Dog anxiety can be quite frustrating for the pet parent. In order to understand dog anxiety, you must first understand what anxiety really is. Anxiety is essentially your dog expressing fear. Common dog breeds which experience anxiety include the Border Collie, Siberian Husky and the English Springer Spaniel. Although these are the only breeds listed here, many other dog breeds experience anxiety as well. Genetics may also play a factor in dog anxiety. If your dog has anxiety the following information will be helpful.
Symptoms of Dog Anxiety
Dog anxiety can range anywhere from mild to panic mode in your dog. If your dog simply has mild dog anxiety, your dog may tremble, have his tail tucked in and may show signs of withdrawing from you or another pet parent. If your dog is in panic mode with his anxiety, he is likely to act afraid in normal situations and attempt to hide for no apparent reason. Your dog’s anxiety may also result in diarrhea.
Causes of Dog Anxiety
There are many potential causes of dog anxiety. Prior to looking at behavior-related causes, it is absolutely crucial to rule out any medical causes with your veterinarian. Any type of illness or injury can cause anxiety to any extent.
In terms of behavioral causes of dog anxiety, there could be many possibilities. Often, the anxiety has been caused by a frightening experience the dog has encountered. Your dog may also be experiencing separation anxiety. Separation anxiety could be caused by the dog being neglected or could even simply be that your dog misses you while you are gone.
Dog has anxiety: what to do?
If your dog is experiencing symptoms of anxiety or if your dog has anxiety and you are unsure of how to handle the anxiety, you could contact our pet behavior specialist to determine the best action(s) to handle the anxiety properly. Learn more about behavioral issues in dogs.
Amber Johnson, Animal Behaviorist
Miss Amber Johnson has many years of experience with pets and is a licensed cat and dog nutrition and behavior specialist. She currently collaborates with PetPremium where she counsels clients in pet behavior and nutrition. The statements made in this article are the personal opinions of Miss Amber Johnson and based on independent experiences and could be different from the opinions of PetPremium Pet health Insurance or any other pet health insurance provider.