Dogs can experience a wide range of emotions, and usually express these emotions through verbal and physical cues. Many dog owners worry about their canine friend’s anxiety and stress levels in certain situations, such as during a veterinary visit, while riding in a car or when left home unattended.
There are several behaviors that your dog will often display to indicate feelings of unease and stress. Understanding your dog’s emotional state is the first step to alleviate unwanted symptoms and help your dog feel at ease.
Excessive drooling, panting or sweating
It’s common for stressed canines to produce more saliva than normal and to pant continuously, even in the absence of warm temperatures or recent exercise.
Similarly to their human counterparts, dogs placed in a stressed environment will also feel a rise in body temperature, which leads to sweating around their paw pads and nose.
Tucked tail
A tucked tail can indicate several different emotions in our dogs, including fear, aggression, and anxiety.
Observe closely the positioning of your dog’s tail in conjunction with other emotional cues such as drooling, tucked ears and panting.
Excessive shedding
Most veterinarians and dog owners can attest to the fact that, during examinations, stressed dogs will often shed their fur more than normal.
This symptom may also be combined with incessant shaking.
Gastrointestinal upset
Stress may be the underlying culprit for your dog’s gastrointestinal issues, such as nausea, vomiting, diarrhea or constipation.
That said, it is best to have your veterinarian rule out other medical issues before blaming it solely on stress.
Destructive behavior
An anxious or stressed dog will often look for an outlet to alleviate these uncomfortable feelings.
The result can sometimes be the destruction of objects in the household, such as crates, furniture, toys or clothing.
Other stressed dogs have been known to excessively lick or bite themselves, particularly their legs and paws.
Avoidance behaviors
A scared or stressed dog will frequently display avoidance behaviors, which include hiding behind furniture, turning away from their owners, and isolating themselves from others humans and animals in the household.
Anxiety or fear in the dog’s body will help trigger that flight or fight response. Often the flight response will dominate, and you will see your dog trying to hide around the house or environment.
Aggression
In contrast to animals that react to anxious or stressful situations by hiding, some of our canine companions will display aggressive behaviors.
This may be aggression towards an owner, veterinarian or individual directly interacting with the dog, as well as indirect aggression directed towards other people or animals nearby.
This is one of the reasons why many veterinarians prefer dogs to be restrained by trained veterinary technicians during examinations, rather than by their owners; to anticipate and prevent misdirected aggressions.
Urinary accidents
Inappropriate urination can be secondary to several medical issues, such as a urinary tract infection, kidney disease or diabetes, but in some instances it can be caused by high levels of stress.
If you observe your dog urinating or defecating during a veterinary visit, when strangers enter your home, or in the presence of other dogs, this can often be linked to stress.
Ear positioning
Dogs often utilize their ears to express emotions, including stress and anxiety.
When dogs pin back their ears tightly against their head, this is their way of communicating their feelings of unease. Carefully watch for the rotation of the ears’ base from their neutral position, and keep in mind this may be more difficult with dogs that have floppy ears.
Pet owners that are looking to be more attune to their dog’s emotions should consider closely observing ear positioning throughout different situations. This will help create correlations between ear positions and specific emotional states.
Yawning
A dog placed in a stressful situation will often yawn involuntarily.
If you notice several yawns in succession, your dog may be attempting to displace anxious and uncomfortable feelings.
Yawning can often progress to vocalization, such as barking, whimpering, whining or growling. Correlate these behaviors to the other signs of distress mentioned along the article.
If you are concerned about high levels of anxiety and stress in your canine companion, consider consulting with your veterinarian to rule out any underlying medical issues and decide on the proper approach to alleviate these feelings.
There are several ways to help alleviate your dog’s stress and anxiety, including regular exercise, proper diet, establishing consistent routines, and creating a safe zone in your home. There are other tactics and training techniques that are often utilized by veterinary trainers and behaviorists. In-home veterinary visits may also be an option for pets that experience stress when traveling and while being examined in a veterinary hospital.