When you love your pet like a family member, it’s upsetting to see them exhibit signs of distress. That’s why so many pet parents want to know how to help pet anxiety. Whether you’ve got a dog who engages in destructive behaviors whenever you leave the house or a cat who won’t stop pacing when they hear loud noises, pet anxiety is a troubling problem that signals your pet’s unhappiness and is disruptive to your household. The first step to solving this complex problem is understanding the causes and symptoms of and best treatments for your pet’s anxiety. The pet experts at Allivet have you covered with the definitive guide to how to help pet anxiety.
Pet Anxiety
Cats and dogs can experience anxiety just like humans. How that anxiety manifests can differ between these two species. Read on to learn more about how this common medical condition affects dogs and cats.
Dog Anxiety: Causes
Your dog’s anxiety could stem from a range of causes. The Merck Veterinary Manual cites three common reasons for anxiety: separation, fear, and age.
Separation Anxiety
This form of anxiety is common among dogs, affecting about 14 percent of them. When dogs suffer from separation anxiety, they cannot comfort themselves when they are home alone or separated from family members. It can lead to unwanted behaviors, such as barking, urinating and defecating in the house, and destroying items.
Fear-Related Anxiety
You may notice that your dog is anxious after encountering certain stimuli. Common culprits for fear-related anxiety include strangers, loud noises, new settings, visual stimuli (hats, etc.), vet visits, car rides, or even certain surfaces. How dogs react to anxiety-inducing stimuli can vary. Dogs may move on quickly once the trigger is removed, or they may have a more consequential, long-lasting reaction.
Age-Related Anxiety
Aging can cause anxiety for dogs and may be associated with cognitive dysfunction syndrome (CDS). Dogs with CDS see a decline in their learning, memory, awareness, and perception. It mirrors the early stages of Alzheimer’s disease in humans and can lead to confusion and anxiety.
Dog Anxiety: Symptoms
Dog anxiety can manifest in various ways. You can tell if your dog has anxiety by watching out for certain symptoms:
- Excessive barking
- Destructive behavior
- Restlessness
- Pacing
- Repetitive or compulsive behaviors
- Drooling
- Aggression
- Urinating or defecating indoors
- Depression
- Panting
For dog owners, it can be hard to watch their favorite furry companion suffer from these symptoms, and if the symptoms are recurring, it can take a toll on you, your pet, and your household.
If the anxiety manifests as aggression, it is a serious problem. Dogs express aggression directly when they act aggressively toward humans or animals. They show indirect aggression when they inadvertently act aggressively toward a human or animal who comes between them and the source of their aggression. If your dog displays aggressive behavior, preventing the dog from harming anyone will not address the root cause of the problem, and your dog’s anxiety may continue to manifest in aggressive behaviors, such as barking and growling.
Separation anxiety is associated with specific symptoms, including destructive behavior and urinating and defecating indoors. Even housebroken dogs with separation anxiety may have an accident indoors. Anxiety-related defecation and urination happen when dogs get worked up to the point that they cannot hold it.
Destructive behaviors are another symptom of separation anxiety. If you let your dog roam when you leave the house, they may damage items in your home. You may notice your dog destroying things near the entry and exits points, such as doors or windows. Dogs with separation anxiety may even harm themselves. If they attempt to break out of the crate or leave through doors or windows, it can result in injuries.
Dog Anxiety: Treatment
When your dog has anxiety, your veterinarian is the best resource. Veterinarians are trained to assess your dog’s anxiety by working with you to determine the anxiety’s:
- Type
- Causes
- Triggers
- Severity (situational or habitual)
Your vet will gather information about your dog’s anxiety to help you develop a treatment plan. Anxiety is often the result of various factors, and in these cases, the best treatment plan combines training, preventative strategies, and sometimes, medications.
Training is a helpful way to address your dog’s anxiety. Counterconditioning and desensitization are effective training strategies for managing dog anxiety. With counterconditioning, you work to change your dog’s response to the stimuli that trigger anxiety. Instead of anxious or aggressive behavior, the dog is trained to respond to stimuli with more positive behaviors. Desensitization, another training strategy, works to expose a dog to the stimuli in small doses. By repeatedly exposing the dog to the source of their anxiety and providing positive reinforcement, the dog can learn to manage their stress. You can train your dog yourself or with the help of a qualified professional dog trainer.
Cat Anxiety: Causes
There are various causes of cat anxiety. Like dogs, their anxiety may be related to fears, separation from humans, or age. Often their anxiety stems from specific events or conditions.
Improper Socialization
The period between seven to 12 weeks of age for cats is crucial for their socialization. When they are deprived of positive social experiences and exposure to their environment, it can cause them to become habitually fearful or anxious.
