If people have different kinds of personalities, so are our furry companions. Most of the time, personalities develop due to genetics and environment. Separation anxiety, aggression, excessive barking, resource guarding, and destruction are common pet behavioral issues often connected 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 searching for ways to improve their lives by helping them overcome what makes them anxious.
Thankfully, the simple guidelines we’ll 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’ll 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 efficient pointers to help them regain their confidence and overcome themselves.
1. Socialize Them
Socializing your pet is a great way to eliminate fears that may arise early on. Socialization is crucial in dogs at all stages of their life. However, you must 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 may contract when mingling with their fellows. Take your pet to facilities like Veterinary Associates to have their preventative treatments today.
You can raise a confident dog by taking them for regular walks or to local dog parks to play and meet new friends. Regular and continuous 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 a good 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 well-behaved and friendly canine citizen. When you take them to the vet to be examined or leave them in facilities that offer pet boarding services, you’re confident they won’t cause commotion with their fellows and other people.
2. Have Perseverance
Canines can pick up human emotions, so your pet may only get more resistant and anxious if you’re too frustrated or pushy. Patience is important to help your pet understand that what you’re doing for them can help them conquer their worries at a rate they can stay up to date with.
For example, your pet has grooming anxiety. Taking them to an expert groomer despite knowing their fear may only worsen the situation. You can eliminate your dog’s fear of professional pet grooming by practicing 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 in the muzzle, paws, 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 behave well while grooming them at home.
- Do training visits to a pet grooming facility.
3. Avoid Punishment
While we may assume punishment is the best way to curb a dog’s negative habits, it’s the other way around. Punishment can only produce more fear and cause dogs to lose trust in their pet parents. Avoiding punishment and using a still, gentle voice to talk to your pet and correct their unwanted behavior helps them feel safer.
4. Visit the Veterinarian
An important step to determine if health conditions are causing your pet’s fearfulness is through a medical assessment. Dogs in pain usually get more fearful of anything that intensifies their pain. Older pets undergoing physical changes, including cognitive deterioration and loss of hearing or sight, may 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 vet for a checkup.
Final Thoughts
Making your pet feel safe is more than just providing them with a comfy bed, a home, and delicious treats. It also means doing simple things that keep them physically and mentally stable. By practicing patience and consistency while following the suggestions we’ve enumerated, your dog should show improvement. If they don’t respond positively to your efforts, the vet may suggest tailored treatments to address your pet’s fearfulness. In some cases, your vet may connect you to a dog trainer to oversee and correct your pet’s condition.
