Anxiety—Why Some Dogs Have it and Others Don’t

When we meet a dog with anxiety, one of the first questions we ask is “why?”. Why does this dog have anxiety, and this one doesn’t?

It’s a simple question, but it doesn’t have a simple answer. Many factors go into whether or not a dog experiences anxiety, and it is a complex topic. Whole books have been written on the topic by far more educated people than myself, my aim here is to summarise a few of the common causes of canine anxiety. 

What is anxiety?

But first, what is anxiety? Most of us have experienced anxiety at one point or another during our lives. Most of us could also identify a moment where our dog experienced anxiety. A trip to the vet brings out anxiety in many dogs who don’t usually experience it, much as otherwise non-anxious people might feel frightened when getting a blood test or a vaccine. This is normal and not a cause to be concerned. Fear and anxiety keep us safe, warning us when we are in a potentially dangerous situation and helping us to escape that situation. 

But anxiety becomes an issue when it is frequent, impacting on ordinary activities, and decreasing quality of life (Tiira et al, 2016). Anxiety is one of the most common behaviour issues affecting dogs, with one report estimating that approximately a quarter of pet dogs suffer from generalised anxiety (Salonen et al, 2020).

So, what’s causing all this anxiety?

Genetics

Note: I’m using the term “genetic anxiety” to cover a variety of issues that affect a puppy before birth, not strictly anxiety caused by genetics.

Anxiety often has a genetic component and puppies that have a parent with anxiety issues will often inherit their parent’s anxiety (Overall et al, 2006).  Recent studies have also shown that puppies can develop anxiety if their mother experiences significant stress during her pregnancy, or if they lack maternal care in the days after their birth (Tiira & Lohi, 2015). 

If you choose to obtain a puppy from a breeder, it is imperative that you pick an ethical breeder who is aware of these genetic factors and actively breeds away from these issues. It is also important to be able to visit the parents of your puppy to ensure that they’re living in comfortable, safe, and stress-free environments. 

It’s also worth considering this if you decide to adopt a puppy from a rescue or a shelter. It may not be possible to know the puppy’s background, or their mother’s history, but it is important to keep it in mind. There is a lot you can do to alleviate or prevent anxiety in your puppy, as we’ll discuss in a moment. 

Poor socialisation

Socialisation, in it’s most basic form, is allowing a puppy to interact with and learn about a wide variety of people, animals, and situations, with the aim of providing the puppy with positive or neutral experiences to those things. I think of puppies as little sponges, soaking up huge amounts of information about the world in their early days. They learn what things are fun, what things are boring, what things are safe, and–critically to discussions of anxiety–what things are frightening.

The critical socialisation period for puppies lasts, approximately, between 4-14 weeks olds. Most people will bring a puppy home at 8 weeks old, which means good socialisation is a team effort between the puppy raiser and the puppy buyer. 

Unfortunately, a lack of socialisation is very common in dogs, and often leads to anxiety (Tiira & Lohi, 2015). If a puppy has very few, or no, positive and neutral experiences with other dogs, for example, they may develop anxiety around other dogs. Similarly, puppies who don’t get to meet new people often grow into dogs who experience fear or aggression around unfamiliar people.

As mentioned above, it is essential to thoroughly vet a breeder before buying a puppy from them. Ask them what steps they take to ensure their puppies are well-socialised. There are several programs available that are highly regarded, such as Puppy Culture, which you can also ask a breeder about.

If you choose to adopt a puppy, you also need to investigate their socialisation efforts. Have the puppies been with a foster carer, or have they been in a shelter environment? Have they had one-on-one attention from an experienced trainer? What experiences have they had outside of their usual environments?

Once you bring your puppy home, there are still plenty of things to do! However, that is beyond the scope of this article, though there are some excellent resources out there to help in your socialisation journey (for example, Steve Mann’s book Easy Peasy Puppy Squeezy).

Trauma 

Even the most confident of dogs can develop anxiety after a traumatic incident. This is where many people believe their dog’s anxiety comes from (“he must have been abused” is a common phrase to hear about rescue dogs).

