When is Dog Anxiety Not Dog Anxiety?
Speaking technically, when we talk about dog anxiety, it is not actually dog anxiety . Now that may seem like a bit of a riddle, but it'll make sense when you look at the dictionary's definition of anxiety.
"Anxiety is a generalized mood condition that will often happen without a recognisable causing stimulus. As such, it is different from fear, which is an emotive reaction to a perceived threat. Additionally, fear is related to the specific behaviors of escape and avoidance, while anxiety is related to situations understood as uncontrollable or unavoidable".
Dog's adverse reactions are almost always caused by a perceived threat; it could be as innocent as someone walking into a room, a clap of thunder, or the sound of the postman approaching the front door. We may not be in a position to hear the threat ourselves (they have much better hearing than us), or understand what is scary, but a dog will react in one of the three ways they know how - freeze, flight or fight. Our issues start when they make the wrong decisions and respond in an unsatisfactory way.
Dog Fears
Some dog fears are easy to understand, eg a dog afraid of thunder or a stormy night, but when a dog is frightened by the ring of a telephone or the noise of the washer, it is harder to understand the danger they pose to a dog. But we live in a world that a dog regularly doesn't understand. From vehicles that rush past them, the regular visit of the postman, to TVs and cell telephones, a dog can frequently find themselves out of their depth and reacting inappropriately.
If we understand that dogs are programmed first and most important to survive, we will start to understand why they might react with fear to the things they do not understand. The items may seem perfectly innocuous to us, but to a dog, safety is supreme and they will treat it as a real threat to their safety until proved otherwise.
Why Being Pack Leader Can Increase Dog Fear
Expecting our dogs to be the decision maker for the pack in a world they don't understand is only going to increase their fears. The difficulty is that a dog naturally needs to be certain who pack leader is - and if they don't think you are - they'll take on the job.
It is said that the issue of pack leadership this is what lies behind a large amount of dog separation anxiety. Imagine if a member of your close family went out leaving you locked in the house and you did not know where they'd gone or if they were going to be able to find their way home. At the least you'd be concerned and rather more likely be desperately attempting to get out of the house to go and find them.
Knowing this, the kindest thing we are able to do is take on the role of pack leader ourselves and show our dogs that their job is to follow our lead. If they look to us to make decisions then when we do not show fear around potentially threatening situations (like switching the hoover on, or answering the ring on the front door to the delivery man) it should immediately diminish their fear or anxiety.
"Anxiety is a generalized mood condition that will often happen without a recognisable causing stimulus. As such, it is different from fear, which is an emotive reaction to a perceived threat. Additionally, fear is related to the specific behaviors of escape and avoidance, while anxiety is related to situations understood as uncontrollable or unavoidable".
Dog's adverse reactions are almost always caused by a perceived threat; it could be as innocent as someone walking into a room, a clap of thunder, or the sound of the postman approaching the front door. We may not be in a position to hear the threat ourselves (they have much better hearing than us), or understand what is scary, but a dog will react in one of the three ways they know how - freeze, flight or fight. Our issues start when they make the wrong decisions and respond in an unsatisfactory way.
Dog Fears
Some dog fears are easy to understand, eg a dog afraid of thunder or a stormy night, but when a dog is frightened by the ring of a telephone or the noise of the washer, it is harder to understand the danger they pose to a dog. But we live in a world that a dog regularly doesn't understand. From vehicles that rush past them, the regular visit of the postman, to TVs and cell telephones, a dog can frequently find themselves out of their depth and reacting inappropriately.
If we understand that dogs are programmed first and most important to survive, we will start to understand why they might react with fear to the things they do not understand. The items may seem perfectly innocuous to us, but to a dog, safety is supreme and they will treat it as a real threat to their safety until proved otherwise.
Why Being Pack Leader Can Increase Dog Fear
Expecting our dogs to be the decision maker for the pack in a world they don't understand is only going to increase their fears. The difficulty is that a dog naturally needs to be certain who pack leader is - and if they don't think you are - they'll take on the job.
It is said that the issue of pack leadership this is what lies behind a large amount of dog separation anxiety. Imagine if a member of your close family went out leaving you locked in the house and you did not know where they'd gone or if they were going to be able to find their way home. At the least you'd be concerned and rather more likely be desperately attempting to get out of the house to go and find them.
Knowing this, the kindest thing we are able to do is take on the role of pack leader ourselves and show our dogs that their job is to follow our lead. If they look to us to make decisions then when we do not show fear around potentially threatening situations (like switching the hoover on, or answering the ring on the front door to the delivery man) it should immediately diminish their fear or anxiety.
About the Author:
Author Venice Marriott is a writer and dog owner and runs a website which provides help and information for dog owners dealing with dog anxiety. Get more information about dog anxiety or dog fear when you visit the site.