Understanding Anxiety in Pets
It’s an all-too-common scene: You return home from running errands, expecting a warm greeting from your pet. But instead, you find that your dog destroyed the sofa or your cat eliminated on the rug. Welcome home! It’s natural to think that your pets are angry with you when they exhibit these behaviors, but this couldn’t be further from the truth. So what’s really going on inside your pet’s head? Possibly feelings of anxiety and fear.
Anxiety and fear are common contributing factors to behavior problems in dogs and cats. And pets express these feelings in different ways, including destruction, vocalization, house soiling, and aggression. Dogs and cats may experience anxiety or fear because of thunderstorms or other loud noises, traveling in the car, strange people or animals, as well as separation from you.
DON’T TAKE IT PERSONALLY
Research shows that many cats that inappropriately eliminate outside the litter box are experiencing anxiety. The anxiety can be a result of outdoor or other household cats that make the cat feel threatened. Dramatic changes, such as a new baby, new dog, or new spouse, also can cause anxiety. Try to see the problem through your cat’s eyes. Many cats don’t get along well with others, be it cats or new people, so their unacceptable behaviors are a result of their anxiety, fear, or stress—not spite or anger directed at you.
Cats’ unacceptable behaviors are a result of their anxiety, fear, or stress—not spite or anger directed at you.
Similarly, dogs that experience anxiety because of loud noises, new dogs or people, or discomfort about being alone may be experiencing profound distress. Don’t take it personally. Try to sympathize with your pet.
It can be confusing when your pet acts fearful or anxious about things that, from your point of view, don’t seem scary. Be aware that anxiety isn’t always rational. It’s not for people to say, “There’s no reason for my pet to be afraid of being left alone or thunder.” If a pet perceives something as frightening, then the pet’s perception is its reality and that’s what it will act on.
HOW TO HELP
Before you reach your wit’s end, remember that there are steps you can take to help your pets feel less anxious.
1. Visit the veterinarian. One of the first things you can do when you believe your pet is experiencing anxiety is to take your pet to the veterinarian. A variety of medical conditions and even some medications can contribute to anxiety. What’s more, inappropriate urination, especially in cats, can be a result of a medical problem. Your veterinarian can perform an examination and any necessary diagnostic tests to help rule out medical factors. It’s less common for dramatic temperament or behavior changes to occur after maturity (5 to 7 years old) unless some significant distressing event has taken place. So any pet that experiences a major behavior change at that age could have a medical problem and should be examined by a veterinarian.
2. Refrain from discipline. Another critical aspect of dealing with anxiety-related behavior is to stay away from punishment. Avoid yelling at the pet and even seemingly benign gestures such as shaking a finger and scolding. Don’t use physical punishments such as leash corrections or hitting. Fear and anxiety are emotions that the pet doesn’t have much control over. Scolding only frightens your pet, increases its anxiety, and damages its relationship with you.
3. Refrain from consoling. Conversely, avoid trying to soothe your anxious pet and giving your cat or dog attention when he seeks comfort. This can be difficult for any loving pet owner, but be aware that comforting behavior will not always help and may worsen the situation because the pet is rewarded for attention-seeking behavior. Either completely ignore the anxious behavior, or, if possible, try to distract your pet with a favorite activity, such as playing with a toy or doing tricks. Use an upbeat, happy tone of voice at all times so you don’t further distress your pet.
4. Avoid the fearful stimuli. Some well-intentioned pet owners incorrectly believe that repeatedly exposing their pet to the fearful stimuli will help it get over its fear. The more likely result is that the pet’s fear of that particular stimulus will only worsen. Every time a pet feels fear or anxiety associated with a particular experience or place, its emotional state of fear or anxiety becomes more strongly associated with that experience or place. The pet undergoes a form of classical conditioning; in other words, your cat or dog learns that the place or experience is to be feared because he or she feels fear or anxiety in association with it.
If your dog is afraid of other dogs, don’t walk it in locations where there are likely to be a high number of other dogs.
