Dogs, just as like humans, are susceptible to anxiety attacks. Most of this stem from our actions. For example, if you have been trying to train your dog, but you have been giving out too many complicated commands for a simple action, that can result in your dog getting anxious. In another example, if you have been constantly aggressive towards your dog, it can cause your dog to develop anxiety attacks, and it might turn aggressive too.
Do you notice that the above examples do show that the dog is not shown enough love from you? Indeed, that is one of the underlying causes of anxiety issues in dogs, and this can also be applicable for children too. In our quest to nurture our dogs or even children, we can be unknowingly creating anxiety issues for them, and that can inevitably cause our dogs to howl loudly, have a sudden decrease in appetite, or even constipation or having diarrhoea.
How to help dogs with anxiety issues
Of course, while it may sound simple to simply just show love to our dogs so that we can solve the anxiety issues, the truth is that it might not be as straightforward as it sounds. While showing love is important, it is equally important that the delivery of love is correct too. Here are some of the ways that you can use to help calm your anxious dog.
1. Exercising your dog
Exercising your dog is one of the most cost-efficient ways to calm your dog. It has been scientifically proven that exercising that does to reduce endorphins that can help to reduce anxiety issues in humans as well as dogs. These endorphins are important in soothing those raging nerves, so it is important that dogs get their daily walks too. Another subtle benefit is that by exercising your dog, you would have burn out most of their energy and hence they might not be energetic enough to feel anxiety since the dog might be too exhausted to feel anxious. Exercising together with your do might be good too as it can also help you to keep fit too.
2. Use Calming blankets
There is a reason why your dog love to snuggle up with you. The main reason is that it helps to create a soothing effect on your dog with the enveloping effect. Using this as a basis, you can purchase peripherals that help to mimic this effect. One such item is the calming blanket for dogs, and you can place it on your dog when they are in the bed. It can be especially useful during the night too as it can help to prevent the dog from howling when night falls, or when there loud thundering sounds from the storm.
Another way to calm your dog down is by using the Thundershirt for dogs. This is a unique item that you can wear over your dog, and the item can also mimic the hugging effect by the calming blanket too. The unique weighted padding on the Thundershirt helps to create the illusion of a hug, and it is has been proven that this can really help to reduce the anxiety issues in the dog.
3. Training the dog
Do you know that some dogs howl when they are left alone in the house? This is what we term as separation anxiety, and this is something that affects even children. To circumvent this in our dogs, we can proceed to conduct basic training so that the dog can be accustomed to them being left for long periods of time. Note that you should not stress the dog too much during the training as it the effect might be reversed, rendering your efforts useless.
4. Buy A Dog Crate
Dog crate should be every dog owner’s best friend. There is a negative connotation about dog crates that we will need to address. You see, most amateur dog owners will assume that the dog crate is a tool for punishment, but this is entirely wrong. The dog crate is actually a useful tool, especially if your dog is feeling anxious.
Recall earlier that we mentioned dogs love the calming effect from being hugged? The same applies for the dog crate as it helps to create an enveloping illusion when the dog is in the crate. But for this to happen, the dog crate cannot be too large for the dog. A good estimate is to measure the dog’s height and length and add about two inches to it. That should be the dimension that your dog requires to move about in its place when they are in the crate. To help double up the effect, cover the sides and top of the crate with a cloth, leaving an opening in front so that the dog can enter with ease. This helps to double up the enveloping effect on the dog. The dog crate will be your best friend when there is a thunderstorm!
5. Use Supplements
You can always opt to use supplements on your dog to help sooth their raging nerves. One such supplement is the CBD oil for dogs. There has been substantial research on the usage of CBD oil on our furry friends, and it has been proven that it can help to calm our dogs down with ease.
The main reason for this is the main ingredient in the CBD oil, which is Cannabidiol Oil. It is the same ingredient that can be found in legalized medical marijuana that can be found in many states too. But even if you intend to give CBD oil in your dog, always ensure that you read through the list of ingredients, as there are some manufacturers of CBD oil that includes fillers into them, and such fillers might not be too useful on the dog.
6. Using Interactive Toys
Another good way to help your anxious dog is by using interactive toys. These interactive toys can be intellectually stimulating such that it engages the dog when you are away, hence lessening the effects of separation anxiety on them! If need be, buy a pet camera so that you can watch your dog from afar!