Dog Anxiety & Whining

If your dog often whines or experiences moderate to severe anxiety, it can be almost as stressful for you as it is for your dog. Unfortunately, some of the common remedies for canine anxiety can make the problem worse, or at the least fail to treat the underlying causes. In determining a course of treatment for your dog, it is important to understand and remedy the underlying causes. With adequate care, your canine friend should get better in no time.

  1. Separation Anxiety

    • This is the most common form of anxiety, and may remain undiagnosed for weeks or months until neighbors complain of your dog's whining or barking while you're away from home. It is especially common in former shelter dogs or dogs whose owners rarely interact with them. Separation anxiety can also take the form of destructiveness, urination or defecation in the house or self-harm such as scratching or biting one area of the body.

    Illness

    • As with humans, some cases of anxiety or frequent whining are caused by an underlying neurological disorder in your dog. These cases are rare, however. If the anxiety or whining is caused by a medical condition, it is usually more likely that the dog is in pain or distress from an undiagnosed illness.

    Whining and Generalized Anxiety

    • Often, generalized anxiety or whining is caused by a failure on the part of inexperienced or neglectful owners to train the dog properly. Owners who respond to their dog's whining with affection or attention reinforce the problem and essentially train their dogs to whine. The difference between generalized anxiety and separation anxiety is that generalized anxiety will occur when you are home as well as when you're away.

    Prevention/Solution

    • The most overlooked potential solution is to give your dog more exercise. An hourlong walk or run per day is enough for most dogs. Turning your dog out in the backyard is not sufficient. The walk or run must be human-directed.

      Don't enthusiastically greet your dog when returning for the day or make a fuss about leaving in the morning. The fewer strong emotions your dog experiences around your leaving or returning, the better.

      Crate-train your dog. This will give him a safe place to call his own. Leave a dirty piece of laundry such as a T-shirt in the crate when you leave for the day. This olfactory clue should produce a calming effect.

      If none of these works, consult your veterinarian. Your dog might have an underlying medical condition contributing to his anxiety.

    Warning

    • Canine anxiety can't be cured overnight--even with medication. If you remain calm and patient with your dog and give him time to adjust to the new regimen, the anxiety should abate within several weeks.