Ease Your Pet’s Fear

My dog has a phobia, she is afraid of thunder and any other loud noise. When it rains she starts whimpering, shivering, panting heavily, and scratching on the door to come in. Like people, some pets develop a fear of simple things such as unfamiliar places, people, or other animals. Some pets are scared of the vet, the probing and the unfamiliar territory. Some are scared of large vehicles like semi trucks and buses. Many pets are afraid of loud noises, like fireworks and gunfire. On the fourth of July, many pets become very nervous and fearful.

To keep your pet calm and ease some of those fears try these various treatments. Although you may want to hug or comfort your pet when they are having a panic attack, the best thing to do is to stand back. There is always a chance that a scared animal will attack. Their defenses are up and they prefer to seek shelter, so they may act aggressively to someone putting their arms around them. Interacting with a pet that is fearful can result in bodily harm to you. One of the best things you can do to ease your pet’s fear, is to remain calm yourself, make them sit, and talk to them in a gentle voice or pet them gently, reassuring them that everything will be fine. Seeing you relaxed and speaking in a calm, gentle tone will help calm your pet.

Another reason why you shouldn’t cuddle or hug your pet when they are scared is because you are actually rewarding their fear. You are encouraging them to be afraid and more than likely the next time they experience the event that makes them afraid they will really make a grand performance, accentuating their fear. A gentle pat is fine but no cuddling. When they notice you are not making a big deal out of whatever is bothering them, then they will eventually learn to deal with it on their own.

This may sound harsh but another way to help ease your pet’s fear is to expose them to whatever is making them afraid. Of course, if they are afraid of thunder it’s impossible to expose them to it since you can’t make it thunder, but you can simulate the noise by taping a thunderstorm and replaying it to help ease your pet’s fear. Maybe you have a drum set that will simulate a thunderous sound. If your pet is afraid of strangers but only when they are close to them. Have a friend or family member that doesn’t visit often slowly walk toward your pet over a period of time. Rewarding your pet each time they allow that person to walk closer to them without throwing a fit. Keep doing this until the friend or family member is close enough to feed your pet. Pets will warm up to any stranger who feeds them.

If your pet is fearful of car rides increase the times you take them along for a car ride, they will eventually get use to it. Don’t drive too fast or brake too quickly because that will cause your pet to be alarmed and fearful. The best thing to do to ease your pet’s car ride fear, is to take them for car rides when they are young so they will be use to it by the time they are older. To avoid fears of going to the vet, examine your dog often, look in their ears, check their paws, put them on top of a table, etc. Another way to ease your pet’s fears is to prevent the fear from ever developing. Try to introduce your pet to almost every situation that could cause them to be nervous and fearful. However, it is very difficult to prevent certain fears. Most dogs are afraid of heights and loud noises but you can definitely help to ease their fears in these situations.