Anxiety in dogs creates a wide range of dog behaviour problems that are difficult enough to deal with, yet a recent report has just given us something else to worry about. Research into the effects of fear and anxiety on our dogs now indicates that it can have negative effects on both their health and lifespan too.
While it has already been established in other species that the stress response to situations that create anxiety are linked with hormone and immune changes which are in turn related to disease and shortened lifespans, this research sought to establish whether the same was true for our dogs.
In a survey carried out by Nancy A. Dreschel from Penn State, 721 owners of recently deceased dogs completed a detailed questionnaire which was then analysed to find if there was any correlation between behaviour, fear and anxiety, diseases and cause of death.
Dog Anxiety Linked with Skin Disorders
Results showed that the more well behaved a dog owner thought their dog was, the longer the lifespan – which is one of the best reasons I’ve come across in a long time for spending the time training your dog!
On the other hand, dogs with extreme fear and dogs with separation anxiety were shown to have an increased likelihood of getting skin disorders and that they got them more often and more severely.
Finally while fear and anxiety were not directly related to the causes of death in dogs, fear of strangers did corrolate with a significantly shortened length of life.
Act Quickly with Dog Anxiety Problems
So if your dog is suffering with anxiety don’t leave it in the hope it might sort itself out or go away sometime soon. Take action. Or you could be adding health problems to their anxiety and risk shortening your dogs life.
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