Can stress influence your dog’s health? 6 Important Reasons

Do you feel stressed by dogs?

Dogs suffer from stress. Most often, a kind of change is brought in the home or table. Common causes of stress in dogs include:

• New pet or person at home.
• New schedule for primary caregiver.
• Remodeling or rearranging the house.
• Travel.
• Grooming or boarding.
• Veterinary visits.

How does stress affect dog health?

Can stress influence your dog’s health? Often the stress in dogs is transient and quickly resolved. The dog gets used to anything new being or goes away as in the case of thunderstorms or houseguests. However, sometimes dogs may encounter chronic stressful situations, or they may even have a general condition that triggers anxiety such as separation anxiety that keeps them tense all the time. When this happens, negative health effects can occur, including:

Decrease or loss of appetite.

This can be a serious condition if it lasts too long and becomes life threatening even faster in small, old, or medical dogs at risk.

Chewing, licking or eating non-food items.

Many dogs that are stressed resort to chewing inappropriate or eating non-edible substances. Door frames, toys, and household items may be at risk, and when a dog eats those things, they can cause serious blockages in the digestive system. Another common manifestation of stress in dogs is licking or chewing in an area of ​​their body excessively, resulting in skin damage and secondary infection

Low Immune System.

Stress causes the release of cortisol, which is useful in the short term when the dog needs to run or fight to survive. However, when the release of cortisol is chronic, it causes health problems such as a less effective immune system.

Diarrhea.

When your dog is disturbed, you may experience sudden diarrhea. If the dog is suffering from chronic stress, the hard stool may become infected and become chronic.

Peeing is not appropriate.

When the dog is under pressure, it can urinate indoors. This can be surprising, when exposed to an explosion of fear or chronic, when urinating around the house in an attempt to distinguish its area and feel better.

Behavior changes.

A stressful dog may behave differently than it usually does. This can be seen as assaulting other people or pets, acting in isolation or increasing sleep time.

Individual dogs may show signs other than those mentioned. If your dog develops any signs of healthy or abnormal behavior, visit your veterinarian immediately.

How to fight stress in dogs

The first step is always pull your dog by a veterinarian. Medical conditions need to be excluded. Once you are done, there are some ways in which you can help the dog control the stress.

Keep a schedule.

Knowing what comes next and being able to rely on it can help a better dog. As much as possible, keep your dog’s schedule consistent. Feed meals, go for walks, and have times of play every day around the same times.

Increase exercise.

The old adage that a dog dog is a good dog can be true, and can also help a strained dog. Getting as much extra energy as possible can help your dog’s friend reduce unwanted behaviors. In addition, hormones released by activity fight cortisol.

Create a quiet space.

Lastly, in Can stress influence your dog’s health? Give your dog a nice, quiet and quiet area to wander around when things get stressful. This can be especially useful if dog stress is triggered by parties, thunderstorms, or other noisy events at and around the house. Set up a small room with everything the dog needs healthy food, water, a comfortable dog bed, and some games. You can even play a classic CD to help your dog feel better.