Top tips for your anxious dog
Hello again! I hope you enjoyed reading the blog featuring Dawn from Four Positive Paws about anxiety during lock down. I caught up with Dawn again and as promised, here are her top tips how you can help your anxious dog/s!
Before we dive into how to help your dog/s you really have to ask yourself first:
How much stretch do we have with our own coping elasticity?
The amount of stress and anxiety we can cope with is individual. We experience situations that require us to stretch and relax. If we do not allow ourselves and our dogs to relax, we may over a period of time lose our elasticity and may no longer have so much stretch or it could simply snap.
No elastic, no matter how big or strong, will withstand being overstretched too often or for too long.
Self care and individual resources
#tip 1
Take the time to get more rest/sleep:
I know how cranky I feel if I don’t get enough sleep. Tolerance levels lower and activities that are usually completed with considerable effort seem to demand an enormous effort. Dogs have different sleeping patterns to humans and many are losing their day time quality sleep and rest while their humans are so often at home now.#tip 2
Finding a quiet space for our dogs to retreat to:
Giving them a few hours when they can get comfortable and putting in some clear boundaries for the dog to be enabled to rest. If there is a lot going on in the home a dog is unlikely to be able to rest and we confuse this eagerness to keep going with choice yet, similarly to young children, they will keep going in spite of being tired and often become irritable, fractious and over tired. This then impacts on their sleeping pattern and can have a really negative outcome depending on your dog/s development stage, tolerance, coping strategies and health.#tip 3
Recognise the change in behaviour:
An anxious or fearful dog that has not been able to sleep and rest may start to display and practise unexpected and unwelcome behaviours. Our dogs are not naughty and do not want to behave in ways that are not comfortable for them but they are often practising behaviours because they feel they have no choice and may have exhausted all other avenues of communication.
- Snapping at people on walks or in the home
- Upset stomach or vomiting
- Toileting accidents in the home
- Destructive behaviours like chewing shoes, walls, remote controls.
- They may start to be more vocal, whining, barking, growling.
- Walks may become challenging with no recall or running off and disappearing.
- Some dogs may refuse to leave the house or be reluctant to walk much once outside and sit or plant themselves.
- They may also start to get some health issues like itchy skin, ear infections or sore, weepy eyes.
#tip 4
Decrease demands on ourselves and our dogs:
Walk free days (Duvet Days), walk at different times and in different environments, hire a private field and have the whole place to ourselves.#tip 5
Be as clear as you can be communicating with your dog and implement a good daily structure:
Discover how your dog communicates and listen. Dogs rely on their owners for safety and support. Be your dog’s advocate!
As a fully accredited member of The Association of INTODogs and ICAN I am able to display this symbol. Please check out the Charter website to see what assurances this symbol brings at www.ukdogcharter.org”
Dawn is passionate about supporting owners to teach their dogs to gain more confidence and improve their social skills.
Dawn offers 1:1 sessions, courses and workshops for nervous, anxious dogs, good socialisation, reliable recall, lead skills for both ends of the lead and sensory enrichment for building confidence.
To find out more about Dawn, here are her contact details:
Website www.fourpositivepaws.co.uk
Email dawn.allen@fourpositivepaws.co.uk
Facebook @fourpositivepaws
*Disclaimer: Due to the current Coronavirus outbreak all images from this blog have been kindly submitted by Dawn.
#stay connected #helpindependentbusinesses #anxiousdog #anxietyindogs #behaviourchangeindogs #betheleader
