Nervous, Insecure, and Anxious Dogs Are On the Rise.

Nervous, insecure, and anxious dogs are on the rise? What gives?

Since the lockdowns of the pandemic, our way of living with our dogs has changed so much so quickly, and with a change of lifestyle comes a huge change in behavior. 

Not only was their a change in lifestyle, but let’s face it, life really sucked for a brief period of time for most of us with a ridiculous amount of stress and pressure, whether it be from our change in life, or just the all around suckiness of the situation. With that being said, it is very common for humans to use their dog’s for an emotional crutch, but most pets aren’t able to cope with all of our stress, on top of all of their stress too.

What changed, and what needs to change in order to get out of this mess?

First off understand you own a dog, and they aren’t made of glass. They are capable of so much more than we give them credit for, and we hold our dog’s back from reaching their true potential. Instead of telling your dog it’s okay, show your dog what they are capable of. Often times insecurity is a result of the brain telling the body that they can’t achieve a certain goal, and if you lead your dog through these insecure moments you will open a whole new set of courage for your dog. However, if we coddle and remove our dogs from all stressful events, how will that ever give them the opportunity to grow. 

​
From going to work 48 hours a week, to staying at home almost the entire day, we immediately changed the dynamic of human/dog ownership. Here is the thing, as much as we like spending this extra time with your dog, you become a resource that your dog becomes addicted too. Addiction can mean one of two things, separation anxiety or resource guarding (making your dog mor protective of you). Good news, it gave us a lot of practice perfecting our training routine for these issues, but bad news for the average dog owner. We need to create healthy distance and boundaries with our dogs, no matter their age!


Lastly, we need to focus on jobs. Most dogs that come to a training program are some sort of working breed, but they are all UNEMPLOYED working dogs haha. They don’t have a job, and aren’t fulfilled mentally or physically. Because of this, more problematic behaviors arise. This is something that we put a huge focus on at Say It Once Dog Training.


Audit your own behaviors in the house, and take very close look at your dog’s behaviors as well. Whether you’ve never had us for a session, or you used us in the past, sign up today if you feel like you need help! There is no shame in hiring professional help, there is only better behaved dogs because we are not here to judge you, we are here to help you. 


For our amazing following over the world, if you need help, sign up for a virtual lesson today!