Content

• Steps
• Part 1 of 3: How to Respond to Your Dog's Anxiety
• Part 2 of 3: How to Reduce Your Dog's Anxiety
• Part 3 of 3: Treating Anxiety Medically
• Tips
• Warnings

Regardless of age or breed, any dog ​​can feel anxious if it finds itself in a frightening situation. Although each dog exhibits anxiety in its own way, anxiety, if left untreated, can cause destructive, dangerous behavior. If your dog is alarmed, he may have difficulty breathing, drooling, barking loudly, or hiding under furniture. Fortunately, there are a few things you can do to overcome your dog's anxiety, such as lowering his anxiety or using alternative therapies.

Steps

Part 1 of 3: How to Respond to Your Dog's Anxiety

1. 1 Try not to reinforce your dog's anxiety. Quite a natural reaction is to calm the dog down, pat her on the head, and talk to her calmly. You yourself may feel anxious if a stressful situation affects you too - for example, if your dog is about to undergo surgery. Unfortunately, your dog may feel that you are anxious and think that the situation is out of control, which will further increase his anxiety.
   • You should not give your dog treats, hug and caress her at such a moment. This will only encourage her anxious behavior, and the dog will learn to behave that way.
2. 2 Try to behave as usual. Your dog is keenly aware of how you react to stressful situations, so try to show him that everything is fine. If you behave as if nothing had happened, then the dog will have no cause for alarm. If your dog is showing signs of anxiety - trembling, shaking, whining - just ignore it.
   • Talk to your dog in a firm but kind voice, tell him not to act stupid. She will feel disapproval in your voice and will understand that you are not worried, which means that she should not do it.
3. 3 Show your dog that you are in control. Your dog may feel that he has lost control of the situation and become frightened. Draw her attention to yourself and distract her with simple commands. Just practice the sit, lie, or stand commands with her. This will show the dog that you are in control, that you are not afraid, that everything is in order.
   • If your dog's attention is diverted to something else, the level of hormones that cause feelings of anxiety will decrease and he will be able to relax.
   • Practicing these commands when your dog is anxious can help overcome the dog's possible fear of parting with you.
4. 4 Make a safe shelter for your dog - a house or cage where he can retire. Create a place that your dog associates with safety. Think about this beforehand and train your dog to perceive the crate as a safe haven. In moments of extreme anxiety, you can cover part of the cage with a blanket to make it look more like a house. If the dog is in a calm place, it will stabilize its level of anxiety.
   • Put toys in the dog's cage as if between times, but behave normally and don't look her in the eyes. This will prevent you from reinforcing her fears.
5. 5 Try to understand why the dog is worried. Your dog becomes anxious because hormones such as cortisol or adrenaline are released in the body during stressful or frightening situations. This is how the dog's body prepares to fight or run, with physical changes occurring in the heart (its rhythm quickens), in the muscles (they receive additional blood) and in the lungs (they consume more oxygen). These changes mean that the dog can be anxious out of habit, so if the dog receives signals that it needs to be alarmed, these hormones begin to be released in its body and trigger an anxiety attack.
   • For example, if your dog sees you react to her fears, chemicals and hormones are produced in her body in response. Therefore, it is very important to monitor your reaction to your dog's fears.

Part 2 of 3: How to Reduce Your Dog's Anxiety

1. 1 Place your dog in a minor stressful situation. Reduce your dog's anxiety by letting him find himself in a very mild version of a fearful situation. This will show the dog that nothing bad is going to happen. For example, if your dog is afraid of the vet, take him for a walk past the clinic and train him to sit near the entrance. Reward good behavior with goodies and extra attention, and then continue with the pleasant walk. This way your dog will have positive associations with the place that used to be stressful for him.
   • This should be done slowly, gradually increasing the level of threat. This can take several weeks or even months.
2. 2 Move on to more frightening situations. As your dog gets used to the low threat situation, move on to a more intimidating situation. For example, take your dog to the vet's office. If the dog walks into the clinic calmly, reward him with a treat. Repeat this several times before complicating the task. You can go to the clinic with your dog and sit there. Again, if the dog is calm, reward him. You can increase the time in the clinic to make the dog more and more comfortable.
   • Such small visits will make the dog experience what it fears. Perhaps she will form positive associations with going to the vet.
3. 3 Give your dog a direct contact with what scares him. Some dogs are more afraid of sounds or surprises. If this is the case, let your dog face what he is afraid of. For example, if your dog is afraid of fireworks, turn on the recording of the fireworks very quietly and praise the dog for being calm. Increase the volume gradually. If the dog is scared, go back to the previous volume and start over.
   • The same principle can be applied to many other fears. If your dog is afraid of other dogs, take a toy dog, plant it nearby, and reward the dog if it remains calm. If your dog is afraid of driving, start feeding him in a parked car. Create positive associations with her.

