Although not all stress that your dog is exposed to is negative, there are certain stressful circumstances that may result in kidney, bladder, skin or cardiovascular diseases. Some signs of stress and frustration may be more difficult to detect while others are unmistakable. You may notice that some signs relate to an increase in activity while other signs relate to a decrease in activity. It is important to note that some of the symptoms could have medical causes and you should always consult your veterinarian.
Some symptoms of stress include: Relapses in an already housetrained dog; self mutilation i.e. chewing a paw or tail; sleeping excessively or a disturbed sleep pattern; compulsive behaviour; urinates more frequently in a particular context; continuous diarrhoea; destructiveness; loss of appetite or over eating. Sometimes certain stressors are unavoidable. If they do occur, give your dog time to de-stress to allow the chemicals in the body to go back to normal levels. It is import to identify symptoms and know how to prevent stress in our dogs' lives if we want them to be physically healthy and behaviorally sound.
