Chronic Stress Shortens Your Dog's Lifespan!

You’ve always heard that chronic stress is bad for you. Have you ever considered that your dog has the same physiological response to stress that we do? As mammals, we are very similar in structure. Like us, chronic stress can cause your dog’s hormones to go wild, increasing the amount of adrenaline, cortisol, and other hormones. Stress can be good in the moment, like if you’re being chased by a predator. But low-grade chronic stress can be just as bad for your dog as it is for you. Your dog’s lifespan is literally shortened if he is chronically stressed.

So how do you help your dog if he suffers from chronic stress? First of all, make a list of everything that upsets your dog. This list may be long! Include places, people, loud noises, etc. These are called triggers in the dog training world. Next, try to eliminate triggers if you can. If your dog is afraid of the garbage truck, take him to the park for a walk when you know the garbage truck will be coming. Some triggers are easily managed and eliminated.

Some triggers aren’t as easily managed, like things your dog sees often. Strangers are a good example. If your dog is afraid of strangers, you can avoid even seeing them if you have to – take your dog for walks at 2am, for example. But it’s best to work with your dog on triggers like these. If the other option is to rarely let your dog leave the house and have a decreased quality of life so he doesn’t encounter a stranger, it’s much better and easier to train him to deal with these triggers.

Other triggers, severe but rarely occurring triggers like going to the vet or getting his nails trimmed, can definitely be helped with training. However, it can be harder to desensitize your dog to these triggers because they don’t happen as often. If your dog has severe anxiety with triggers such as these, an easier route would be to talk to your vet about an antianxiety or a sedative to help him when he has a vet or grooming appointment coming up. The same can be said for thunderstorms, fireworks, and other such severe phobias.