Just like humans, our pets experience anxiety; unfortunately for our pets, it often goes undiagnosed. Often, the anxious behaviour will result from the same “trigger” or “triggers” every time. Triggers are stimuli that illicit a fearful response,
The most common causes of pet anxiety are:
• Fear
• Separation
• Ageing
Fear-related anxiety can be caused by loud noises, strange people or animals, visual stimuli like hats or umbrellas, new or strange environments.For example, specific situations include, the vet’s office or car rides — new or unfamiliar surfaces like grass or wood floors.
Separation anxiety most often occurs in dogs, this causes dogs with separation anxiety are unable to find comfort when they are left alone or separated from their family members.
Age-related anxiety affects older pets can be associated with Cognitive Dysfunction Syndrome (CDS) similar to the early stages of Alzheimer’s disease in humans. For instance, pets with CDS, memory, learning, perception, and awareness start to decline. This understandably leads to confusion and anxiety in senior pets.
So how can you tell if your pet has anxiety? There are several important symptoms to look out for:
• Aggression
• Urinating or defecating in the house
• Drooling
• Panting
• Destructive behaviour
• Depression
• Excessive barking
• Pacing
Anxiety and fear are common occurrences in human daily life, we love our pets like our own family. It is important to look out for the symptoms, and to allow treatment for our beloved animals. Here at Marion Compounding Pharmacy, we provide customised care for their health and wellbeing. Read more on our website or call us at 08 8276 8600.
Further research available on scholar articles:https://scholar.google.com.au/scholar?q=anxiety+in+animals&hl=en&as_sdt=0&as_vis=1&oi=scholart