In reality, anxiety is more likely to stem from the other issues on this list, and unless you can clearly pinpoint a particular incident that triggered anxiety in your dog, I try to avoid speculating on abuse or trauma. It is rarely helpful when it comes to managing and treating anxiety.

However, trauma–whether originating from a singular incident or a period of chronic stress–can trigger anxiety, or increase already present levels of anxiety. Some examples of traumatic incidents might include a dog attack, fireworks on New Year’s Eve, a severe storm, or an injury. 

Pain

Last, and potentially most importantly, health-related issues are a major contributor to anxiety. The line between physical and mental health is often complicated, and even more often ignored. However, the scientific literature released over the last decade firmly links pain and illness with behavioural concerns such as anxiety or aggression (Lopes et al, 2018; Mills et al, 2020). Animals who are suffering communicate through their behaviour.

It’s for this reason that I highly encourage a thorough vet work up before beginning a behaviour modification program. In many cases, the anxiety can be significantly improved by adequately addressing the underlying medical issue first. 

“My vet said they’re fine”, is a common response I hear to suggesting a vet visit. Your pet may appear fine, especially during a fifteen-minute exam, but health issues can go undiscovered for months, sometimes even years. It is often helpful to ask for a referral to specialist vets, such as an orthopaedic vet, a pain specialist vet, or an ophthalmologist. There are also skilled veterinary behaviourists, specialists who have degrees in both veterinary medicine and animal behaviour, and booking a consultation with one may help you get to the bottom of the issues you and your dog are facing.

 If there’s one thing I want you to take away from this article, it is that anxiety is complex. It is created through an interplay of genetics, experiences, and health factors, and there is almost never a cleanly cut, easily interpreted cause. This guide is meant to be helpful and informative, but it is not meant to diagnose your dog, or to pinpoint the exact cause of their behaviour struggles.

If your dog is struggling with a behaviour issue, reach out to a professional for help. A force-free dog trainer is an excellent place to start, as they can usually refer you on to a behaviourist or a veterinary behaviourist, and with a team in place you can work together to improve your dog’s quality of life. And yours as well, dog guardians are usually extremely impacted by their dog’s anxiety, and you deserve support too.

References:

Lopes Fagundes, A. L., Hewison, L., McPeake, K. J., Zulch, H., & Mills, D. S. (2018). Noise Sensitivities in Dogs: An Exploration of Signs in Dogs with and without Musculoskeletal Pain Using Qualitative Content Analysis. Frontiers in veterinary science, 5, 17. https://doi.org/10.3389/fvets.2018.00017

Mills, D. S., Demontigny-Bédard, I., Gruen, M., Klinck, M. P., McPeake, K. J., Barcelos, A. M., Hewison, L., Van Haevermaet, H., Denenberg, S., Hauser, H., Koch, C., Ballantyne, K., Wilson, C., Mathkari, C. V., Pounder, J., Garcia, E., Darder, P., Fatjó, J., & Levine, E. (2020). Pain and Problem Behavior in Cats and Dogs. Animals (Basel), 10(2), 318-. https://doi.org/10.3390/ani10020318 

Overall, K. L., Hamilton, S. P., & Chang, M. L. (2006). Understanding the genetic basis of canine anxiety: phenotyping dogs for behavioral, neurochemical, and genetic assessment. Journal of Veterinary Behavior, 1(3), 124–141. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jveb.2006.09.004 

Salonen, M., Sulkama, S., Mikkola, S. et al. Prevalence, comorbidity, and breed differences in canine anxiety in 13,700 Finnish pet dogs. Sci Rep 10, 2962 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-020-59837-z 

Tiira, K., & Lohi, H. (2015). Early Life Experiences and Exercise Associate with Canine Anxieties. PloS one, 10(11), e0141907. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0141907 

Tiira, K., Sulkama, S., & Lohi, H. (2016). Prevalence, comorbidity, and behavioral variation in canine anxiety. Journal of Veterinary Behaviour, 16, 36-44. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jveb.2016.06.008