Panic Attack In Dogs - Causes And Methods To Help Your Dog

By Guest Writer,Karleen Lindsey

Panic attack in dogs comes on suddenly and can be triggered by crashing noises such as the sharp sound of gun shots, fireworks or even rumbling thunder. The instinct of fight or flight takes over, but since fighting an invisible entity is not possible, some dogs will usually try to run away from the noise. For dogs who are protected within a fenced yard or confined inside a home, they have nowhere to go. All of that "flight" energy is then turned into outward damaging behavior or it is internalized, causing severe shaking, whining, panting, and raised heart rate.

If you have adopted a rescued dog, its previous history may be unattainable. Your dog may have endured some traumatic incident that caused a deathly fear of certain situations or sounds. If only they could communicate with us. On second thought, I'm not sure I would want to know. At any rate, the reason behind the panic may never be known, but it's really not as important as helping your dog win the battle over the panic.

I honestly believe that a panic attack in dogs is closely related to panic attacks in people. I don't believe it is really understood why a number of people experience it and yet others don't. Fortunately for us, humans are able to seek out help and put that help to use in conquering our anxieties.

Dogs can't help themselves conquer their terror. They don't know what to do other than try to escape the perceived grave danger.

That is where we, as their caretakers, must intervene and find methods to help conquer this panic attack in dogs.

Firstly, I have to emphasize the necessity of not punishing your dog for whatever unacceptable behavior it demonstrates in the middle of a panic attack. He is reacting to an internal impulse that may be uncontrollable. By punishing him you will be adding to the already high level of anxiety your dog is experiencing, possibly making future incidents even worse.

I do believe that a dog who has undergone some obedience dog training will have a bit of an edge over an undisciplined dog in that your trained dog may be able to be distracted from its fear somewhat by obedience commands. This is not always the case with extreme panic, because it does seem to dominate any previous training, but distraction through obedience may help with milder cases.

Sedatives can be one possibility for calming a panic attack in dogs. This is not a recommended method for the obvious reason that it will not solve the irrational behavior. It will only temporarily mask the situation. Your dog will be listless and debilitated for a few hours and not all dogs react the same to each sedative.

Some sedatives will restrict the reactions of the dog, yet will not lessen the terror within. He will still experience the distress of the situation without being able to do anything about it. If you have decided to use sedatives to help your dog through an extremely anxious time, please do some research on the side effects of the particular sedative you will be giving your dog.

The ultimate mission here is to help your dog defeat its irrational anxiety and get through a disturbing event with a somewhat more peaceful balance of mind.

Another option for helping overcome a panic attack in dogs is the anxiety wrap. You can find this as the Original Anxiety Wrap and the Thundershirt. The anxiety wrap is a snugly fitting shirt that exerts deep touch pressure on pressure points to soothe a dog during stress. It is similar to the swaddling of an infant to help it feel secure. This does not work for every dog or every instance of irrational anxiety a dog may experience, but it may be a great help to many dogs. Some it helps immediately, others may take several times of using the anxiety wrap to slowly minimize the extreme panic they have experienced so many times.

Another possible method of teaching your dog to get over its extreme fear is by gradually re-introducing it to the very thing it is terrified of, such as thunder. You would start this with a tape recording of thunder. Play it at a quiet level, encouraging your dog to take very special treats, to play with a toy, to just be goofy and happy. This will help your dog to associate happy things with the noise it has previously reacted to with irrational fear. Increase the stimulation gradually, but only after your dog has accepted each level, showing no significant anxiety.

A panic attack in dogs can be minimized at least to a manageable level by putting into effect the many options available. I know you don't want to simply watch your dog deal with the terror it feels. It will take an amount of studying, seeking advice from trainers and a LOT of patience, but it will be worth it on that day when you are in the middle of a thunderstorm and your dog is lying peacefully on its bed.

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