Having an anxious dog can be very stressful for the dog, and the owner alike. It can be very hard to manage an anxious dog, and understand why they are so anxious and why they are reacting the way they are. Anxiety can be a way a dog copes with their environment, and the stressors which affect them on a daily basis...
Unknowingly, owners can increase the anxiety levels of their dogs through reinforcement of these behaviours. For highly anxious dogs working with a trainer, or behaviouralist can be the key to redirecting this energy, and providing other coping strategies for our pets.
As owners, we can often worsen anxieties, such as separation anxiety. For example, we can make coming and going from the house a really big deal. We create all of this nervous energy as we come home with big excited hellos. Pats and hugs and fun and jumping and joy! Then when we leave we make a big fuss of them, telling them we will miss them and lots of hugs and kisses and pats. Whenever their people come and go from the house it is a big production.
Then our dogs know that whenever humans come and go from the house it is a big energy production. A big stressor (always remember fun and exciting events are still a stress to the body).
Our dogs are very quick to learn the pattern of us leaving the house. We put on shoes, pick up a handbag, pick up the keys. They usually know well before we leave that the inevitable high energy goodbye is coming. They don’t want you to leave. They want you to stay home and be with them. It’s boring and lonely when you are gone. Then over time, we hear them whine, or bark and we can go back to see them, make sure they are ok. Give them another pat. We reinforce this behaviour. Gradually over time this can become the only way they know how to respond to you leaving. They know if they bark, whine or try to jump the fence, often human will come back and see to them.
Management
Exercise is a really good management technique for anxiety. A dog requires at least thirty minutes of good exercise per day to help reduce anxiety.
Drugging your dog does nothing for stressful situations. Retraining your dog to react differently in stressful situations will break the habit and is a great deal simpler if accompanied by nervous system tonics and the appropriate habit-breaking remedies.
Any nervous system problem ends up being composed of the original problem plus the habit of reacting in a certain way in particular circumstances.
McDowells products
Herbal therapies can help to support the anxious dog. Nourishing and supporting the nervous system and adrenal glands. Helping the dog to cope better with the stressors that are naturally present in day to day life.
Animal Botanical Relax is designed to nourish and restore the nervous system of a dog that is so stressed or nervy as to be its own worst enemy. This standard mix is my normal starting point for nervous system problems and I then refine the mix in individual cases, after an initial course of 12 weeks.
The herbal mixture I have formulated works to nourish both the physical nervous system and assist in habit change. I achieve this with the combination of Mistletoe, Passion Flower, Skullcap, Valerian, Vervain and Zizyphus along with the Bach Flowers Aspen, Cerato, Cherry Plum, Mimulus, Larch and Rock Rose.
