15 things that stress dogs

Author: Laura McKinney
Date Of Creation: 2 August 2021
Update Date: 20 September 2024
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O stress on dogs it is one of the disorders that can cause the most consequences and to which the least attention is paid. This is because, on numerous occasions, it tends to be confused with bad behavior, a mistake that can lead to the real problem not being solved.

To prevent this from happening, in this PeritoAnimal article, we will detail the 15 things that stress dogs and which are the most common. Of course, it should be noted that not all of them can produce the same reaction in all dogs, so it is possible that some of the aforementioned situations do not affect your dog, while others produce a severe state of stress.

stress in dogs

Stress is nothing more than the tension that the dog experiences when faced with certain situations that are oppressive for him. When you feel subjected to such a circumstance, your body emits a response that can sometimes be mistaken for a behavior problem, such as biting objects or barking excessively. We find two major types of stress in dogs:


  • acute stress: when the stressful situation is temporary and the animal ends up adapting and resolving.
  • chronic stress: when the stressful situation is constant and lasts over time. Here the animal does not adapt and ends up developing health and behavior problems.

In either case, the most frequent signs of a stressed dog are as follows:

  • stereotypes
  • Excessive salivation and licking
  • constant panting
  • hyperactivity
  • hair loss
  • compulsive barking
  • Behavioral changes such as aggression, depression or fears.

But what situations stress dogs and cause the above symptoms? Below, we detail the most common and everyday ones.

1. Sudden changes or lack of routine

The dogs they are routine animals, habits and fixed schedules, very susceptible to changes in both your environment and your daily habits. Thus, suddenly changing their walking or eating times, for example, is one of the things that stress dogs when they see that they will not go out into the street when they think the time has come or that their human companion does not feed them as they did before. The same is true when making changes to your normal environment, such as a furniture renovation. The dog is used to perceiving a certain odor and the presence of new furniture can destabilize the animal, make it feel that it is not at home, develop stress and, consequently, provoke certain unwanted behaviors, such as tagging.


All of the above environmental factors produce acute stress on the dog, so the animal will eventually adapt to the new situation and accept it, regaining its emotional stability. For this to happen as quickly as possible, you must make the changes progressively and not sudden.

On the other hand, the lack of routines and schedules can also cause stress in the dog for not controlling, precisely, when he goes to eat or go out to do his needs.

2. Moving house

If a move, such as renovating living room furniture, is considered one of the things that stress dogs out, imagine what a move can do. As we said, dogs use their sense of smell to relate to absolutely everything, because their olfactory memory allows them to recognize people, other animals, objects and places by the smell they emit. For them, their house gives off a certain odor, so when it's time to move to another place, we can observe the restless dog, walking around every space and sniffing every corner. He got out of his comfort zone and doesn't recognize the new house as "yours", which is why you are under acute stress and need time to adjust.


3. Not resting properly

so much to lack of sleep, such as inadequate rest are things that stress puppies and can also trigger important health problems. Adult dogs sleep an average of 13 hours a day, spending about 8 hours sleeping at night and distributing the rest throughout the day. Puppies, in turn, can sleep up to 20 hours a day. However, many people can't resist waking up the puppy to spend time with him, play or just pet him, mistakes that translate into a stressed dog for not being able to sleep. So, just as not getting enough sleep affects us, so does animals and, therefore, our dog will develop stress, fatigue, etc.

However, sleeping for a minimum of hours is useless if the animal does not have a comfortable bed, because the sleep will not be of quality and you will not be able to rest everything your body needs. So, if you consider that this may be the situation that stresses your dog, don't hesitate and provide him with a comfortable bed.

4. Arrival of a new family member or death

One of the things that stress dogs out can be the arrival of a baby due to all the changes it entails. Therefore, it is essential to prepare the dog for the baby's arrival during the previous months and to know how to act once the baby is born.Likewise, incorporating a new animal into the family, whether it's another dog, a cat, a rabbit, or any other animal, is also one of the things that stresses dogs out if the presentation isn't done correctly. For them it can be like a invasion of your territory, the arrival of new smells and sounds and therefore we must follow a series of steps before the definitive installation of your new companion.

At PeritoAnimal, we help you with this point and encourage you to consult the article that suits your situation:

  • Advice for a dog and cat to get along
  • Adaptation of puppies with other puppies

On the other hand, the death of any family member can also be one of the things that can leave a stressed dog, in addition to developing discouragement, loss of appetite, etc. Like us, the dog needs to go through a period of mourning.

5. Lack of socialization

The dog is a sociable animal by nature, a pack, and need to have social contact with other animals and people to be happy. Poor socialization, or lack of socialization, will not only reflect behavioral problems when in front of other animals or strangers, but will generate in the dog a state of stress and anxiety for not knowing how to act. Likewise, not receiving any type of contact from human companions will also produce stress in the dog, boredom, sadness...

See our article on how to properly socialize an adult dog and prevent your dog from continuing to stress.

6. Excess or lack of exercise

Dogs need to channel all the energy they accumulate and release it through walks and activities. take a walk from 20 minutes a day is not enough, the animal will continue to build up tension and we will have a stressed and unhappy dog ​​as a result, which will likely develop behavior problems at home, such as destructive behavior.

