Dogs can become nervous for many reasons, perhaps because of a traumatic experience or a bad start to life. Learning to recognise the signs of nerves or anxiety and ways to support your nervous dog can help them to become more secure and happy.
What are the signs of anxiety in dogs?
If your dog feels anxious, there are several signs that they may start to display. These can often start in quite a subtle way before escalating, so spotting them early lets you step in before their behaviour becomes more extreme. A nervous dog may look away from the source of their anxiety or try to move away or hide. They may also lick their lips, yawn, or pant, even though they aren’t tired, hot, or thirsty, we call these appeasement signs. More obvious signs can include pinning their ears back, cowering, tucking their tail in, freezing, or curling their lip as if they’re about to growl. If you see any of these behaviours in your pooch, allow them to move them away from the source of problem and/or distract them with a game, a treat, or a toy, ensure to do this in a positive way, calling them and guiding them away.
Dogs can also display more obvious appeasing behaviour, such as rolling onto their backs. You might think they’re asking for a belly rub, but your pooch is actually trying to show you they’re afraid of being hurt and don’t want to seem threatening. In that situation, leaving them alone until they’re ready to get up is the best approach.
How to improve nervous behaviour
We’ve mentioned some of the techniques you can use if your dog shows signs of anxiety. However, you can reduce nervous behaviour generally by helping them feel safe at home and when facing new experiences.
Create a safe space
You can help your dog feel secure by giving them a safe place to go if they feel nervous or unsure. It’s a good idea to help your dog feel safe where they eat and sleep. You can provide a crate with their bed, blankets, favourite toys, and snacks, and ensure they can go there when they choose to. Putting a blanket over a table with their bed underneath can also give them privacy and help them feel secure. Playing soft music can help them relax, especially if they react nervously to noises from outside.
Get into a routine
Getting into a routine is a bit controversial. For some dogs, getting them into a routine helps them feel secure because they know what will happen and when. Sticking to the same schedule for feeding, sleeping, walks and play shows your dog they can trust you and helps them feel safe in new environments. However, for example, for reactive dogs that worry about dogs on walks, they start to be able to predict the routine, and it will in fact make it worse. Initially, your dog may just be worried about other dogs on walks. Then they start to realize that picking up a lead means that the walk is going to happen and so that means the other dogs will ‘arrive’ so now the picking up the lead is already making your dog anxious. Soon they will realize that you putting on your shoes is an even earlier sign of the walk. For these dogs ‘ditching the routine’ is actually better. The least they can predict, the better. If you think your dog may benefit from ditching the routine, you may want to contact a behaviourist for help.
Provide reassurance
If your dog finds themself in a stressful situation, leading them away and giving them lots of fuss can help to reassure them. Growling at someone is a warning sign that they’re feeling nervous and want that person to back away. You might be tempted to tell them off, but it’s better to remove them and reassure them, as this will make your pooch feel understood and help them to trust you.
Work with a professional trainer or behaviourist
A trained dog behaviourist or trainer with experience working with nervous dogs can help you recognise the signs of anxiety in your dog and intervene. They’ll also be able to show you exercises and training to improve your pooch’s behaviour and build trust between you over time. It takes work and a lot of patience, but the effort is well worth it. To find a good trainer, talk to your vet or look for animal behaviourists accredited or represented by the Association for the Study of Animal Behaviour (ASAB) or the Association of Pet Behaviour Counsellors (APBC).
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