Dog anxiety has always existed. However, before leash laws and modern domestication, dogs would simply disappear when faced with a stressful event. Nowadays, people delight in pampering their dogs like children. Confined to homes, yards, and leashes, dogs' ability to retreat, explore, greet others, and self-soothe has been significantly compromised.
When considering how your dog’s anxiety affects their everyday life, it’s helpful to note that dogs, like people and other animals, are driven by routine impulses and emotions. See if you can relate to any of these actions:
- Seeking: To fulfill the certainties of everyday life, such as locating food, water, and shelter.
- Curiosity: The instinct to discover, explore, and identify unknown sensory experiences.
- Play: To engage in spontaneous, joyful, and non-serious activities.
- Fear: To respond to a perceived threat or danger.
- Frustration: The feeling of impatience or annoyance when needs or desires are unmet.
Types of dog anxiety
Like humans, every dog is unique. Your dog might experience episodic anxiety — specific incidents such as reactions to vacuums or fireworks — or generalized anxiety, which is a constant state of distress. Here are some of the anxieties dogs face:
- Separation anxiety: Most dogs rest when left alone. Dogs with separation anxiety, however, often have panic attacks, feeling vulnerable, desperate, lonely, and abandoned. Dogs don’t destroy the furnishings, bark their heads off, or pee all over the house out of spite. Their reactions are the result of a build-up of fear and frustration, like steam escaping from a kettle.
- Containment anxiety: When dogs feel trapped, they’re overcome by a physiological response known as the freedom reflex; their body is consumed by one impulse — to break free. While many dogs acclimate to crate and leash training, some do not. For these dogs, any confinement, even being tethered to a leash, can feel like jail.
- Social anxiety: Dogs, like people, intuitively connect with some individuals over others. What separates social anxiety from social preferences are fear, discomfort, and distrust. Some dogs become dysregulated in the presence of all people or other dogs, while others are triggered by specific scents, personalities, and visual cues, such as hats, obstructed faces, or uniforms. Many dogs with trauma react strongly to people who remind them of past events.
- Sensory sensitivity: Dogs navigate their world through their senses. Unfamiliar or previously threatening stimuli can cause anxiety. Sounds like construction, fireworks, vacuums, or thunder can trigger fear, especially if a dog has not been exposed and positively conditioned to them at a young age. Modern environments also pose challenges — the scent of candles, the chaos of a party, the sights and sounds of animals on TV, and unpleasant car rides can unsettle dogs. These fears, if unaddressed, may lead to chronic anxiety.
The roots of anxiety
Many factors play into a dog’s anxiety. It isn’t easy to pinpoint a single cause since it’s usually a combination of many influences, from genetics and early caregiving to traumatic events and a lack of exposure. A variety of factors can contribute to dog anxiety:
- Genetics: Genetics influence a dog’s personality and sensory awareness. While anxiety is not directly inherited, a dog’s tolerance for stress and frustration can be. A mother’s disposition and health also impact her litter. Puppies raised by a secure and well-cared-for mother dog tend to feel safer around people, whereas those with anxious or neglected mothers may develop higher anxiety levels.
- Socialization: Young puppies undergo a critical socialization period between 5 and 14 weeks. During this time, diverse sounds, sights, and experiences are imprinted on their brain and accepted as normal. Outside of this window, new experiences can be unfamiliar and cause anxiety. Under-socialized dogs may perceive anything unfamiliar as a threat. Although socializing an older dog is more challenging, it’s not impossible. With patience, treats, and positive reinforcement, even older dogs can learn to associate new experiences with safety and pleasure, mitigating anxiety over time.
- Trauma: Even a previously well-socialized dog might develop anxiety if they experience a traumatic event, such as being hit by a person, abandoned, or attacked by another animal. These dogs often relive their experiences whenever a sight, sound, smell, scenario, or person triggers their memory.
- Medical issues: Pain from injuries, joint problems, or other conditions can make simple actions agonizing, intensifying anxiety and causing social withdrawal. Cardiac and respiratory issues directly affect metabolic functions and stress levels. Diseases like Cushing’s and thyroid imbalances can alter hormone levels, contributing to behavioral changes and anxiety. Digestive problems, parasites, and grooming-related discomfort can also cause distress, heightening overall anxiety. It’s critical to rule out medical causes before assuming a dog’s anxiety is purely psychological, as proper diagnosis and treatment can greatly improve their well-being.
