If people have different kinds of personalities, so are our furry companions. Most of the time, personalities develop due to genes and environment. Separation anxiety, aggressiveness, resource guarding, excessive barking, and destruction are common dog behavioral issues often linked to fear, stress, or a lack of exposure to what frightens them. If you’ve been observing these behaviors in your pet, you might be looking for ways to improve their lives by helping them overcome what makes them anxious.
Thankfully, the simple guidelines we will discuss should help them conquer their fears and alleviate your worries.
How to Help Anxious Dogs Conquer Their Fears
If you’re a fur parent concerned about your dog’s quality of life, you will do everything possible to eliminate their anxiety, fear, stress, and pain.
However, if you struggle to help your pet overcome their fears, here are five helpful tips to help them regain their confidence and overcome themselves.
1. Socialize Them
Socializing your pet is a great way to eliminate fears that may develop early on. Socialization is essential in pet dogs at all stages of their life. However, you should ensure your pet has finished their vaccines and has at least one booster shot if you’re socializing them at a young age. This can protect them from deadly viral diseases they might contract when mingling with their fellows. You may check it out on the web to learn more about the importance of pet preventatives.
You can raise a confident dog by taking them for regular walks or to local dog parks to play and meet new buddies. Regular and gradual exposure is key to developing your dog’s socialization skills. When training your pet to interact socially, there’s no need to rush the process. Letting them lead the way while they’re on the leash is also an excellent idea to accustom themselves to the new environment when you take them to new trails or parks.
Raising a sociable dog can also mean raising a friendly and well-behaved canine citizen. When you take them to the veterinarian to be examined or leave them in a dog boarding center, you’re confident they won’t cause trouble with their fellows and other people. If you’re looking for pet boarding facilities, you may search for “animal boarding near me” for specific results.
2. Have Perseverance
Canines can pick up human emotions, so your pet might only get more anxious and resistant if you’re too annoyed or pushy. Patience is essential to help your pet understand that what you’re doing for them can help them conquer their worries at a pace they can keep up with.
For example, your pet has grooming anxiety. Taking them to a pet grooming expert despite knowing their fear may only worsen the situation. You can eliminate your pet’s fear of professional grooming by observing patience and taking baby steps.
Below are a few best practices you can follow to help your pet conquer their grooming anxiety:
- Make sure your dog is used to getting handled paws, muzzle, ears, groin, rear, and tail.
- Slowly introduce any type of pet brush to them.
- Familiarize them with common pet grooming equipment.
- Use treats to reward them each time they show positive behavior while grooming them in your home.
- Do training visits to a pet grooming center.
3. Avoid Punishment
While we may think punishment is the best method to curb a dog’s negative habits, it’s the other way around. Punishment can only create more fear and cause dogs to lose trust in their pet parents. Avoiding punishment and using a still, gentle voice to speak to your pet and correct their unwanted behavior helps them feel safer.
4. Visit the Veterinarian
An important step to determine if health issues are causing your pet’s fearfulness is through a medical evaluation. Canines in pain usually get more fearful of anything that worsens their pain. Older pets undergoing physical changes, including cognitive deterioration and loss of sight or hearing, might also develop phobias and fears. Underlying medical conditions contributing to your pet’s fearfulness can be resolved and identified when you take them to the veterinarian for a checkup.
Final Thoughts
Making your pet feel safe is more than just providing them with a comfortable bed, a house, and yummy treats. It also means doing simple things that keep them physically and mentally stable. By practicing consistency and patience while following the suggestions we’ve enumerated, your canine should show improvement. If they do not respond positively to your efforts, the vet might suggest tailored therapies and treatments to address your pet’s fearfulness. In some cases, your vet might link you to a dog trainer to oversee and correct your pet’s condition.