Part 3 of 3: Treating Anxiety Medically

1. 1 Try pheromones. Buy soothing pheromones for dogs ("Adaptil") - a synthetic analogue of pheromones that a bitch secretes when she feeds her puppies. Soothing pheromones can be sprayed around your home, car, or even outdoors. Calming pheromones should make your dog feel safe, calm, relaxed, and at ease. All this will reduce the level of anxiety.
   • Keep in mind that you need to expose your dog to the pheromones for about 2 weeks before the effects show. Therefore, it makes sense to buy a collar with pheromones or with "Adaptil" so that the dog is constantly exposed to them.
2. 2 Put eyecups on your dog. Use eyecups (similar to horse blinders) to gently cover your dog's eyes. This will help reduce his visual anxiety, as the dog will only see shadows but not details. This is very suitable for dogs who are afraid of flashes and bright lights such as lightning or fireworks. Test the eyecups before the stressful situation, the dog should get used to them even before being exposed to stress factors.
   • If your dog paws violently on the eyecup, tilts its head, looks depressed or trembles, it is better to remove the eyecup. For some dogs, the eyecup can be even more anxious, as they feel trapped.
3. 3 Try wearing a calming vest on your dog. Buy or make a vest that fits over your dog and puts pressure on his body, thereby calming him down. A vest like this can help if your dog is afraid of parting with you, loud noises, barks with fear, anxiety when traveling, suffers from hyperactivity, breaks off the leash, or if you train him to crate.
4. 4 Provide your dog with puzzle toys. Such toys will distract the dog from anxiety. Some of them have a hole where you can put a treat. Give your dog toys before they exhibit anxious behavior so they don't perceive them as positive reinforcement for that behavior.
   • You can put some peanut butter in the toy and put it in the freezer overnight.
5. 5 Try unconventional treatments. There are several medicines available over the counter from human or veterinary pharmacies. These include:
   • Bach flowers preparations. Place plant drops with Bach flowers (chicory, heather, red horse chestnut and honeysuckle) on the dog's tongue when it is scared. These drops are believed to have a calming effect, but this has not been proven in trials, so their use is more of a “try and see” principle. Some dog owners claim to help, others say they have no effect.
   • Skullcap and valerian. These herbal remedies have a calming effect and can reduce feelings of anxiety and irritability. Observe the dosage directions given in the instructions, but remember to give the drug to the dog even before the stress factor is applied to it. If the dog is already overexcited, there will be no benefit from these remedies.
   • Zilken. Special studies have confirmed that this food supplement helps animals cope with stress. The active ingredient here is the refined protein contained in milk, which acts on the receptors in the brain. Give your dog zilken before a stressful situation or for a long time. This remedy has no side effects, so it is ideal for situations such as staying in a dog hotel where the animal may be exposed to prolonged stress.
6. 6 Do not sedate your dog. Sedatives may seem like a good solution at first glance if your dog is extremely agitated or anxious, but there are a few dangerous points. Keep in mind:
   • Sedatives are addictive and your dog can become addicted to the medication.
   • Over time, the effectiveness of the drug diminishes and you will have to increase the dosage of the drug that can cause addiction.
   • For short periods of time, sedatives can make your dog sleepy and not show outward signs of anxiety. However, she will still have a strong heartbeat and other internal physiological signs of anxiety. They simply cannot manifest externally.
   • The dog's brain will be less able to learn new things, which will negate all training gains even after stopping the drug.
   • Some sedatives can cause confusion and can make an anxious dog even more stressed.

Tips

• Use training tools to reduce anxiety. A soothing vest can reduce anxiety by constantly pressing on the acupuncture points responsible for calm behavior. These vests are sold at pet stores.
• If your dog barks out the window, take him to another room. This will distract her from the factors that caused her anxiety. Never use laser pointers to avoid further arousing or frightening your dog. You can train some commands with her if she already knows them well and the training does not cause her stress.

Warnings

• Never punish your dog if it displays anxious behavior. This will only cause the dog to stand in front of you and make the situation worse. In this case, your presence will begin to be associated with a feeling of fear in the dog.
• Never yell at your dog. It will not benefit any dog, but is especially harmful for dogs prone to anxiety. However, it is possible and sometimes even necessary to speak with a dog in a firm voice.