In 2024, Dog Anxiety Awareness Week is from May 6 - 12. The purpose of this internationally-recognized week is to provide dog owners with information on how to recognize the symptoms, identify the triggers and find treatments for anxiety in their pet dogs.
To start, it is helpful to know what is anxiety and how it can present itself. Many people use the terms anxiety and fear interchangeably; however, they are different. Anxiety relates to the anticipation of something scary about to happen, even if a trigger is not present; the dog expects that something terrible and frightening can occur at any given moment. Fear, however, concerns an emotional state while an actual trigger or scary situation is present. While fear and anxiety are contextually different, the symptoms of both are similar.
What are the symptoms of anxiety? Here are several key signals to watch out for:
Avoidance
Ears pinned back
Body lowered and stiff
Whites of eyes exposed in a crescent shape (called "whale eye")
Tucking one paw under the body, as a sign of appeasement
Looking away, or inability to maintain eye contact
Hyper-vigilance (scanning the environment intently, looking for threats)
Over-arousal and the Zoomies! Yes, that crazy grin your dog wears on its face as it zooms around the house can be a sign that your dog is happy, but it can also be sign of increased arousal levels, stress and anxiety!
Pacing back and forth
Panting and drooling
Yawning and lip licking
Scratching their body
Difficulty sleeping
Excessive barking and whining
Aggression (e.g., barking, lunging, growling, air snapping)
House soiling (i.e., urinating or eliminating their bowels inside the house)
Scratching and destroying doorways, window sills and pieces of furniture
Dog anxiety is complex, and it can take time to pinpoint the root cause, and the treatment will depend on the reason behind your dog's anxiety. This is why it can be helpful to book a consultation with your veterinarian team, who can help you discover and/or rule out if an underlying medical condition is the culprit behind your dog's anxiety.
In addition, a certified positive reinforcement trainer and/or behaviourist can help you navigate behaviour modification plans and relaxation protocols and calming techniques.
In many cases, reducing stress and anxiety can involve:
Managing your home environment.
Ensuring that your dog's exercise needs are met, and the amount and type of activity they need will depend on their breed, age and health. Harder, more intense exercise is not always the answer. In fact, depending on the situation, more intense exercise can make anxiety worse!
Teaching your dog how to self-settle (calm down) and be more self-controlled.
Desensitization and counter-conditioning protocols (behaviour modification) with well-managed criteria.
As a certified professional pet dog trainer, Kate Hendriks is on a mission to help recent shelter and rescue dogs decompress from all the stress while learning essential life skills to help them integrate into family life. To book an initial consultation, or to learn more about her training services, contact Kate Hendriks today!
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