- Aging: As dogs age, their senses deteriorate, making familiar sounds and sights startling and disorienting, which can increase anxiety. Cognitive Dysfunction Syndrome (CDS), like Alzheimer’s in humans, causes disorientation, irregular sleep patterns, and incontinence, further exacerbating anxiety. Arthritis reduces mobility, leading to pain and dependency, which can be distressing for previously active and independent dogs.
- What people reinforce: Dogs are highly perceptive of our moods and emotions. When dogs express their anxiety through chewing, pacing, or barking, people often assume they are “stubborn,” “spiteful,” or “bad.” When people react with frustration or excessive worry, they emit stress hormones, which studies show dogs can smell like perfume. Dogs, sensitive to these emotional cues, associate our negative emotions with the situation rather than their behavior, which can exacerbate their anxiety. Maintaining a steady and calm demeanor is critical in managing a dog’s anxiety.
- Lifestyle changes: Dogs are creatures of habit, and lifestyle changes can significantly influence their anxiety levels. New additions to the household, such as a baby or another pet, can disrupt their sense of security. Changes in work or school schedules can also lead to separation stress. Moving to a new home involves new routines and environments that can unsettle dogs. Even changes in relationships or roommates can trigger anxiety, as dogs rely on familiar faces and consistent routines. To ease these transitions, it’s crucial to maintain as much consistency as possible and gradually acclimate your dog to new situations.
Restoring balance
Dogs just want to feel safe — those with anxiety experience life as a series of unpredictable events. The goal is to make their lives more predictable, filled with calm, loving interaction and playful experiences. With your help, they can work through their fears by engaging in fun training activities, establishing a consistent, reassuring routine, and developing a clear-cut rehabilitation plan.
Build a better bond
Your relationship with your dog will grow stronger once you can understand and validate their life experience. To truly comprehend what your dog is communicating, however, you must master the art of “listening” with your eyes. As dogs convey emotion through subtle movements of their ears, tails, eyes, mouth, and posture, interpretation comes from watching their cues, especially in stressful moments. Actions should no longer be categorized as good or bad but as insight into their emotional well-being.
Structuring their daily life with a consistent routine — ensuring regular meals, playtime, walks, and rest — creates a sense of security. Training and games reinforce your bond and teach them to rely on your guidance when life gets unpredictable. Earning their trust involves showing them that you understand their needs and will protect them from perceived threats.
Address your dog’s anxiety
The approach to addressing anxiety depends on your dog’s specific fears. If your dog suffers from multiple types of anxiety, which is often the case, it’s best to address one at a time. Keeping a behavior diary is essential to tracking your progress and the factors involved in your dog’s rehabilitation. Most methods involve desensitization and counterconditioning games and activities.
There is a specific protocol for treating separation anxiety. By implementing structured, incremental departures and interval training, you can build your dog’s trust that you will return whenever you leave. Many see progress within weeks as their dog becomes more comfortable with being alone. For social anxiety and sensory sensitivities, such as noise or sight aversions, you’ll want to gradually expose your dog to these triggers in a controlled setting, helping to desensitize them over time.
If you think your dog might react aggressively when interacting with others, always take precautions by conditioning them to a muzzle and learning to recognize their “back-off” signals. It’s also important to identify your dog’s red zone and safe zone — the boundary where they become reactive and the point where they remain stable and can respond to direction.
In most instances, there are two main ways to soothe an anxious dog: distance and time. Once you identify something triggering your dog, move away from it and bring your dog to a comforting place, whether that’s behind your legs, a pre-designed safe space in your home, or a location away from the trigger.
These are just a few considerations when tailoring a rehabilitation plan for your dog. The most important part is to work at your dog’s pace, never push them past their limits, and trust their innate goodness.
Medication, products, and pet professionals
Don’t hesitate to seek help when working through your dog’s anxiety. Trainers, veterinarians, and veterinary behaviorists are just a quick call away, and most offer online support. While some people view pharmaceuticals as a last resort, prescription medication can be crucial for managing persistent anxiety. Natural supplements such as CBD, probiotics, prebiotics, Bach flower, melatonin, and more can also benefit many dogs. Always consult your veterinarian before making any changes to your dog’s diet or regimen. Plenty of products, from ThunderShirts® and sound machines to Snuggle Puppies®, can assist in alleviating your dog’s anxiety, making the rehabilitation process smoother and more effective.
