Is my dog a coward? That's a stress reaction.

Preface — — What is stress response?

Stress response is the individual non-specific response caused by various stressors, which is the response of many animals, including humans, cats, dogs and so on. When the dog is under mild stress, it is beneficial and can help the dog overcome fear, but when the dog is under strong stress, it may cause physical or psychological abnormalities, or even cause disease. For example, some puppies are exposed to sudden changes in feeding and management conditions, and are exposed to stress reactions during long-distance transportation.

Kimi's stress response

First, fear of thunder and lightning, firecrackers and other sounds

Kimi is a very active and naughty dog at home, but every time there are firecrackers and thunder and lightning outside, she will be very afraid. He would hide under the bed in our room. It was a place where he felt very safe. When he hid in it, I would not pull him out. Sometimes, he will choose to be next to us, which shows that he trusts us very much, and we will touch his back hair to relax him.

It is worth noting that if the dog is taken out in bad weather, firecrackers during festivals, and construction sites nearby, it is necessary to hold the rope to avoid the dog being frightened and lost. Every Spring Festival is a period of high incidence of dog loss. Last year, when I took Kimi to the park during the Spring Festival, I untied the rope and let him play by himself. As a result, he ran in the opposite direction as soon as he heard the sound of firecrackers. Fortunately, the sound of firecrackers disappeared after a while, and the park had a wide view, so he did not run away.

Fear of metal

Kimi grew up afraid of metal things other than cages (because she grew up in cages, so she was not afraid), such as flower shelves, stainless steel bowls and so on. I also tried to put pressure on Kimi to overcome this shortcoming, but failed. So in the end, I chose to give up correcting this problem first.

How to deal with your dog's stress response

First, give some space after taking the puppy home.

Many owners will be very excited when they pick up their dogs and want to play with them. But the dog suddenly changed an environment, leaving brothers and sisters, may be a little uncomfortable, therefore, it is best to prepare a cage in advance, so that the dog can rest in the cage as much as possible for two more days, and then extend the time to play with the dog when he adapts to the new family life.

2. Give encouragement when the dog is afraid.

When the dog hears the sound of fear, we will hold Kimi and touch him, and comfort him "not afraid, not afraid". Although Kimi does not understand what we are saying, he can feel that we are comforting him from our tone, which can also improve the dog's trust in the owner.

Third, with the help of sedative products

Whenever there is thunder and lightning, firecrackers, and Kimi is afraid, I will give Kimi some calming and soothing potions. The pet master tranquilizer I bought for Kimi has no side effects on dogs. In addition to this product, there are other brands of sedatives and sedative sprays on the market. I think this kind of product can help dogs relieve emotional stress.

Four, take more dogs to see the world.

I think both people and dogs are prone to fear of the unknown. So I think it's a very meaningful thing to take dogs out more. The more we see, the easier it is to adapt to the new environment. Therefore, every time our family drives out, we will take Kimi with us. Even if we don't have time to go out to play, I will change the route of walking the dog from time to time, take Kimi to some places that we don't usually go to, and open a new map of walking the dog.

The above is my personal view of the dog's stress reaction, for reference only.