Separation Anxiety
Being separated from you can trigger anxiety in your cat. This form of anxiety manifests in excessive distress behaviors when the cat is left alone and is a common problem that is estimated to affect around 13% of cats. Your cat is more likely to experience separation anxiety if it has a history of:
- Rehoming or abandonment
- Noise phobia
- Having only one family member
- Living in a home where people are always home
Pain or Illness
Illnesses or other painful health conditions may lead to anxiety in cats. It can also make their existing anxieties worse. Infectious diseases or aging-related changes in the nervous system can cause phobias, fears, and anxieties to develop.
Trauma
Just like humans, cats can become more fearful after a traumatic experience. The perception of what’s traumatic, however, can vary significantly between cats and humans. An experience that you view as harmless may have been traumatic for your cat.
Cat Anxiety: Symptoms
Have you noticed pacing, restlessness, hypervigilance, hiding, decreased appetite, vocalization, trembling, salivation, or excessive grooming in your cat? These sure signs of cat anxiety can indicate that your furry friend needs help managing stress. Other common symptoms can range from mild to severe.
Mild Symptoms
- Tail flicking
- Partial dilation of pupils
- Keeping their tail near their bodies
- Moving their body or head away
- Avoiding eye contact
Moderate Symptoms
- Staring at the stimulus
- Breathing heavy
- Increased dilation of the pupils
- Holding their tail tightly against their body
- Leaning away
- Ears to the side
Severe Symptoms
- Staring
- Aggression
- Fully dilated pupils
- Hair standing up
- Freezing in place or fleeing
If untreated, cat anxiety can worsen over time, so it’s essential to make a plan for solving this problem.
Cat Anxiety: Treatment
Your vet is your best ally for treating your cat’s anxiety. They can work with you to determine why your cat is anxious and what to do about it. You can combine behavior modification, medications, and supplements, managing the environment, and treatment for underlying health conditions to minimize your cat’s anxiety.
It’s not a problem you should expect to solve overnight. It may take years to treat your cat’s anxiety, but on average, four to six months of following the treatment plan should be sufficient.
Ways to Reduce Pet Anxiety When You’re at Work
You treasure the close bond you have with your pet, and it can be hard to leave when they give you the “please don’t go” face. Whether you have recently returned to in-person work or are looking to address a longstanding separation anxiety issue, you need practical steps to help them learn to be alone and happy.
- Provide stimulating toys: Food puzzle toys will delight dogs and cats alike. If your pet is running low on toys, now is an excellent time to stock up. If your cat needs a more enriching environment, get a cat condo or other perch for them.
- Use high-value treats: Rewarding positive behavior is an integral part of treating separation anxiety in dogs and cats. Use treats to reward non-anxious behaviors and responses and create positive associations with being alone. A dog will love a Kong that’s been filled with peanut butter and frozen or some salmon or beef jerky. Create a treasure hunt for a cat by hiding treats around the house right before you leave.
- Do not reinforce bad behavior: Don’t reward anxious behaviors. It’s better to ignore or redirect when your pet exhibits unwanted behavior and provide positive reinforcement for behaviors you want to see.
- Work up to longer periods: Expecting your pet to stay at home for an eight-hour workday without preparation can be too traumatic. It’s better to work up to that length of time. Start by leaving your pet alone for just a few minutes, and then praise them when you return. Increase the amount of time you leave every time.
- Act casual: It’s cute how dramatic our pets can get when we leave, but don’t do anything to validate that behavior. Don’t show any signs that you’re upset or worried about going because your pet can pick up on it. There’s no need for an elaborate goodbye.
- Desensitize your pet to triggers: Does your pet start getting upset at the sight of your keys or coat? You can desensitize your cat or dog to these triggers by getting them out during times when you’re not leaving. Eventually, they will not associate the objects with your departure.
- Turn on background noise: The radio or TV provides background noise that can distract your pet. It can also make it harder for them to hear noises that may distress them, like a neighbor’s car door or a delivery driver leaving a package.
In some cases, it may not be feasible to leave your pet unattended while you’re at work. Some dog owners opt to use a dog walking service or send their pup to doggy daycare during work hours. Cat owners can consider hiring a pet sitter to check in on their four-legged friend during the workday.
Where Can I Buy Anxiety Medication for My Pet?
It’s great if you can manage your pet’s anxiety using training alone, but some cats and dogs require medication. You can find prescription and over-the-counter medicines to treat this common medical condition. Your vet’s office is the best place to go for prescription medication for pet anxiety. Sometimes veterinarians prescribe SSRIs and antidepressants like Fluoxetine to treat this problem.
If you want to know how to help reduce anxiety in your pet using natural supplements, consider homeopathic options. Homeo pet anxiety relief is an increasingly popular choice for pet parents who want natural solutions for this common health problem.
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