Dog anxiety - signs, solutions, and scenarios to avoid
How can you tell if your dog is anxious? Sometimes, the signs are glaringly obvious; if you’re clearing up an accident from the living-room floor, you’re likely to realise that something is up. But sometimes things are subtler. Behavioural and physiological changes can indicate that your dog is suffering from stress, anxiety, or fear. Let’s have a look at the scenarios which can trigger dog anxiety, and how you can deal with it.
Does Your Dog Miss You When You’re Gone?
Does your dog become visibly stressed when you are leaving the house? Do they try and follow you out the door, bark, scratch, or bite the furniture in your absence? These, along with incontinence, salivating, and increased activity, are all classic signs of separation anxiety. While it’s nice to know that your pet loves you back, this is not healthy for your dog’s wellbeing and can lead to an unhappy pooch.
YuCALM Dog eases anxiety with a special blend of the natural fish protein hydrolysate to support your dog’s brain, helping calming signals find the right spot. It also supports serotonin levels for a ‘feel good’ effect.
Paws for thought: Dogs experiencing separation anxiety will find it comforting to chew materials which carry your scent – so shut away your favourite shoes if you don’t want them to become a safety blanket! Instead, leave their favourite stuffed toy in easy reach to keep them occupied whilst you’re away.
Is Your Dog Scared of Other Dogs?
Shyness in dogs can arise for any number of reasons; lack of socialisation when young or a scary experience being two major possibilities. It can be hard, but not impossible, to re-train an adult dog, to become more confident. Behavioural training is an important part of reducing shyness in dogs and can work best when your dog is calm and content to begin with.
YuCALM Dog supports calm behaviour by maintaining the optimum levels of hormones responsible for happiness. The calming properties in L-tryptophan, one of the active ingredients, support the natural production of serotonin to help keep that tail wagging.
Paws for thought:Try to remain calm around your timid dog. If you mollycoddle, your dog may think that he or she is being rewarded and may instinctively revert to this behaviour in the future.
Is Your Dog Frightened of The Vets?
Even when you avoid the dreaded “V-E-T” buzzword, your dog sometimes just knows where they’re going. They might become irritable and even aggressive towards their human friends and this is likely to have a detrimental effect on their mental wellbeing.
YuCALM Dog helps reduce stress to make your dog feel more relaxed and encourage their calm behaviour. The natural Lemon Balm helps to soothe any stress your dog might be feeling and make the V-E-T (shh!) experience wholly more pleasant. Just give your dog YuCALM Dog 1-3 weeks as a minimum to help soothe the anxiety.
Paws for thought:Did you know that you can now get special music and playlists to calm excited or anxious pets? Something to consider is this dog calming CD and playlist – the profits go to Collie Rescue, too.
Is Your Dog Scared of Fireworks?
Fireworks are a very common source of anxiety in dogs. It’s worth keeping in touch with your local community and encouraging your neighbours to let one another know if they are planning fireworks. If you know fireworks are coming up, you should start preparing your pooch in advance with a combination of behavioural therapy, an adapted schedule, and a natural calming supplement.
YuCALM Dog reduces feelings of fear by supporting the natural calming pathways in the brain. As it is made from all-natural ingredients, YuCALM simply optimises the happy, playful hormones already produced by your dog.
Paws for thought: Find more in-depth information on managing your dog’s anxiety in the lead-up to a fireworks event in our blog piece on the subject. Read on here.
Does Your Dog React Badly to Visitors?
Even the most confident pooch can be phased by the prospect of a new human around or approaching the house. Whether this be a temporary visitor or a new arrival who’s here to stay, it’s worth paying close attention to your dog’s mental and physical reaction to new (or even regular) visitors. Signs of anxiety include, but are not limited to, whimpering, aggressive behaviour, incontinence, shaking, and salivating. Dog anxiety is a condition which should be treated to avoid any harm to your four, (and two!), legged friends.
YuCALM Dog relieves day-to-day dog anxiety with B vitamins which support healthy nerves and brain function. This will reduce excitability and improve concentration, so your dog can enjoy meeting new friends without the worry. Because YuCALM is all-natural it can be used every day (short-term and long-term) which might come in handy if your dog is a door-bell-barker!
Paws for thought: Just like humans, dogs benefit from exercise on a mental as well as a physical level. If you can find time in your morning routine for a brisk walk with your pooch, you’ll both get a boost of endorphins. Now that’s a good start to the day!
Have you noticed your dog exhibiting signs of anxiety on any other occasions? Do you have any handy hints for pet-owners with timid pups? Leave a comment below or join our pet-loving community on the Lintbells Facebook and Instagram pages.
