Guide to Training Your Dog with Anxiety

An anxious dog can be destructive, aggressive, lethargic and generally unhappy. There are many reasons why a dog may be or become anxious and a dog training guide will help you to identify the signs and offer some solutions. 

Many puppy training tips in this dog behaviour and training guide include ways to help your puppy adjust to their new surroundings which can make them very anxious. 

During dog anxiety training, it is important to have some tips to train an aggressive dog, as out of fear, your furbaby may act aggressively toward you or others and this could be dangerous for everyone involved. 

Let’s delve into dog anxiety and what we, as owners, can do about it. 

Signs of Anxiety and Fear in Dogs

Dog anxiety symptoms often present when you’re training your dog to walk out in public or when you need to leave your dog alone at home. They may become aggressive in public, so check out these tips to prevent your dog from jumping and biting on walks. 

Shows disinterest

If your furbaby is ignoring treats and toys and is physically healthy, it could be a sign that they are feeling anxious.

Panting

Panting and drooling can be a sign of stress. If you’ve returned home after leaving your dog at home to find them panting, this points to separation anxiety. 

Constant yawning

Nope, your dog isn’t bored. Yawning constantly is a way for your dog to express emotional discomfort. They do yawn when tired like humans, but if it’s constant, it may be because they are anxious. 

Sniffing the ground

In an attempt to focus on something else, dogs can often sniff the ground repeatedly. They may also pace around in circles or straight lines.  

Growling

Aggressive behaviour such as lunging or growling can be born out of fear and anxiety. 

Attempting to run

Scratches on doors, trying to break out of the window or digging holes to get under the fence are all things anxious dogs do to escape a fearful situation. 

Destructive behaviour

Not only are the aforementioned behaviours of digging and scratching destructive, but your furbaby might rip apart a couch or destroy other objects due to their anxious feelings. 

Why Do Dogs Experience Anxiety?

Dogs can experience anxiety just like we can, as any good dog behaviour training guide will tell you. It’s important to know how to react correctly to help them and yourselves, such as with these tips to stop your dog from pulling on the lead. 

You might be wondering why your dog has anxiety. There are loads of reasons for this, many of them unavoidable such as you moving to a new house or a simple schedule change. 

Experienced traumatic events

Thunderstorms, fireworks or abuse from previous owners can all be traumatic triggers that will put your furbaby at risk to have an anxious disposition. 

Conditions from early pup development

Research has shown that even prenatal conditions, such as poor nutrition or the emotional distress of the mother, can cause your pup to be more anxious.

New owner

If you’ve recently adopted a dog, you will likely see signs of anxiety. Dogs are highly social and when they are in new social situations, they can get pretty stressed and anxious until they have acclimatised. 

Genetics

Some dogs are more genetically predisposed to be more anxious, whether it be due to their breed or due to family history than others. 

Social environment

It is important to socialise your dog as much as possible between the ages of 3 to 16 weeks of age. Social maturity occurs between the ages of 1 and 2. 

If they haven’t been socialised well, they will be more anxious in these environments. 

Change in environment

Moving house, travelling or even taking your dog to places they haven’t been before can all trigger anxiety in some dogs. 

If changes occur in their usual environment, such as a new baby, a new flatmate or getting a new pet can also create these anxious feelings. 

Absence of their owner

This can be extremely traumatic for a dog as its owner provides direction and comfort. 

Change in schedule

Dogs like to know when they are going to be fed, when they are off for a walk and when their owner will be home. Sudden changes to this schedule can cause them to show signs of anxiety. 

Tips to Train an Anxious Dog

When your dog has anxiety, you should look into a dog's anxiety treatment as quickly as possible to improve its well-being. 

Just like training your dog to come when called or having tips to stop your dog from biting, knowing how to train an anxious dog will ensure your furbaby has the best possible quality of life. 

Medicine-based approach

Medicine prescribed by your veterinarian can support these other methods to help to calm your dog down enough to respond to you and acquire the knowledge and direction needed to work through their anxious feelings.

Many dogs benefit from medication to help with their anxiety because as it is a behavioural disorder, it is unlikely to go away on its own. 

Providing a nurturing environment

A cosy safe space can help your dog relax and settle down if they start to feel their anxious feelings rise. 

Food puzzles are great tools for dogs with separation anxiety and make sure your pup is getting plenty of outside time and having fun and games with you as much as possible.

Both physical and mental stimulation is required to maintain your dog’s well-being. 

Desensitisation

After recognising your dog’s anxiety triggers, slowly and gently begin to expose them to these stimuli to decrease their sensitivity to them. 

Do keep a close eye on your furbaby’s reactions to see whether this is working or whether it is exasperating the problem. 

For example, dogs with separation anxiety often know the signs of you leaving (picking up your car keys or putting on your shoes) and begin working themselves up in preparation for it.

Do these tasks randomly to stop your dog from associating these actions with a stressful event. 

Counterconditioning

This is a technique that replaces a negative response with a positive one.

If your dog reacts negatively to thunderstorms, for example, you can expose them to low levels of the stimulus whilst providing them with positive things by playing some thunder sounds on the television whilst playing a game or giving treats. 

Take Home Message

Just like we can feel anxious and stressed, your furbaby can too. It is due to several reasons including genetics, social and environmental changes or traumatic events. 

As your furbaby can act out aggressively when anxious, it is important to know some tips to train your dog for toddler safety so that everyone can remain safe. 

The way you train your pet can have an impact on their well-being and they can behave anxiously if you become frustrated and angry.