4 Weird Ways Stress Can Affect Your Dog
Did you know that up to 70% of all behavioral issues in dogs are caused by stress?¹ Read on for 4 interesting ways that stress can affect dogs. (And ways to help you manage normal stress for your furry friend!)
Key Takeaways
- Stress is caused by the release of hormones in the body, such as adrenaline and cortisol. These cause what is called a "stress cascade."
- This stress response is involuntary. The only thing needed to trigger it is your dog’s perception that something is stressful.
- Most dogs, if not all, will experience stress at some point. That's entirely natural. And that’s why it’s important to find ways to manage normal stress.
- Stress can manifest in many ways. Some of these manifestations might not be obvious or might appear to be caused by something else, so it's important to learn to recognize them.
- One way you can help reduce the effects of normally induced environmental stress is by giving your dog a calming treat.
See Related: How Long Does CBD Stay In a Dog’s System?
How Stress Works
To understand how stress can affect your dog, you need to know how the stress response works. You've probably heard the term "fight or flight" before. That's a common phrase used to describe how humans and dogs respond to stressful situations.
When confronted with something stressful, our body reacts by releasing stress hormones like cortisol. This process is called the "stress cascade."
These hormones trigger various responses in our bodies, preparing us to either fight the perceived threat or flee from it.
The same is true in dogs.
This response has evolved over millions of years, but it isn’t perfect.
The doorbell, for example, isn't exactly a life or death threat. But that doesn't stop many dogs from going wild when they hear it!
Training and exposure, especially at a young age, can help manage these overreactions. But to some degree, it's really not your furry friend's fault. Their body is reacting to a perceived threat.
Stress Hormones in Dogs
There are three main biological stress markers used by scientists to test stress levels in dogs:
- Cortisol
- Chromogranin A (CgA)
- Secretory immunoglobulin A
One study from 2019 found that dogs who struggled to cope with behavioral tests had elevated levels of cortisol and CgA 40 minutes after the test.²
The Importance of Avoiding Stress
A stressed dog isn't the end of the world. After all, stress is an entirely natural response. It can't be avoided completely.
However, research shows that emotional stress impacts the body. This is true across all kinds of species, including humans and dogs.³
To be specific, dog or cat parents want to avoid three types of emotional stress:
- Stress that's too intense
- Stress that lasts too long
- Unnecessary stress
Ultimately, stress can become a problem when the body can't manage it.⁴
How a Stressed Dog's Body Changes
Like humans, your dog's stress response causes several important changes in their bodily functions. They include the following:
- Less rational thought processing
- Increased heart rate
- Higher blood pressure
- Changes in memory formation
- Shift to instinctive responses
- Altered gastrointestinal functioning
Again, these changes are all normal. That is, they evolved over many years to help our furry friends deal with threats.
What Causes Stress in Dogs
Before we get to the ways stress can impact your dog, let's quickly cover some common causes of stress.
Remember, stress doesn't have to have a rational cause. All that matters is that your dog perceives some cause.
You might understand that this cause is actually nothing to worry about. In fact, you might not notice anything at all.
But your dog might think differently!
All that to say, don't dismiss your dog’s worries and woes. Even if they are being unreasonable in your mind, the stress they are feeling is very real to them.
Common Causes of Stress
Stress is often separated into different categories. There's physiological stress, which includes anything that directly upsets the body's natural balance. Surgery, for example, causes physiological stress in dogs.
Other causes of physiological stress include food allergies, health conditions, and some medications.
Less obvious is psychogenic stress. That involves anything that upsets your dog's psychological balance.
Here are some common causes of psychogenic stress in dogs:
- Unfamiliar people: Many dogs are well attuned to stranger danger. That might include the post worker, one of your friends, or even a new baby.
- Change in routine: Dogs are often creatures of habit. Their routine includes when and how much they're fed, where you walk them, how much exercise they get, and so on. Any change to these things can make them stressed.
- Strange places: Similar to strange people, new locations can cause stress.
- Loud noises: Fireworks, vacuums, the doorbell... loud noises are a classic cause of stress in dogs.
- The vet: We pet parents know veterinarians are there to help our dogs. But our dogs might not understand that.
- Other animals: There's a reason so many dogs in movies and TV are obsessed with squirrels. Dogs can become seriously stressed when seeing or interacting with other animals, especially strange ones.
What Is Positive Stress?
