How To Ease Anxious Pets

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By Veselina Dzhingarova

petHaving an anxious pet can be difficult, with the anxiety often resulting in aggressive or anti-social behavior, whilst also having possible effects on your pet’s physical health as well as their mental state. Although it seems like there is nothing to help, there are tricks, products you can buy, and training exercises that can help to ease the anxiety and make your pets more relaxed.

Oils and Aromas

Mother cats and dogs naturally release pheromones to ease their young and create a sense of relaxation. This is a wonderful tool to use to ease any signs of anxiety in your pets. Available in collars, sprays, and diffusers that you can plug into a socket, pheromones can be released throughout the day in your home to help your pet relax. You can also buy hemp oil for pets, which will help to ease any anxieties, as it has the same effects on animals that it does on humans. This oil is perfectly safe for your pets and will do wonders for them, not only benefitting their mental state but also their physical state.

Exercise

walkingdogJust like humans, exercise can help to ease your pet’s anxiety by releasing endorphins, triggering a positive feeling, and helping to soothe their anxiety. For dogs, the obvious exercise is walking them – sometimes multiple times a day – but this is not the only exercise that they can get. Playing with your pet and teaching them tricks will keep both their mind and body busy, releasing positive endorphins and keeping them healthy, happy, and relaxed. Whilst it’s easy to think of exercise for dogs, many people aren’t sure how to exercise their cats. Cats don’t need as much exercise as dogs do, and only need to be stimulated for anywhere between 10 – 25 minutes a day. Try buying a cat tower with a scratching post and lots of toys to keep them busy. Cats are natural hunters, so they will enjoy chasing toys around the house.

Living Conditions

If you have multiple pets, this can be the very cause of the anxiety. Animals can get territorial over many things, including people, beds, and food. If another animal is attempting to claim what your pet thinks is rightfully theirs, they can experience extreme stress and anxiety. With cats, it is not uncommon for bullying to occur, to establish who is the alpha of the house. To prevent this from happening, position pet beds and food in separate rooms, and teach them which bowl and bed are theirs. This is also important if your cats have a litter tray. Cats like their own space, so giving them their own tray will help them to establish which territory is theirs and reduce stress and fighting.

There are many things which will make pets feel overly stressed and anxious that you may not even be aware of. However, even if the cause can’t be found, there are many ways highlighted in this article to soothe the anxiety and help your pet become healthier and happier in body and in mind.