As far-fetched as it sounds, dogs experience anxiety too and while it’s not a great feeling, it can be normal and healthy. It is something that can happen to any dog irrespective of its breed and can also manifest itself in different forms. However, as normal as anxiety is in dogs, a disproportionate amount of it especially when left unchecked can cause an anxiety disorder.
There are many reasons why your dog may have anxiety. It may be because of a trauma in the past or because of hyper attachment which has been formed towards a single person.
Whatever the case may be, when your dog has anxiety, there are certain ‘bad behaviors’ they exhibit and these, (according to BarxBuddy, a brand that majors in creating innovative dog training tools among other equipment) are the symptoms that your dog has anxiety.
Dribbling Urine
One of the things that happen to dogs during the fight or flight response that comes with anxiety is urine dribbling. This means that just like the human body, the animal body gives off an adrenaline response which allows them to get out of whatever situation has caused the flight or fight response. In response, the anal sphincter and bladder muscles relax resulting in a waste release.
This situation is completely normal with animal anxiety. So, you shouldn’t think your dog has bad behavior simply because this happens to it during those situations.
Chewing Objects
If your dog is chewing objects, window sills, door frames, digging at doorways and doors or just destroying household objects, it may be a sign that he’s trying to get rid of some nervous energy.
Since this behavior is very destructive, you can still help to alleviate their nervous energy by leaving them something they can chew on like a bone, chew toy, frozen Kong or any other thing that can be chewed and licked safely.
Pacing
Again, just like humans, animals pace around when they’re nervous. You’ve probably caught your dog doing it before and sometimes, it may be because of boredom while at other times, anxiety.
Whichever the case may be, getting your dog tired by having him exercise and play around is a great way to get rid of that nervous energy. You can also use this time to train your dog using the BarxBuddy Dog Training Device.
Related:
BarxBuddy: Everything You Need To Know [2020 Review]
Tail Thumping
A lot of people think that when dogs are wagging or thumping their tails, they’re happy but that’s not always the case. In the canine world, the combination of a submissive grin with tail thumping means that your dog is anxious. Tail thumping is different from the classic tail wagging. It’s slower and not as animated.
When this happens, carrying out bounding exercises with your dog and providing comfort is a great way to deal with the anxiety. You should also introduce interesting exercises like tug of war and other plays to your dog.
Yawning
Dogs are really cute when they yawn but this act can also mean that they’re stressed especially when they do it often. They might even get slobbery and start licking their lips. If this happens a lot, you should let your dog get some rest by making the house more comfortable.
