If you sometimes wonder, "Why is my dog scared of everything?" or notice that your dog is shaking and acting scared at times, then this article is for you. Just like people, dogs can become scared of different things, and sometimes it can be hard to understand what's scaring our dogs.

The tips below will hopefully help, but you may also need to seek professional help from your vet and a specialist veterinary behaviourist.

What Are Dogs Most Scared Of?

Some common fears include fireworks, thunderstorms and being scared of the vets, as well as other stressful situations. Sometimes the things that a dog is afraid of can be more unusual. Fear of a specific type of dog, maybe if a dog of that breed has attacked them in the past.

Even fear of long grass – they may have been stung by an insect or an electric fence hidden in long grass and now associate long grass with pain. Some dogs can become very scared of going to the vets, as they may associate this with uncomfortable procedures like blood tests.

These are understandable fears and are normal responses to unpleasant events. It can be hard to always get to the bottom of a fear, but often, the approach to dealing with the fear is the same regardless of the cause.

Why Are Dogs Scared of Loud Noises?

So, why are dogs scared of fireworks, loud noises and thunder, etc? If you think about it, it's not really surprising that animals are scared of loud noises.

Fireworks and thunder can be very loud (up to 150 decibels). Sounds this loud can be physically painful as well as fear-inducing. These types of noises also lack a clear pattern, with the source of the noise not identifiable and sounds occurring in short, repeated and unpredictable bursts.

How Do I Know if My Dog is Scared?

Signs of fear in dogs can be difficult to gauge. It's important to observe a dog's body language closely.

An anxious or scared dog may have an increased heart rate, cower, or tuck their tail between their legs. They may even urinate and defecate in a stressful situation. On the other hand, dogs may show withdrawal behaviour, being less active and hiding.

How to Tell if a Dog is Scared

Fleeing, hiding, and heightened reactivity are instinctive responses when the animal may view approaches (including from their owner) as potential threats and react aggressively when they wouldn't normally.

It can be hard to tell the difference between an aggressive dog and a scared dog, and sometimes a dog may be both scared and aggressive – this can be a dangerous situation for the people nearby.

Your dog may learn which events predict the future onset of the noise that frightens them and start to react to these events. This causes them to show fearful behaviour earlier with repeated exposure. In phobic animals, the fear response becomes extreme.

How Can I Help My Scared Dog?

To start with, try to reduce exposure to the fear. For example, keep your dog inside the house if you know that fireworks are likely to be let off at a certain time and try to walk your dog before it gets dark.

Try to mask the sounds outside by playing some background noise, such as the radio or TV. For fears that don't happen very often, like fireworks night or New Year's Eve, this may be all that's needed to keep your pooch calm.

Create a Positive Environment

Your behaviour can also influence your dog. If you try to comfort or soothe your dog, you may involuntarily encourage fearful behaviour.

You should never punish your dog, as this will increase their fear. Ideally, you should try to ignore your dog once you have provided them with a secure place to stay. If it's too hard to ignore them when they're afraid, try to provide some distraction.

Try to be upbeat and encourage them to play with their favourite toy and help with building confidence by modelling calm, relaxed behaviour yourself.

Crate Training Your Dog to Help with Anxious Behaviour

Introduce a safe haven, like a dog bed or crate, where they can feel safe and secure. Crate training your dog is about teaching them that this space isn't a bolt hole where they can hide until the fearful event is passed, rather it's a safe space where they enjoy relaxing.

Build up positive experiences associated with the safe haven by offering treats, toys and affection in there. Potentially unpleasant events must never be associated with the safe haven. So, if you need to give your dog medication, for example, it's important that you do it somewhere else.

In the same way, if children or other animals bother your dog, you'll need to teach them to respect this area or keep them at a distance using baby gates or door flaps. The idea is that this is a place where your dog can be in control.

Pheromone therapy can help calm dogs and has proven useful for managing some behavioural problems. Your vet can tell you more about this option.

Some severe fears may need medical treatment. This is usually a short-term measure while behavioural support is implemented. Your vet can also discuss this option with you.

Behavioural Support for Nervous Dogs

Behavioural support often involves a type of behaviour modification called desensitisation and counter-conditioning.

• Desensitisation is the process of teaching your dog to be less sensitive to their fear.
• Counter-conditioning means replacing the fear response with a new feeling that's incompatible with the fear, such as play or the pleasure of eating food.

The basic principle is to expose your dog to a situation where they're not afraid, and in a way that doesn't cause fear. You might start, for example, with small noises and slowly increase the volume. They are then rewarded with positive reinforcement for being relaxed.

Once your dog gets used to this process, the exposure to the fearful event is gradually increased, but only to a level where they still feel confident. Behaviour modification can't happen if your dog is distressed, and in many cases, medication to calm the dog is needed to help them learn these new behaviours. It's important to use a reputable veterinary behaviourist, as it's easy to do more harm than good if techniques aren't used correctly.

Having a fearful dog is no fun for your dog and can be very distressing for you. Dog anxiety can get worse with time, and usually won't go away unless you do something about it. Speak to your vet in the first instance, who may refer you to a specialist for further advice if necessary.

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Content provided from Vetstream's Vetlexicon Canis – www.vetlexicon.com/canis

Vetlexicon is the world’s largest peer-reviewed online clinical reference source. All our content is written and peer-reviewed by over 1,000 of the world’s leading veterinarians, ensuring relevance, accuracy and quality.