Traumatized dog is usually associated with fear and anxiety which is quite common. Doctors have also estimated that 14% of pet dogs in the world have separation trauma, which is a very common trauma in pet dogs.
However, despite all these facts, it is quite difficult to recognize traumatized dog because the initial symptoms are often not visible and most habits due to trauma are sometimes very normal in various conditions.
As a good owner, you need to get rid of the trauma properly. Then, how to find out the cause of trauma in dogs? Come on, see the review below.
How to Know Why Dogs Are Traumatized
When you want to know the symptoms of trauma in your beloved dog, you must realize that a traumatized dog will predict various bad events, either in general or in certain circumstances when they are about to act.
Which means, you not only have to know the habit, but also the reason behind the habit in order to know the trauma he suffered and what to do to get rid of it.
Well, you can do some things like the following to find out what causes trauma to your dog.
Get to know the dog association
Inadequate recognition or association in different environments and circumstances can be traumatizing when your dog is faced with this recognition.
This incident may occur if your pet dog lacks recognition or socialization during the critical period from birth to 14 weeks of age.
For example, dogs kept in cages often have lifelong trauma and fear problems even after being rescued.
Pay attention to the age of the pet dog
You should know that most traumatized dog will begin in their teens, when your dog is 6 to 18 months old.
In addition, dogs of all ages who experience trauma, illness or events that cause anxiety can experience this trauma problem.
Find out the dog’s history
Of course dogs who have a history of bad or violent experiences in their past with humans will have trauma.
If you want to adopt a dog at the shelter, ask the caretaker if the dog has a history of human abuse or not.
Find out the symptoms of traumatized dog
Observing environmental conditions and anxiety about the behavior of humans and other animals are symptoms of trauma. Anxious dogs will observe the state of their environment to the point when other pet dogs are calm.
Dogs with anxiety disorders are often anxious about events that frighten them. Usually this form of increased anxiety can mean your dog is more easily startled than usual.
Then, dog muscle tension is also another symptom that you may find in dogs who are always restless and anxious.
Not only that, excessive barking or screaming can also be associated with a dog’s inability to relax and calm down.
In addition to excessive anxiety, there are several symptoms of trauma in dogs that are often seen, such as:
Know the body language that dogs show
By paying attention to each occurrence of the habit due to the trauma, you may find a pattern that appears complete with body language associated with that particular trauma.
That’s why paying close attention to when your dog becomes anxious even when the cause seems irrelevant. At that time, it was very important to do a thorough trauma examination of the dog.
The body language that is often shown by a favorite dog when experiencing trauma, namely:
- His pupils would instantly widen,
- Suddenly he breathes very hard,
- The dog suddenly pulled his ears back,
- The tail is inactive and looks limp like it’s just sticking, and
- The dog will lower its body until it is close to the ground.
Therefore, an understanding of the detailed reasons will help you to eliminate the cause of anxiety and work to relieve the fear of your beloved dog.
Know the reason for all his habits
You need to examine in detail all the habits shown to find out what caused the trauma.
Some of the events that you should pay attention to regarding each habit are the presence of humans and other pets in the area, environment, location, weather, noise and others when your dog shows symptoms of trauma.
Ignore inappropriate responses
With all the information you get, try to select the habits that match the reason.
For example, gasping for air is a very common symptom of trauma, but it is normal for a pet dog to gasp for air when the dog is active or overheated.
If all of the instances of a dog panting while breathing that you’ve noticed occurred during hot weather or after a long walk, so the panting breath is likely not caused by trauma.
On the other hand, when the incident is seen when your dog is resting and dealing with other people or other causes of anxiety, it may be the result of trauma.
How to help a traumatized dog
When you already know the reason behind the trauma to your pet dog, then you can then take several ways to overcome it, such as:
Treat early
You should be wary of traumatized dogs, because usually traumatized pet dogs don’t look at breed and age, but there are some pet dogs that do have a high risk of experiencing trauma related to their fear.
If your pet dog has one of the reasons for this risk, you need to be careful when looking for signs of trauma. So, the right way to deal with traumatized dogs is to treat them early.
Some things such as providing a safe place to play, making a daily schedule, providing time to play with them, and letting them choose what they like can also reduce the trauma that is in him, you know.
Well, this of course can minimize or prevent the development of more serious trauma problems in your dog in the future.
Take it to the vet
Armed with all the information you get about your dog’s habits and condition. You will be ready to tell the vet about the matter.
Therefore, you should immediately take him to the vet for further treatment after finding out what caused the trauma.
Smart friends, those were some ways to find out the causes and overcome traumatized dog that you should know.
Hopefully the above review can be useful and help you as a dog owner who is experiencing trauma, yes.
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