There’s nothing quite like a nice hug to calm you down. This goes for our furry friends, too!
One common problem dogs face is “noise anxiety,” also known as “noise phobia.” Certain sounds cause the dog to become anxious and even fearful. There need not be any actual threat associated with the sound. It can be something perfectly harmless like a thunderstorm, fireworks, construction noise, and, of course, the dreaded vacuum cleaner. A dog may react by barking, pacing around, trying to hide, or seeing out its human parent. There can also be panting, trembling, drooling, “accidents,” and more dangerously, attempts to flee. Far too many dogs running away from anxiety-provoking noise have been hit and killed by cars. Repeated exposure to the problem noises doesn’t make the dog realize it’s no big deal and calm down. Instead, this can actually make the anxiety worse and worse.
So if your doggie has anxiety problems, what can you do about it? One thing that springs to mind immediately is to hug him, tell him you love him, and that he’s a good dog. This brings us to “pressure wraps.” It turns out that a fabric wrap that applies gentle pressure can help reduce a dog’s anxiety. Whenever the wrap is on, it’s like the dog is getting one big hug. There are now commercial products designed for just this purpose, making it easy to put the “hug” on and take it off as needed. Some dog parents have found that baby clothing can do the trick.
The video we’ve posted below will show you how to make a do-it-yourself anxiety wrap using a large ace-type bandage.
How did you like this clever trick for calming an anxious dog? Let us know in the comments at Facebook. Like and share: you may have friends who have a dog that could benefit from this.