Depending on the size and breed, the dog needs to receive an average of walks and exercises per day, completely different and equally important activities. In this way, the animal needs to walk relaxed, but it also needs to run, get tired and play. Consult our article on exercises for adult dogs and start practicing them.

On the other hand, and while it may sound incredible, overexertion is also considered one of the things that stress dogs. In addition, overworking the dog can also cause serious problems with his joints, so ideally give him the time and intensity he needs, no more and no less.

7. Spending many hours alone at home

Whether or not the dog suffers from separation anxiety, spend many hours alone at home develops boredom and stress in any animal, and even more so in one as sociable as the dog. As we said, the dog needs social contact and depriving him of that is totally contraindicated. However, if you have no choice but to leave your dog alone for several hours straight on any given day, we recommend checking out the following article: How to entertain a dog alone at home.

8. Violence, screaming or inappropriate punishment

Many people think that the best way to educate a dog is through punishment, and nothing further from reality. The dog has been shown to be an animal that responds much better to techniques based on positive reinforcement, in which good behavior is rewarded and inappropriate behavior corrected with a "No", no screaming and no excessive punishment.

Both physical violence and screaming can lead to the development of aggressive behavior in the dog., exactly contrary to what is intended, in addition to the person's fear and even trauma. On the other hand, correcting inappropriate behavior out of time does not make sense for the animal and will only increase the dog's stress for not knowing the reason for the annoyance of your human. Thus, misbehavior must be corrected and oriented on the spot, when it occurs, not minutes or hours later.

9. Practice training techniques for a long time

Training sessions should be short., no more than five minutes each, and do three to five repetitions a day. Doing a single daily session of 15 minutes or more will only leave the dog bored, tired, unmotivated and, above all, stressed. For more information, don't miss the following article in which we explain how to train a dog.

10. Bad education

In the same way as the overtraining it's counterproductive, not offering the dog any kind of education either. Remember that the dog is an animal of routine, customs and that in nature would live in a pack. Therefore, it is recommended to start training the dog always following the proper guidelines. In this sense, incorrect parenting, such as the one we mentioned that is not through positive reinforcement, is also another of the things that stress dogs and cause behavior problems.

11. Too much attention

All dog lovers love spending as much time as possible with them, playing, petting and hugging them, but do they feel the same? Although it's hard to accept, dogs need to have their own space and time for them, without us bothering them. An excess of attention on our part, constant hugs, kisses, caresses, calls, etc., end up stressing the animal and observing that the only thing he wants is to run away from us, making us wonder if he really loves us. When the animal runs away, it doesn't indicate that it doesn't like us, as it probably loves us more than itself, but it does indicate that it needs to be alone.

On the other hand, the rejection of our hugs has a concrete explanation, see the following article and find out why my dog ​​doesn't like to be hugged?

12. Lack of mental stimulation

In addition to walking and exercising physically, the dog needs to keep his mind active to feel happy. Dogs are intelligent animals that love learning new things constantlytherefore, playing games that stimulate your mind is practically mandatory. To do this, you can play with your furry companion games of intelligence or games of smell, both at home and abroad.

13. Get stuck for hours

Ask yourself this question: How would you feel if you were deprived of your freedom? The dog experiences the same feeling and therefore develops a state of stress, anxiety, fear and frustration when he spends many hours tied up, no freedom of movement and always in the same space. And if we add the presence of the muzzle, we have a stressed, unhappy and unstable dog with us.

If you live with a dog that destroys everything when it's alone and you think the only option is to leave it tied up, for example, don't hesitate and go to a specialist to guide you and indicate the techniques to follow. Without a doubt, this is one of the things that most stress dogs and trigger serious behavior problems.

14. Living with a hyperactive person

Dogs have the ability to sense our emotions and embrace them, so living with a hyperactive person will eventually stress the dog and make him hyperactive as well. Therefore, before adopting the animal, it is essential to look for the one that best suits us and our lifestyle, which in this case would be a calm, docile dog that does not let itself be affected by the hyperactivity of its human.

15. Strong sounds

The dog is an animal with a much more developed sense of hearing than ours, being able to perceive frequencies that are inaudible to us that are emitted up to 20-30 meters away. Thus, it is not surprising that many dogs have a phobia of thunder, hate the sound of sirens or are frightened by the slamming of a door. All these sounds that are too loud for them not only develop a sense of dread, but create stress and anxiety. Therefore, it is recommended not to shout at home, listen to excessively loud music or make noises that can stress the animal.

Remember that all these things that stress dogs do not apply to all of them, as each dog is different and some may not change in any of the situations mentioned, while others do. The important thing is to learn to understand our dog, its language, the signs of calm and avoid anything that might disturb its emotional stability.

In the following video, we have some tips on how to calm a stressed-out dog that might be helpful for you:

This article is for information purposes only, at PeritoAnimal.com.br we are not able to prescribe veterinary treatments or perform any type of diagnosis. We suggest that you take your pet to the veterinarian in case it has any type of condition or discomfort.

If you want to read more articles similar to 15 things that stress dogs, we recommend that you enter our Mental Problems section.