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Step 2.
Recognising Anxiety/Stress in your Dog

Anxious behaviours are the animal's way of reacting to an anticipated threat that may or may not be real. If they cannot immediately escape the fearful feeling it becomes stressful on the body and mind, forced to react in any way that helps to release this energy (fiddling). If an animal is placed under regular stress these reactive behaviours will become obsessive and compulsive, further contributing to anxiety "wind-up". Once the animal stops their compulsive behaviour and becomes fully aware of their stressful state of being, they can become even more anxious. Therefore it is essential to recognise and avoid triggering anxious behaviours in our stressed dogs helping them feel safe to "un-wind" and return to their natural state of optimal peace and wellbeing.

It is important to note the difference between anxiety/stress and excitement. They are both emotions that trigger the body into a state of physiological arousal, and can therefore elicit similar behavioural responses. However, the key to recognising the difference between healthy excitement and unhealthy anxiety/stress is their ability to respond to their environment. The stressed-out dog will be in a reactive, non-responsive mindset, while the normally balanced and suddenly excited dog will remain mentally respond to their environment. 

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Behavioural reactions to Fear

The 5F's

(typically expressed in ascending order with level of fear/anxiety) ​

1. Fiddle

2. Freind

3. Freeze

4. Flight

5. Fight 

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*Obsessive Compulsive Behaviours 

All of the 5F's can developed into OCB's given enough stress 

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