By Leo Eva
Like humans, dogs can experience anxiety and stress. If you happen to notice your pet becoming hyper, you need to take necessary measures to comfort it. Stress might affect your pet for a variety of reasons. At times, you might notice hostile behavior in your pet. Besides, they might manifest their discomfort by whimpering, shivering, barking, or whining. Anxiety can also make your pet destructive. Sometimes, they even lose appetite, or withdraw from activities they generally engage in.
In this post, you will get to know some of the most effective ways to calm down your dog.
Calming down your dog: How to go about it?
If you notice your dog trembling, licking its lips, or yawning frequently, make sure not to ignore the signs of its anxiety. The experts have come up with some of the most effective strategies that can comfort your pet.
- Specially formulated diets
You might not be knowing, but reputed dog food suppliers have come up with specially formulated meals for pets to address anxiety. With proper intake, you can calm down your dog if it is undergoing sensitiveness due to anxiety.
These meals enhance the production of dopamine and serotonin in your pet. This eases up their aggressiveness significantly, while regulating their mood. Dopamine also intensifies the focus and attention of dogs. With a gluten-free and high-quality diet, you can alleviate stress from your pet.
- Physical contact and massage
Anxious dogs find human tough soothing indeed. As a dog owner, you must be able to identify your pet’s anxious moments. As soon as you pick these signs, try to couch or cuddle your dog. A good patting can also work for your pet.
Massage therapy can also work wonders for your pet. Simply start massaging at the neck with long strokes, and gradually move downward.
- Try out music therapy
Your canine friends can benefit from music therapy, just like humans. Music is powerful, and it has a relaxing or calming impact on dogs. Whether your pet is outdoors or at home, you can use music for alleviating stress.
Sometimes, stress affects dogs, particularly in noisy areas or streets. Music can sensibly block these sources of sounds that usually scare dogs. Besides, most dogs prefer classical music, as per studies. Particularly, they tend to prefer harp music.
- Calming T-shirts or coats
You would come across calming T-shirts or coats for dogs. These coats apply a constant, yet mild pressure along the torso of your pet. They love being surrounded by this soft envelope of cloth. Particularly, if you notice your pet becoming anxious or stressed during traveling, this would be an effective solution.
Currently, you will come across several brands offering customized models to choose from. Get one of these coats for your dog, which will help in comforting it.
Would anti-anxiety medication work for your dog?
Even after trying all these strategies, you might notice discomfort in your pet. Have a word with your vet regarding the administration of anti-anxiety medicines. However, these medications might have some side effects. For instance, your pet might feel sleepy all the time. Some medicines may bring about a complete change in their personality as well. Besides, administering the wrong medicine might shorten your pet’s lifespan. Therefore, anti-anxiety medicines are not recommended for pets.
Of course, your dog might seem happier with less anxiety when you administer medication. However, no pet owner would like the side effects in course of time. Evidently, you need to provide proper nutrition to your pet. Get specially formulated meals from a reputed dog food supplier for your pet. These foods are available for dogs of different breeds and ages. By customizing the product for your pet, you can help it relieve stress and calm down.
