Pet Anxiety: Why Do Pets Get Anxious?

We all get anxious sometimes, your pets included. Pet anxiety is a fear of a threat or danger, so in certain situations, if your pet feels something might harm them, it’s completely normal and natural for them to feel worried. However, if your pet has an excessive, uncontrollable fear reaction, they might have a phobia. Let’s take a look at why pets get anxious and some ways in which you can help them. We’ll also tell you what to do if you think your pet has a phobia.

Reasons for dogs or cats feeling stressed can include:

Separation anxiety – when you leave them alone
When they travel in the car or go on long journeys
Moving house
Being put in boarding kennels
During training
When visiting the vet or groomer
When they hear loud noises such as fireworks or thunderstorms
Fear of children

What to Look Out For

If your pet is anxious, they are likely to act differently and go off their food. Signs in a dog include licking their lips excessively, panting, looking away from you, barking continuously, destroying the furniture, digging, pacing and trying to escape when previously they might have been quite content at home. Dogs or cats might behave aggressively or bite, or toilet in the wrong place.

What to Do if Your Pet Experiences Pet Anxiety

You will need to determine whether your pet is ill or injured or there is another reason for their behaviour. For example, if your dog or cat is licking their leg excessively, they might have a wound, or their behaviour might be down to boredom. If however, your pet is anxious, there are several things you can do.

You can buy natural pet remedies to help soothe your pet. These drops are suitable for all kinds of pets from dogs and cats to birds, horses, iguanas and even fish. Add the product to your pet’s food or rub it onto their ears, nose or paw.

Treating Stressed Dogs

If your dog is stressed, you can buy products from your pet store that release a scent that can help to soothe them. This scent is a synthetic copy of a naturally appeasing pheromone that is released by mothers when they give birth to comfort their puppies. You can get collars that your dog wears, plug-in diffusers, and sprays to use on bedding and in crates.

Special dog coats help to calm your dog by applying constant and gentle pressure to them. Also available are chews and treats that contain tryptophan to help dogs with territorial aggression, dominance aggression, or general anxiety.

Pet Phobias

A phobia is an exaggerated fear response that can be completely overwhelming and life-altering. With dogs, the tendency to develop phobias is often inherited, but it can also be due to an event that made them fearful. If your pet has a phobia, you should seek professional advice. Treatment might include medication, or therapies from trained professionals such as desensitisation, behaviour modification, or counterconditioning.

Pet Anxiety: Why Do Pets Get Anxious?