What Can You Try for Your Dog’s Anxiety?

Until now if you have been aware of only human anxiety, well, we welcome you to the club! Similar to humans, dogs too experience anxiety.

While it might be a bit shocking to hear, however, it is just as normal an experience as for humans as it is for dogs. The anxiety has the potential to affect all breeds with affecting each breed differently than the other.

The emotion is experienced from time to time, if left unattended, has the potential to get stronger and develop a disorder difficult to cure. The disorder might further lead to varied behavioral issues that might not be a pleasant sight for your furry baby.

If you too have been experiencing a similar condition, you might need some real guidance. Here we will discuss everything about dog’s anxiety, from causes, to symptoms to cure, so that you can help your canine baby out.

Causes of Dog’s Anxiety

The anxiety might stem from a large number of causes and some of the common ones are as mentioned in the following:

1. Separation

A lot similar to that of humans, dogs too experience separation anxiety, a kind of anxiety that is experienced when they are left alone or separated from their family. The anxiety has the potential to manifest itself into a number of undesirable behaviors including destroying the furniture, the house materials, and so on.

2. Aging

Anxiety stemming from aging is strictly restricted to a certain age and is associated with cognitive dysfunction syndrome (CDS). Dogs experiencing this condition often face a steep decline in the ability to learn, to perceive, to stay aware, and to lose a few more of similar canine abilities. This further leads to a complete state of confusion and anxiety experienced among senior dogs.

3. Fear

This kind of anxiety can take place due to loud noises, being exposed to animals or strange people on the road. It might even include any visual stimuli such as a new environment, a hat, a car ride to the vet’s office, or even an umbrella, and so on. The anxiety stemming from fear might pose extremely brief reactions however, they have a strong potential to cause a deep impact.

Symptoms Stemming from Anxiety

• Aggression
• Drooling
• Urinating
• Constant barking
• Pacing
• Repetitive behavior
• Restlessness
• Destruction around the house and a lot more

While some of them can be temporary, some might become recurrent, leading to a grave anxiety disorder. Dog owners need to keep a strong check on the symptoms and diagnose them immediately and get started with the required treatment.

Treatment

Being a pet owner, it might be extremely difficult to watch your furry friend deal with suffering from a wide range of anxiety symptoms. Luckily, there are a number of treatments available that have the potential to reduce or combat the symptoms and thus reduce the anxiety level down.

1. Training Along with Counter-Conditioning

There are a number of strategies that are used by owners to treat anxiety better. One of the most common ways is counter-conditioning, where the primary purpose lies in changing the response of the dogs to stimuli response for anxiety. This takes place with replacing the aggressive behavior with the desired one that includes focusing on the owner.

Along with this, another common training strategy is known as desensitization where the dog is introduced to the source of anxiety in extremely small doses and at a much-reduced intensity. Repeated positive behavior is extremely rewarding in the long run.

At this point in time, it is also recommended to get in touch with a professional dog trainer to help offer you guidance to choose the right approach for your little one.

2. Help Your Dog Exercise

This is one of the most common and obvious ways of reducing anxiety where it helps to ease their mind like a breeze. Although it might seem too unrealistic, it is extremely helpful not only for reducing anxiety or also for propagating an induced level of bonding between the pet and the owner.

The exercise session should be implemented to tire your dog out that can help to be an easy fixation for the anxiety combat process. As anxiety can be a real concern for mental health, hence taking your furry member out to play ball or even on a long walk can be extremely nurturing and refreshing.

An ample amount of physical contact and bonding time can be an extremely beneficial source of anxiety treatment. Quite similar to the human counterparts, physical exercises are an extremely instrumental source for producing endorphins responsible for relieving stress.

3. Treating Anxiety with CBD

CBD is indeed a blessing for dogs and dog owners that helps to relax the furry animal out and ease the anxiety. Some dog owners have reported experiencing a tremendous amount of success with CBD dog treats while treating anxiety among dogs.

CBD dog treats are becoming the new age formula for reducing stress, anxiety, and physical ailment among animals. It is a fast-growing treatment for a number of symptoms that come along with anxiety in dogs.

The non-psychoactive drug works by interacting with the endocannabinoid system, a process that attracts the CBD compound while working through the peripheral nervous system while treating mental stress. This process further allows the CBD compound to enter the brain while releasing serotonin.

This has a calming impact on the body, including easing the dog’s anxiety and the pain receptors. The benefits do not just stop here; in fact, these delectable treats are anti-inflammatory as well and are ideal for your dog when experiencing chronic pain or any injury.

It is a helpful component towards inducing a better quality of life and has been a lot useful for dogs facing anxiety issues, which otherwise is getting quite difficult to be healed. The hemp plant compound, containing less than 0.3% of THC is non-toxic for the canine babies and hence is completely safe for consumption.

Correct Dosage of CBD Oil for Anxiety

According to Dr. Green of TheCannabisRadar “The dosages for anxiety will have to be calculated in a similar manner as it is for humans. The size and weight play a major role, along with the product potency. So it is important to choose a truly potent brand that is value for money.”

It is recommended to start with small doses, and the best way to determine the dosage is to adhere to the manufacturer’s directions along with the vet’s guidance.

4. Music Therapy

The innovative stress-relieving theory, music therapy has been extremely beneficial for not only for humans but also for our canine friends. There is a strong power of music that should not be ignored while relieving stress among dogs.

Music has the potential to alleviate noise sensitivity and blocks the scary noises which might be bothering the furry animals. Research has shown that dogs do prefer classical music which also acts as a natural sedative.

5. Massage

Don’t you wish for a deep intense massage after a long stressed out day? Well, it can even work for your canine partner too!

Anxiety often tenses out of the muscles which can be rightly eased with the help of therapy, a great way to alleviate tension. You need to start at the neck while working downward using extremely long intense strokes.

While massaging, try to keep one hand on the dog using the other one to massage. With time, you might be able to identify the point of stress for the dog and slowly work to relax the stress down.

6. Avoid Stressful Situations

By now you must be aware of the situations that stress your dog out. If you have witnessed your dog experiencing anxiety, it is recommended to avoid the situations that usually induce the triggers.

For example, if your dog gets stressed out when exposed to a large group of dogs, it is recommended that you avoid taking your dog to such places.

Avoidance however does not mean that you need to put his/her life on hold and avoid playtime, but it means avoiding the situations that lead to stress. Alternatively, you can take your dog out to the terrace or to a walk nearby where there is minimum exposure to other dogs.

If the source can be avoided, it can successfully help combat anxiety symptoms and help your furry little one stay at ease.

Final Thoughts

Similar to humans, dogs too experience anxiety at some point or the other, and although not all have the experience and the same level of anxiety; however any intensity experienced can lead to a grave anxiety disorder. Hence, at this point, it is crucial to know the causes, the symptoms, and the treatment.

Evaluating the necessary can help you develop a strong understanding of the relevant treatment towards reducing anxiety. In addition to exercising a number of beneficial treatments such as physical contact, music therapy, and counter-conditioning, CBD also has emerged as one of the potential treatments that can play havoc significance in the life of a dog and a dog owner.

However, it is always recommended to consult a professional veterinarian before going forward with any kind of drug-oriented treatment for understanding the best level of dosage.