Article From SubmitYOURArticle.com: Panic Attack In Dogs - Causes And Methods To Help Your Dog

The sudden onset of a panic attack in dogs can be
triggered by crashing noises such as thunder,
fireworks or gun shots. The instinct of fight or
flight takes over, but since they can't fight
something they can't see, some dogs will panic
and blindly run for survival. For dogs who are
protected within a fenced yard or confined inside
a building, there is nowhere for them to go. All
of that "flight" energy is then turned into
outward detrimental behavior or they internalize
it, causing severe shaking, whining, panting, and
raised heart rate.

It is not really understood why many dogs suffer
from these panic attacks and others show no signs
of anxiety during the same circumstances. In a
home of two or more dogs, one may sleep right
through a powerful thunderstorm, while another
dog goes absolutely berserk and is totally
inconsolable.

If you have adopted a rescued dog, its previous
history may be unattainable. Your dog may have
endured some traumatic incident that caused a
debilitating fear of certain situations or loud
noises. If only they could communicate with us.
Then again, I'm not sure I would want to know.
Anyway, the reason behind the panic may never be
known, but it's really not as critical as helping
your dog overcome the behavior.

I honestly believe that a panic attack in dogs is
closely related to panic attacks in people. I
don't think it is really understood why several
people experience it and yet others don't.
Fortunately for us, we have the means to seek out
help and put that help to use in conquering our
fears.

Dogs don't have any methods or dealing with an
anxiety or panic attack. They don't know what to
do other than react to their instincts telling
them they are in grave danger.

That is where we, as their caretakers, must
intervene and find methods to help conquer this
panic attack in dogs.

First of all, I have to stress the necessity of
not punishing your dog for running away or
destroying something in the middle of a panic
attack. He is reacting to an internal impulse
that may be uncontrollable. By getting mad or
yelling at him you will be adding to the stress
and confusion, possibly escalating any further
episodes.

I do think that a dog who is equipped with some
obedience training will have an advantage over an
untrained dog in that you may be able to distract
your trained dog momentarily with commands. This
is not always the case with extreme anxiety,
because it does seem to prevail over any previous
training, but distraction through obedience may
help with milder cases.

Sedatives can be one possibility for calming a
panic attack in dogs. This is not a recommended
method for the obvious reason that it will not
solve the irrational behavior. It will only drug
your dog through the event. Your dog will be
listless and debilitated for a few hours and not
all dogs react the same to each sedative.

Some sedatives will debilitate the dog, yet will
not lessen the terror within. He will still have
to endure the distress of the situation without
being able to escape it. If you have decided to
use sedatives to help your dog through an
extremely anxious time, please research the side
effects of the particular sedative you will be
giving your dog.

The ultimate mission here is to help your dog
conquer its terror and get through a stressful
event with a somewhat more peaceful balance of
mind.

Another option for lessening the effects of a
panic attack in dogs is the anxiety wrap. You can
find this as the Original Anxiety Wrap and the
Thundershirt. The anxiety wrap or body wrap is a
snug body shirt that exerts deep touch pressure
on pressure points to soothe a dog during stress.
It is similar to the swaddling of an infant to
help it feel secure. This does not work for every
dog or every stressful situation, but it does
help many dogs. Some it helps immediately, others
may take several uses to gradually lessen the
extreme panic they have experienced so many times.

One other method of teaching your dog to get over
its extreme anxiety is by gradually exposing it
to the very thing it is terrified of, such as
rolling thunder. You would begin by playing a
tape recording of thunder. Let your dog listen to
it at a very low level, feeding your dog very
special treats, to play with a toy, to just be
goofy and happy. Your dog will learn to associate
fun things with the noise it has previously
deemed terrifying. Gradually increase the noise,
but only after your dog has accepted each level
with no signs of anxiety.

There are several options to work through a panic
attack in dogs. I know you don't want to
helplessly watch your dog freak out from the
terror it can't get away from. It may take an
amount of research, some effort and a LOT of
patience, but your dog and your family will be
grateful one day when a storm suddenly appears
out of nowhere, yet all is peaceful within.

----------------------------------------------------
Karleen Lindsey has worked with dogs for many
years. In her work as a foster care giver for
rescue dogs and in her profession as a dog
groomer, she has observed many behavior issues.
Her goal is to help each dog break through the
barriers of irrational anxiety and anti-social
behavior, with patience being the primary key to
success. To find out more about anxiety wraps,
visit http://www.anxietywrapreviews.com.

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