Pets Get Stressed, Too

If you want to know if your pet is stressed, you need to look and listen. Now that may seem simplistic, but our observations and hearing skills are actually quite vital in determining whether or not a pet is stressed. Our pets will try and tell us if they are upset about something, or if their world is suddenly askew. It's up to us as their caregivers to take notice. Besides, if your pet isn't stressed, maybe he has an undiagnosed physical problem in need of attention, or maybe he's just in need of an extra hug. Remember, too, that many pets don't like a lot of change in their lives, so events like moving or introducing a new family pet to the household might be causing problems. There's always a remedy, but some attentive monitoring is first necessary to evaluate your pet's mental/physical health.
Some things to look for:

*Is your pet behaving abnormally? Was he overt and now he's shy? Is he licking his lips a lot? Is he suddenly spending time alone or in his house?

*Is your pet eating normally? Is he unusually finicky about food? Is he throwing it up? Does he just not have any appetite at all?

*Does your pet have diarrhea or similar problems?

Some things to listen for:

*Has your pet's vocal sounds changed? Is he barking for no reason? Is he meowing non-stop? Is the bark/meow suddenly aggressive, or is there a tone present that you haven't heard before?

*Is your dog growling or your cat snarling more and without a good cause?

*Is your pet making whimpering noises or other sounds that they haven't before?

Looking and listening for these things are crucial to making sure your pet is living a happy and unstressed life. It's important to find out if stress is the reason because, for example, you certainly don't want to stop your dog from growling should an intruder be lurking. By scolding your dog for excessive growling, you risk hampering his protective instincts and responses. So don't reprimand your dog for the growl until you ascertain its cause. Likewise, if your pet suddenly shies away from people, you don't want to upset him more by forcing the issue. Something is wrong, and you need to find out what it is.

Our pets may not be able to speak English to us, but if we listen to their tones and methods of communication, we can learn when they aren't feeling their best, either emotionally or physically. Look and listen and then ascertain the causes. Once you've eliminated any potential physical reasons or other causes, you can proceed to help un-stress your pet. Remember, pets are family and they rely on us, just as we rely on them.