NERVOUSNESS AND FEAR IN DOGS

Let's start with the difference between fear, phobia and anxiety in dogs.

- Rangnath Tamboli and Saba Poonawala

FEAR

Fear is a feeling of weary caused due to maybe a person, a situation or even an item.

PHOBIA

When one is scared of the same stimulus over and over again, it's a phobia.

ANXIETY

Anxiety is fear of the unknown.

SO WHAT ARE THE REASONS OF FEAR IN DOGS?

1) Natural Reasons - These revolve around genetics of the dog. For example, if one of the parents or grandparents have exhibited a fear-based behavior, then the next generation may also have it. The kind of exposure a dog gets to sounds, people, water, or even whether it was kept in a cage or no for most of its lifetime affects the next generation of the dog. This could be a positive or negative effect. The main thing here is to expose the puppy in the first 4 months of its life to get the best result. More exposure in a positive way will lead to a more confident dog and vice versa.

2) Environment - This means how the dog has been kept during its lifetime. It also depends on the kind of care taken of the dog- was the dog well taken care of an exposed to different circumstances or was it not taken care of and neglected. A neglected dog can show signs of fear.