2023-10-30 11:14:06
Although their understanding of fear is different from that of humans, animals also react to frightening or stressful situations with a variety of physiological and behavioral reactions. In dogs, anxiety can manifest itself in a thousand different forms, and in the most serious forms it can also lead to panic attacks, sudden and intense episodes that occur uncontrollably, extremely disturbing for those who experience them, even more so for a dog who he cannot face his fears with words or ask for help.
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How to recognize it
Finding ourselves in front of a dog having a panic attack could scare us, especially because we may not understand what is happening. Symptoms may vary from case to case but usually include palpitations and a rapid heartbeat, hypersalivation, shortness of breath and panting, as if choking, tremors, numb extremities and unusual, dissociative or even compulsive behavior, with excessive vocalization, attempts to escape or aggressive reactions. This is because when a dog is under stress or scared, its sympathetic nervous system activates and triggers a series of uncontrolled physiological responses.
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How to react
To intervene appropriately, it is important to remain calm. Dogs can sense human anxiety, so staying calm is key to not making the situation worse. Bringing the dog to a calm and familiar environment, where he feels safe, among familiar smells, can help reduce anxiety. It is also helpful to comfort your dog with caresses and reassuring words, as this can help calm his emotional state. And even if panic attacks tend to resolve on their own within a limited period of time, it is important not to underestimate the problem and ask for help from a specialist, to identify the triggers and find tailor-made therapeutic solutions. Dog behavioral therapy exists but, in some cases, the condition must be managed with specific drugs.
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The causes triggered
A panic attack can be induced by stressful situations, anxiety, genetic factors, chemical imbalances in the brain and other psychological disorders. They can manifest themselves without an apparent cause or be triggered by specific situations, such as loud noises, which not surprisingly are among the things that stress our four-legged friends the most. Another example is the story of Scooby who, after 300 days in a kennel, could no longer handle the stress of having to stay closed in a box, without the possibility of running and being outdoors, in forced coexistence with other dogs.
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Anxious brain
Are there dogs more predisposed to having a panic attack? Does insecurity or separation anxiety have an impact? In reality we don’t know: your dog may never experience it, have it only once or suffer from it periodically. The latest research on the subject has established that naturally anxious dogs have different brains compared to their peers. Researchers at Ghent University in Belgium found that brain connections between the amygdala – the center of emotion and behavior – and other parts of the anxiety circuit such as the hippocampus, were stronger than normal in anxious dogs. For the rest, it is experiences that make a dog more or less social and confident. It may therefore happen that you adopt an adult dog with this tendency, which is not necessarily due to the mistreatment suffered or the trauma of the abandoned person.
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