5 Things That Stress Pets (How to avoid them)

It is never to believe that pets care about the life they live. Most pet owners may never understand what their pets are facing. Because of this, they (pet owners) believe that pets live luxurious lives without caring about anything. What they forget is that many things can stress pets.

Since pets operate on natural survival instincts, they will always look cute and obey commands. The conflict arising between the surrounding and this intrinsic nature often lead to stressful situations for the pet. By better understanding how pets operate and think, pet owners can help reduce these stressful situations for the pets.

Below are the top five things that can stress pets and how you can avoid them.

Let’s get started;

#1 Strangers

Pets operate like human beings who are usually comfortable with familiar people in a familiar environment. Begin by learning how comfortable your pet is with new people before forcing interactions. Forced interactions with strangers can be very intimidating for pets if they don’t love it.
This is a similar case when introducing new animals in the house. If you already had a pet in the house and decided to introduce a new one, give them time to interact freely. This allows them to establish their unique dynamics. Also, note that animals differ. For example, when introducing new pets, dogs will behave differently from cats or other cross-species.

#2 Sharing Resources

Animals are funny creatures that fear deprivation of their meals. At all times, animals will practice their survival instinct of protecting resources. For instance, you may be aware that there is plenty of food for all the pets still in the cupboard, but the pet is not aware of that. For this reason, one of your pets will get stressed once something threatening threatens the supply of food.

Anytime you realize that your pet is stressed over sharing resources, ensure enough to go around before making a step further. If, for example, you realize a pet is becoming protective over the feeding bowl, try getting each a bowl. Through this, no one’s supply will be threatened, and the survival instincts will not be activated. Try using the same principles in any situation where your pet feels threatened, like little boxes, toys, beds, and more.

#3 Miscommunication

Communication can be a problem and sometimes stressful for the pet and the pet owner. It is possible we can train pets, but unfortunately, the pet can only understand a relatively small percentage of what we try to communicate. To ensure that you have fruitful communication with your pet, remember the following simple rules;

Use relatively simple commands that involve few words and more gestures. This will prevent your pet from struggling to understand what you are communicating.

Maintain consistent commands as pets won’t understand alternative commands. For example, you don’t expect a dog to “paw” today and expect it to “shake” the following day.

Watch your time of voice. Despite failing to understand what we say, pets can quickly tell our mood through intonation. Shouting can also scare a lot of animals which interrupts communication. Pets cannot concentrate when you are too loud. You can be firm, but yelling is a NO for pets.

When you set rules for your pet, be consistent. Pets are not in a position to understand special occasions. For example, if you punish a pet for staying on the couch, make sure you maintain it at all times. With consistency, the pets are likely to be less stressed.

#4 Loud Noises

As aforementioned, yelling can scare pets a great deal. Similarly, Loud noises from other sources can also scare the pets. Thunderstorms and fireworks are everyday noises that scare pets, but there are measures you can take to help your pet adapt.
The first step is setting a comfortable place where your pet can go whenever it is stressed. Another alternative is playing with toys or music to distract the pet from loud noise. For complex situations, consult with a vet on medication or natural supplements like CBD for pets and related products.

#5 The Vet

Visiting a vet is no big deal for you, but that is not the case for pets. If you visit the pet for the first time, expect your pet to treat the vet as a stranger. So expect your pet to behave the same way it behaves when you have strangers at your premises. The situation can be even more stressful when the vet begins examining and administering things like shots without your pet getting what is going on.

Treats help reinforce good behaviors exhibited by your pet. Try to understand the comfort level and coping skills of your pet at all times. This will help you to manage your pet and make the visit interesting for your pet.

If you realize that your pet is stressed about going to the vet, stop the visit and work something out. For example, you can visit the place with your pet and allow it to enjoy treats without any examination. Through that, your pet will have confidence about the place the next time you visit.

What else can help my pet?

As a pet owner, you need to understand a lot of things concerning pet care. It is even better when you learn from their perspective.

The best way to avoid situations that stress our pets is by understanding the situations in the first place.

You can also try giving your pet CBD! We have a great range of products that are especially formulated for your furry friends. 

We’ve even been rated as the #1 company in the country by San Francisco Gate!

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