical,emotional and behavioural sign. These will help you to understand the causes of their anxiety. 

Physical Signs

Body Language

Body language can tell you a lot about how your furry friend is feeling. However, these signs are more subtle in nature, so you need to observe and take notes of your dog’s body language in different situations. 

When the dog bares the whites of their eyes, they usually indicate stress, tension, or fear. Likewise, if the dog’s ear is flattened against its head or pulled back, it usually signifies they are trying to avoid confrontation and are submissive. 

Another way of communicating anxiety and uneasiness can be raised hackles. The hair along the back, typically from neck to tail, can be described as hackles in dogs. When dogs face any threatening or fearful situation, they tend to raise their hackle to appear bigger. 

Tucked tails or tails between the legs, play bows, a wet dog shaking off when not wet, and scratching, especially the collar area, are some of the other body language that you have to observe as subtle signs of dog anxiety. However, these signs dont give an exact answer to the root cause and should be taken into note in conjunction with other symptoms. 

Trembling and Shaking

One of the signs you have to look out for when inducing anxiety in dogs is trembling or shaking. Fear, stress, and anxiety can also make your furry friend tremble. If your dog hears loud construction noises, thunderstorms, or fireworks, they can shake out of fear. Likewise, when you take your dog to the vet or when you leave your dog alone, their separation anxiety can trigger trembling and shaking. 

Panting and Excessive Drooling 

When your dog has been exercising or playing fetch games, they usually pant. Moreover, when your pooches feel the heat during summer, they pant to cool down the heat. However, if your dog pants without any reason, then it might be a sign of anxiety. Furthermore, if painting is accompanied by excessive drooling, then you should look out for these signs. 

Frequent Urination or Diarrhea 

It is kind of strange for your well-trained dogs to have bathroom accidents. However, dogs experiencing stress or anxiety can suffer from frequent urination and even diarrhea. So, make sure you do not punish your lovely pooches when they have bathroom accidents. 

Emotional Signs

Pacing and Restlessness

 It is normal for your dog to walk back and forth and stroll around freely. However, if your dog starts to move around you more than usual, then it might indicate dog anxiety. 

When your dog is feeling restless and unable to settle down, it is important to find out what is bothering them to calm them down. For instance, if your dog is more clingy towards you and starts to whine when you leave them alone, it may be a sign of separation anxiety.

Loss of Appetite 

When your dog usually eats food with great enthusiasm but suddenly starts to have less appetite, then it can be due to anxiety-triggering situations like uncertainty, unfamiliar people or places, and many more. 

However, loss of appetite can be due to medical issues and other pain or discomfort. So you have to look out for other signs like whining, barking, pacing, etc, to know the root cause of such discomfort. 

Behavioral Signs

Destructive Behavior

Suppose your disciplined dogs suddenly start to chew up furniture or shoes, destroy household items, or aggressively dig the ground. In that case, they might not be misbehaving but suffering from anxiety and stress. In these conditions, they don’t need punishment for acting naughty but need your love and care to heal their anxiety. 

Excessive Barking, Whining, or Growling

Dogs communicate with each other or their owners through various methods. One of their communication methods is the vocalization process, where dogs bark, whine, and growl to express themselves. Dogs usually bark or whine when they are looking for attention from their owners or when they need to poop or pee. 

Likewise, they tend to bark when hungry and need a fulfilling and tasty meal. However, if your dogs are barking or whining excessively, they may be trying to express their anxiety when they encounter unpleasant circumstances. 

Tendency to hide or escape 

You may have seen your dog trying to hide under furniture and beds when they hear loud noises of firecrackers or thunderstorms. It is their natural survival instinct to avoid the source of stress to feel more secure and safe. 

Anxious Behavior in Dogs

What can be the Causes of Dog Anxiety?

When you observe your dog being anxious, there have to be different causes. Some of them are: 

Aging

Dogs also suffer from Alzheimer’s during the later part of their lives, which is commonly known as cognitive dysfunction syndrome. As this syndrome affects the memory and perception of dogs, uncertainty and confusion this creates can trigger anxiety.

Past experiences and Trauma

Dogs also have feelings like humans and can retain past memories. So if dogs have come across some distressing moments like neglect, abandonment, abuse from owners, or accidents, then these past traumas can be reasons for their anxiety.

For example, if the previous owner has abused your dog with severe punishments and when you try to discipline them now, it can instigate their fear and anxiety. Hence, more care should be given to rescued dogs. 

Lack of Socialization

When dogs are confined in certain places without being given opportunities to socialize with other dogs and humans, sudden interaction with unfamiliar people and places can trigger anxiety in dogs.

Loud Noises 

According to the Oregon Museum of Science and Music, “Dogs can hear the sound of frequencies between 40 Hz to 60,000 Hz”. Hence, dogs can hear sounds that human ears cannot detect. So, loud noises produced from construction sites, firecrackers, and thunderstorms can be overwhelming for dogs. 

These loud noises can create discomfort for dogs, triggering their anxiety. So dogs usually seek a safe place like under furniture and beds, to feel a sense of security and reassurance. 

Separation Anxiety

Separation anxiety is the most common type of anxiety, which can be triggered when dogs are left alone by their owners. When dogs are by themselves, out of boredom or loneliness, they can feel distressed, which will eventually induce destructive behavior, excessive whining and barking to attain the owner’s attention and pacing around the owner. 

Are There Any Early Warnings of Dog Anxiety?

Aside from the front he signs there are some warnings given to the pet parent to understand their dog anxiety. Every pet parent should have keen knowledge of these warnings to ensure better health of their pet. 

Yawning 

Yawning is one of the few expressions dogs learn to use when they are tiny puppies. Yawning usually has multiple meanings depending on the situation. Dogs yawn when they want to send a pacifying or calming signal to other dogs or people. Your pooches might yawn when they want to cool off their brain. 

However, dogs also yawn when they are dealing with anxiety, stress, and uncertainty. When you find your dog yawning when they are not tired, then it can be stressful yawning. Typically, dogs elongate or yaw intensely when they are under anxiety or stress. 

Avoidance or displacement behavior

These behaviors are the subtle actions that dogs do to manage or self-soothe their stress when they face anxiety-triggering situations. Dogs tend to escape or avoid uncomfortable situations by focusing on something else. They may simply turn their head or look away, scratch themselves, sniff the ground, shake themselves off, or lick their genitals. 

Conclusion

Getting to know your dog goes beyond simply recognizing signs of anxiety. It is just an opening of a new way of communicating that deepens the special bond that you have together with your dog.

However, identifying the root causes of anxiety and addressing its symptoms speaks loud enough about your care to relieve anxiety in your dogs and companionship with your furry friend. For more assistance and knowledge about fur babies, stay tuned with Little Fur!

FAQs

  1. What are the critical behaviors of stress in dogs?

Some critical behaviors that you need to look out for are escaping, excessive shedding, aggressive barking, destructive behavior, and a change in appetite. 

  1. How can I calm down my stressed dog?

You can calm your stressed dog by creating a safe space, using oil diffusers, providing music therapy, or introducing new toys and puzzle games. 

  1. Why is my dog anxious all of a sudden?

The sudden anxiousness in dogs can be caused by interaction with unfamiliar places and people, loud noises, or separation from owners.

  1. What are some dog anxiety symptoms?

Some of the dog’s anxiety symptoms are whining, yawning, lip licking, panting, etc. 

  1. What are some anxious dog breeds?

Some of the anxious dog breeds include Border Collie, Labrador, Greyhounds, Jack Russell Terrier, Bichon Frise, and Toy Breeds. 

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