Each additional situation when the pet experiences the fear or anxiety further conditions this response. The longer the cycle of fear and anxiety continues, the more resistant the pet becomes to change.
Be aware that you shouldn’t ignore behavior problems in the hope that they’ll get better over time. Most behavior problems left untreated worsen with time, and the sooner you seek qualified help from your veterinarian, the more likely you’ll be able to help your pet.
GET PROFESSIONAL ADVICE
So what can you do to help prevent the worsening of your pet’s fear or anxiety? Once you’ve identified a cause, try to avoid it whenever possible. If your pet is fearful or anxious when strangers enter your home, then confine your pet to a place where it is comfortable and can’t see the strangers. Leave dogs with a chew bone or other long-lasting treat or toy. Provide cats a comfortable place to sleep. Remember, this isn’t intended to be punishment. It’s the easiest way to keep the pet anxiety free. If your pet is fearful or anxious about traveling, don’t force it to travel. If your dog is afraid of other dogs, don’t walk it in locations where there are likely to be a high number of other dogs.
Avoiding the situations that cause your cat or dog fear isn’t always feasible, so rest assured that you do have options. Your first and best option is to discuss the issue with your veterinarian. Next, if your pet’s fear is limited to a few specific and predictable events, such as thunderstorms or car travel, you could just contend with the problem when it occurs. To help, your veterinarian can prescribe medication to help prevent your pet’s anxiety during these anticipated instances.
If your pet experiences anxiety and fear every day, don’t delay seeking help from your veterinarian. Pets suffering from ongoing fear or anxiety can react so severely that they cause serious injury to themselves or destruction to the environment around them. With these more frequent anxiety- or fear-related problems, your veterinarian may recommend regular medication along with a behavior modification program. He or she also may refer you to a veterinarian who is board certified by the American College of Veterinary Behaviorists (represented in veterinarians’ credentials as DACVB). These veterinarians have received advanced education in pet behavior and devote their time specifically to helping pets overcome difficult behavior problems, such as separation anxiety.
While working with your veterinarian to ease your pet’s anxiety, don’t be afraid to give your pet anti-anxiety medications. These products are safer than ever. They will not alter your pet’s personality or turn it into a “zombie.” While sedation can be a side effect of some of the medications, with repeated dosing this side effect usually disappears, and, if it doesn’t, a decrease in the dose will almost always eliminate it. Your veterinarian will help determine which medication—if any—is right for your pet. No single medication works on every pet, and sometimes different medications and different dosages will need to be tried in order to find the one that works best in your pet’s situation.
Anxiety and fear are complex issues for cats and dogs. Working with your veterinarian will help simplify the process and will help improve life for both you and your pets.
LEARN YOUR DOG’S ANXIETY CUES
Body language isn’t necessarily easy to read. For example, people aren’t always adept at figuring out how friends, family members, or co-workers are feeling, hence miscommunications and unintentional hurt feelings. Understanding nonverbal communication in our canine companions is no different.
While there are some classic (if subtle) signs that dogs display when they are anxious, you’ll need to take some time to observe and learn about your dog’s signs of fear or anxiety. Signs range from subtle (licking lips) to obvious (overt aggression). To complicate matters, many of the early behaviors associated with anxiety and fear are normal in certain circumstances but, when displayed in different contexts or combined, can indicate nervousness. For example, dogs pant when they exercise. But if they haven’t recently exercised, panting is usually caused by anxiety.
Most of the time, anxious or fearful dogs will display more than one symptom, or they may show a progression from subtle signs to more obvious signs if their anxiety is not relieved. Subtle signs include avoiding eye contact, repeated yawning, or frequent licking of the lips. Obvious signs include laying the ears back on the head, lowering the head, tucking the tail, panting, salivating, pacing, or trying to withdraw from the stimulus.
Take a look at the photos on this page to compare calm canines to some that are experiencing anxiety. Learning to recognize the signs of anxiety in your dog can be challenging, but by closely observing your dog’s facial expressions and body language, you can quickly learn to identify when he is anxious.