Do you understand the difference between stress and anxiety? Would you like to know one of the fastest ways to calm your dog during fireworks?
It’s important to know that our dog’s behaviour depends on three key factors:
1) His/her genetic predisposition
2) Learned behaviour from previous experiences
3) The particular environment he/she is in at the time
None of these factors acts in isolation so all three need to be taken into consideration when trying to understand stress and anxiety. We must have a good understanding of it all so that we know how to help our dogs as best as possible.
Stress.
We’re all talking about stress and stressing about stress, but what is it actually?
Stress is defined as a negative differential between a series of demands and the ability to cope with them. Simply said, if we, or our dog, are put out of our comfort zone, stress will quickly appear. Not all stress is bad and some stress is actually necessary for personal growth and the development of successful coping tactics. From this one can see that stress is a response to a specific stressor. This could be a car journey, a vet visit, a loud noise, or fireworks. Stress typically goes away when the stressor disappears.
Stressed dogs, like stressed people, may have:
1) Dilated pupils and blink rapidly.
2) They may open their eyes really wide and show more sclera (white) than usual, giving them a startled appearance.
3) Ears that are usually relaxed or alert are pinned back against the head. Changes in body posture.
4) Growling, barking, and pacing are all signs that something may be stressing your dog out.
Anxiety.
When it comes to anxiety, however, there is no identifiable root and sometimes we have to dig deep to find the cause (which is not always successful). Anxiety also tends to stick around for longer than stress and it’s more difficult to treat. I’m sure you know that uncomfortable inner feeling of fear, worry, nervousness, or unease about something with an uncertain outcome. We’ve all experienced anxiety at some point in our lives. It’s a normal human reaction to stress, disaster, or bad luck. The problem comes in for some people who are constantly anxious to the point where it’s abnormal and interferes with their life.
This is also true for our dogs. We might not always know the route cause of the anxiety but we can see how they play their anxiety out and it can manifest in any of these ways:
- Barking or howling when the owner isn’t home – separation anxiety
- Panting and pacing
- Shivering
- Running away and/or cowering in the corner of a house
- Digging
- Escaping the yard
- Destroying furniture
- Self-harm, like excessive licking or chewing
- Not eating
- Urinating more frequently
- A general inability to settle.
Aromatherapy for dogs.
Essential oils can help to calm your dog during fireworks.
Over the years, two products have proven to be very helpful when it comes to stress and anxiety namely, Calming Floral Spray and Comfort Blend.
Calming Floral Spray helps dogs naturally cope with stress. Stressors in your dog’s life can be visits to the vets or groomers or firework nights such as the 4th of July and New Year’s Eve – these are especially difficult for any dogs who are stressed by loud noises and bangs.
When it comes to anxiety Comfort Blend has been specifically designed to help dogs who are suffering from anxiety but is also great with helping grieving dogs and older doggies suffering from Canine Cognitive Dysfunction (also known as canine dementia)
Both of these blends of organic aromatherapy solutions have natural calming and balancing qualities and they provide ultimate relaxation for dogs who are suffering from stress or anxiety! You can even use them on your large animals like horses or donkeys, to keep them calm during fireworks.