Recently I shared my and my dog’s story of how I have supported my dog to have a full life with his being diagnosed with generalized anxiety. If you haven’t already, I encourage you to read that…and continue following me to see more of our journey together. I often get asked, “What does anxiety look like in a dog?” I also get asked by people Dawson and I are sometimes with, “How do you know Dawson is experiencing anxiety now?”
As a dog trainer who supports many families and dogs experiencing behavioral issues (such as fear and anxiety), I also get asked another question, “How do I know if my dog has anxiety?”
It is important to get to know your own unique dog, how he behaves when he is relaxed, happy, playful; and what he looks like under certain circumstances. Getting to know dog body language and dog stress signals allow you to better support your dog’s welfare.
Often anxiety and fear can be missed. Here is a link to a post I wrote about a client’s dog who passers-by probably thought was fine, but he was not. He was very stressed and worried here.
What does fear, anxiety and stress look like in a dog?
Please note here that I am not a veterinarian. I am a dog trainer who has worked with and around many dogs experiencing these issues.
FEAR is an emotional response to a specific, identifiable and present threat or danger (or perceived threat). This results in a fight or flight response to keep the animal safe. Bodies have an immediate response causing the heart rate and breathing to escalate. There may also be shortness of breath, panting, trembles, chills, dry mouth, diarrhea or nausea. These responses help the animal to either prepare for confronting the threat or escaping it. While some dogs may cower, try to hide, stay glued to their human, shut down (as examples); other dogs may take an offensive approach to be defensive. They may make themselves larger and exhibit aggressive behaviors to try and gain distance from the scary thing. Biological and physiological issues, stress, learning history, and lack of sleep can predispose an animal to have heightened sensitivities.
ANXIETY is the anticipation of potential or perceived danger, not the danger itself that can cause these responses. It is the body’s way of preparing for the What Ifs that could potentially happen. Anxiety can also lead to additional symptoms such as dizziness, gastrointestinal distress, inability to settle/focus, trouble sleeping, hypersensitivity to the unfamiliar and sudden environmental change. There are different types of anxiety and triggers. Just as with fear, biological and physiological issues, stress, and lack of sleep can predispose an animal to experiencing anxiety and heightened sensitivities.
I have seen stress exhibited in so many ways. All the behaviors listed above also describe stress is present when there is fear and/or anxiety.
A stressed dog may show appeasement signals such as lip licking, avoidance behaviors, yawning, rolling over to expose his belly, stretching. (Note, these are not always stress signals – they can also be communication tools for keeping peace in a social group. Always pay attention to the environment for signs of what your dog is experiencing.)
A stressed dog may also show behaviors such as blinking, a sudden need to do personal grooming, excessive sniffing, zooming, chattering teeth, avoidance behaviors, change in ear position, stiffening, making his body larger or smaller, barking, biting, frequent defecation.
Here is a link to one of my blog posts with videos of what dog stress can look like.
The reality is fear, anxiety and stress are often interwoven. When they interfere with daily quality of life, it is important to seek qualified professional help.
My dog has generalized anxiety.
My own dog, Dawson, was first diagnosed with clinical anxiety when he was a young dog. (You can read more of his story in this blog post.) While he was helped a lot with his anti-anxiety medication, I have seen a marked improvement in Dawson’s reactions to stimulus and overall lessening of anxiety since a change in his medication at the end of last year under the guidance from Board Certified Veterinary Behaviorist, Dr. Sackman of Animal Behavior Consultants of Michigan. Dr. Sackman and I have worked together on other behavior cases, and it is great to have her involved with my own dog too. Yes, he still does have moments of anxiety but much less frequent.
During much of Dawson’s life, he is a very happy boy.
These are some signs of him experiencing an anxiety moment.
His movements are more intense.
He cannot settle.
His breathing rate increases and he may pant.
He enjoys licking people, but his licking becomes more intense.
He may begin making a high-pitched whining sound.
He may become extremely clingy to me.
He may get the zoomies.
If he is in this state and we are outside; he is much more sensitive to novel and sudden stimulus.
He may have diarrhea or throw up.
It is not all that uncommon for people to not recognize he is struggling in the moment. They may say he looks so happy but I can tell by his intensity and the other signs I listed above. If he truly is happy, his body will be lose and wiggly.
Sometimes Dawson’s anxiety evolves from an initial fear response. Sometimes, it just happens. If I see that he is having one of those days, I am going to actively keep him from seeing dogs on a walk. We often will do heavily sniffing walks instead. If it is a moment, I will adjust what is going on. If I know in advance that we are going to do something that potentially could induce these behaviors in him, I will give him extra medication beforehand.
As one example that you will see in future videos, Dawson’s anticipation of my leaving can send him into a spiral. What helps him is, if I am needing to leave him somewhere like the groomer or a sitter, I will not go in with him any longer. I have them come out to get him and then he will happily walk away without me.
A conclusion.
I’ll conclude with this. I recently heard psychologist Dr. Lisa Damour interviewed on the Mel Robbins Podcast. It is a terrific discussion…I recommend listening.
What Dr. Damour said can relate to dogs in our care too. This is an excerpt:
“Discomfort is a part of life. If someone is mean to you, we expect to see hurt and then probably a self-protective anger. If it is occurring in reaction to an appropriate situation, that is a sign that you are mentally well.
“We fully expect to see anxiety if there is something wrong. If there is danger around you, or a lethal virus in the environment. We expect to see anxiety, but we don’t expect anxiety to become paralyzing and get in the way of people’s ability to do the things that really are safe or they can or should be able to do.”
If your dog’s behaviors are interfering with his or her quality of life, I encourage you to see a qualified trainer and/or a board certified veterinary behaviorist.