Understanding Anxiety Emotion In Dogs
Dog Anxiety Is Emotional
A new study (Scientific Reports) says that over 70% of dogs have anxiety!
I see dogs with anxiety-based issues all the time. Behaviors show up as dogs who tremble in fear, cower in corners, flee when visitors arrive, or panic when an unexpected noise happens. Anxiety is a burden on the body, health, and longevity.
Perhaps your dog will pace and just never seem settled. Flinch when we surprise them. Maybe they sleep with one eye open ready to react at a moment's notice. Exclude themselves from family activities. Seem depressed or sad.
Anxiety is present in many form, but it doesn’t have to be something they live with. Every dog deserves a chance to release anxiety.
Dog Anxiety and Behavioral Issues
Anxiety can be a core factor in fear, resource guarding and aggression. It manifests in many ways.
We often focus on one behavior more than others but it is seldom that only one behavior is present. We just may not connect the dots.
Anxiety takes a toll on your dog's state of mind, his health and well-being, quality of life, and the time you will have with him. Many of us will not have considered that it can also be related to health issues.
Dog Anxiety Medications
Many vets and behaviorists will want to medicate your dog. You don’t have to do that.
There may be an alternative or three. When I work with these cases, I want us to work with the vet to wean off any medication and focus on training, nutrition, detox if necessary and then add in our wellness support options.
Gut Health in your dog is actually a factor in anxiety — and may be the key to avoiding medications.
Anxiety Emotions
We know that emotions can have a physical root in the body and vice versa. 5 Element Theory tells us that the kidneys hold anxiety. So if we have a dog struggling with anxiety we need to look at supporting or detoxing and supporting the kidneys through diet, essential oils, and homeopathy. This includes a look at the past emotional well-being and health as well as getting proactive about the future. But the inverse is also true -- if we have a dog with a kidney health concern, we may also need to support the emotional well-being and look for clues in their emotional state -- even if we do not have full knowledge of their past history.
The body will tell us a story if we listen. And if we support the body wholly -- we can have better health, longevity and emotional well-being.
With only 1 dog have I ever recommended anxiety meds after our training and that was long before I had as many modalities of wellness as I do today. 1 in hundreds.
Many friends and family will recommend remedies that may be on the right track, but perhaps not quite as effective or as quality oriented as we need them to be. Let's take some time to look at the whole dog -- nose to tail and come up with a complete wellness plan.
If you have a dog with anxiety of any degree, let’s talk and see what’s possible. I have great protocols to follow and work through with you. See My Natural Wellness Anxiety Guide
We can explore Nutrition, Reiki Energy For Dogs, Essential Oils, CBD , etc.
I am also really loving the results of these new products these days: