Dog anxiety, how to deal!

So you think your dog is experiencing anxiety, what should you do about it?

When you are worried that your dog is experiencing a high level of anxiety it’s important to observe their environment and their behavior to learn more about the what and the why before you can proceed with how to deal with it. You want to observe a few key details. What is causing the anxiety, how long are they anxious and how quickly they can calm down. Then we can get to a training plan and also explore the help of calming aids and or medications with the help of your veterinarian or a veterinary behaviorist.

When we are looking at the reason for the anxiety, sometimes it is very obvious. I’ll use fireworks as an example. It is very clear what is causing the anxiety, your dog clearly hears the fireworks and then the anxious behavior follows. This is a situation when we know exactly what is causing the anxiety and can take steps to decrease the overall anxiety in response to fireworks. Sometimes however it’s not as easy to see the reason. Some dogs present as anxious more frequently and it’s hard to tell why. So for the purposes of this article I will use labels, situational anxiety and generalized anxiety. I will state that if you are unsure of the reason for your dog's behavior it is important to seek the help of a qualified professional. Both certified dog trainers and your veterinarian may be needed to decrease your dog's overall anxiety. 

Once you start to understand more of what is causing your dogs anxiety some other important observations are how long they stay anxious and when they can come back to their baseline. If your dog is experiencing anxiety for long durations of time you know it’s time to get them some help to feel better faster. If your dog's anxiety is situational it’s important to take proactive measures to better help them cope. Firework season is the time to have a calming aid on hand and a safe place for your dog to cope with the impending boom booms. If your dog is experiencing more generalized anxiety you may need to have a daily regime or calming aids and enrichment protocols to help them deal with each day. 

Many dogs who struggle with anxiety benefit from a predictable routine and enrichment based outlets that do not put the dog into anxiety inducing situations. Sniffing is hugely helpful for dogs with anxiety. Allowing them plenty of time on a daily basis to just be a dog and use their nose. If a walk isn’t anxiety inducing you can let your dog's nose lead the walk. If your dog has a hard time out on a walk you introduce scent based games in your home. What’s really important is that your dog can use sniffing as a way to cope and decompress from their anxieties. 

Long term anxiety has a whole host of negative effects on both your dogs emotional and physical well being. Many dogs struggle with separation anxiety which is a full blown panic disorder and with each day they experience the separation anxiety, the effects intensify. So no matter what the cause of your dog's anxiety it’s important to do your best to decrease the situations and circumstances that are eliciting the anxiety. 

Training plans that address anxiety are often rooted in systematic desensitization protocols. That always starts at the level that the dog is comfortable and gradually increases the anxiety producing stimulus. It’s important to note that if your dog is experiencing a high level of anxiety, punishment based and or aversive training methods should be avoided at all costs as it will increase anxiety, not decrease it. Always seek the help of a qualified positive reinforcement based trainer that has experience dealing with your dog's specific anxiety. 

Dogs can experience anxiety for a lot of reasons but it’s important to try and understand the why to the anxiety. Always seek the help of qualified professionals to help you work through the anxiety and never use punishment or harsh methods as they won’t help, in fact it will make it worse. 

-Rachel Laurie Harris CPDT-KA