Dogs use their body language to indicate their mood and even their health, small signs and movements that sometimes go unnoticed in our eyes.
However the signs of stress in dogs are very evident, since they are always identical. We must pay close attention to them because a stressed dog can become an unstable, unpredictable dog.
From Dogsis we want to show you what those signs are so that if you appreciate them, you know that your dog has problems and that you must pay close attention to know the origin of its stress and solve it, ready?
- It may interest you: How to avoid fear of the vet
Index of contents
- 1 My dog gasps and salivates a lot
- 2 Tremors caused by stress
- 3 Abundant and unjustified hair loss
- 4 Body stiffness
- 5 Lack of concentration and nervousness
- 6 Unusual behaviors
- 7 How can I solve my dog’s stress?
My dog gasps and salivates a lot
When a dog exercises it is completely normal to pant because this is how it is refrigerated, since they do not sweat. Even in summer, when it is too hot it is normal for them to show constant gasping.
But if our dog starts to pant and salivate for no reason, it is because he is too excited, nervous. Probably something is stressing you out and this is one of the symptoms that dogs with stress show.
Tremors caused by stress
Have you never been to the vet and your dog has started to shiver? The tremors in dogs They can also be caused by stress, when the dog becomes so nervous that his body involuntarily begins to tremble.
Although we should not confuse this symptom with the classic shivering due to cold or due to the muscle spasms that some breeds like totally suffer from. Doberman the Chihuahuas.
Abundant and unjustified hair loss
Anxiety and stress in dogs cause abundant and unjustified hair loss. We all know that dogs shed their hair a few times a year, but if it does not coincide with those dates, the dog will be pulling hair simply due to stress.
It is not something progressive, just from one day to the next or even in a few hours, we will notice how the dog begins to lose a lot of hair, as if it were in the middle of seasonal molting. This is one of the most obvious symptoms when there are stressful situations.
Body stiffness
Stress causes a lot of nervousness and this in turn prevents the dog’s muscles from relaxing normally. This causes a strange stiffness in the dog that prevents it from moving normally or even walking, in the most extreme occasions.
A stressed dog will always be tense, his muscles will not be able to relax and this will cause him to appear very tense, rigid, abnormally as if he had rheumatism or some disease that prevents him from moving.
Lack of concentration and nervousness
He will constantly look everywhere, not paying attention to our call or any order we give him, being restless without knowing where to go or trying to hide under our legs are very evident symptoms and stress in dogs.
In these situations we should not scold our dog but neither pet it, because if we pamper it when it is nervous, it will interpret that it is good to be like this and we will intensify the problem without knowing it.
Unusual behaviors
If our dog is friendly and social but becomes grumpy, grumpy, or even barks at other dogs for no reason at all, it is probably because he is stressed. Even if he starts breaking things at home or crying when we leave him alone.
Make repetitive movements without sense, what is known as obsessive compulsive disorder in dogsIt is also a sign of excess stress in the dog. All these symptoms do not indicate that our dog has a problem.
How can I solve my dog’s stress?
One of the main causes of stress in dogs is the lack of exercise, the impossibility of being able to spend the excess energy that they possess. That is why it is advisable to take long walks with our dog daily and even take him for a run.
Loneliness also causes stress to dogs, they are pets not “things” that can be chained or locked up all day. They need to be with us, their family.
Our best advice is to go to a canine ethologist, who is a specialist in canine behavior. He will be able to identify the origin of the problem and give us the guidelines to follow to solve the stress problem in our dog.