Funnily enough, stress doesn't always have to come from a threat. It can also be caused by something good. ⁵
That might not make sense, but stay with us. This phenomenon is called positive psychogenic stress. It's less studied than “negative” stress, but it is very real.
Let's give an example. Imagine you've been away on holiday for a few weeks. You left your dog with a close friend, and now you're finally coming home.
Think of how your dog would react. They'd be overjoyed, right? Perhaps they'd grab a shoe and bring it to you, or they'd jump around madly, or run in circles, or some combination of all these funny behaviors.
These intense emotions your furry friend is feeling can actually be positive psychogenic stress.
Some pet parents might want to consider limiting this positive stress as well as negative stress, especially if their dog exhibits certain weird behaviors when stressed.
Let's cover four of the most common strange signs of stress.
#1. Seemingly Happy Behaviors
Dogs might not be able to talk, but they can certainly communicate. The trick comes in understanding what they're trying to tell you.
For example, a dog that's panting is probably hot or thirsty, right? And a dog that's licking their lips is definitely hungry.
Well, not always.
Unfortunately for us, there are plenty of subtle signals that dogs use to try to show they're on edge. Here are some of the most common ones:
- Pinning their ears back
- Showing the whites of their eye (the classic dog "side eye" attracts millions of likes on social media, but is actually often a sign of stress)
- Licking lips
- Pacing (or any repetitive behavior, including excessive scratching)
- Yawning (though this can mean your dog is tired, too)
- Panting (to distinguish this from panting because of heat or thirst, check if your dog's tongue is curled at the tip. That's often a sign they're panting from stress.)
- Dilated pupils
These behaviors can be strange and easy to misinterpret. By recognizing them, you can help make your dog more comfortable.
Bonus: When Is a Dog Considered a “Senior”?
#2. Shivering
A friend once told us about taking their childhood dogs to the vet or groomer. Every time, the pups would get what they called the "bone rattle." As soon as the dogs realized where they were, they'd start shivering and trembling.
They weren't cold. So what was the cause?
Stress!
Trembling has been demonstrated to be a stress response in dogs.⁶ It can be a response to positive stress (i.e., excitement) or normal stress.⁷
However, shivering isn't always caused by stress. Your dog might tremble if they're cold or wet.⁸
It's important to distinguish trembling from the classic dog "shake." The shake is when a dog rapidly moves its body or head from side to side.
Interestingly, a study from 2024 found that the "shake" is often done when a dog is transitioning between different behaviors.⁹ It's possible, then, that the "shake" could be a way to try and shrug off stress.
#3. Stomach Issues
Plenty of research has demonstrated the connection between the gut and the mind.¹⁰
This connection goes both ways. As we've discussed, something that upsets your dog's stomach can cause stress. Anyone who's had an upset stomach knows that!
Spoiled food or food that triggers a sensitive stomach are common culprits. If your dog is a picky eater, consider trying a bland diet. But if you think your dog ingested something harmful, consult your vet.
One study from 2024 noted that the microbes in your dog's GI tract "can impact mental health" in multiple ways. Therefore, it's important to maintain the balance of these microbes in your dog.
That's why we offer a Gut Health Bovine Colostrum Supplement. The colostrum is taken from non-GMO-fed cows in Canada and helps maintain a healthy intestinal tract.
All that said, the gut-mind connection goes both ways. An upset tummy can cause stress, and stress can cause an upset stomach.
And what can happen when you or your dog has an upset stomach? Vomiting.
#4. Vomiting
Dogs vomit for various reasons. Maybe they ate something that disagreed with them, for example.
However, they could simply be vomiting due to stress.¹¹
That might not make sense. After all, how is vomiting meant to protect you from a threat?
Remember, though, that stress responses aren't always rational. Vomiting is a reflex. In other words, your dog isn't doing it voluntarily. ¹²
Ways to Manage Normal Stress In Dogs
The most obvious method is to remove whatever is stressing your dog out.
But what if that's not possible? After all, sometimes you simply have to go to the vet. There's no getting around it!
Fortunately, there are solutions. Research suggests that CBD can help with coping with external stresses.¹³
That's why we offer a wide range of calming supplements and treats. They're all lab-tested, free from pesticides, and contain organic hemp.
There's something for every dog. Duck & Apple Chews? Check. Pumpkin Hemp Hearts? You bet.
We also offer Sleep Support Hemp Extract and Balance Hemp Extract, each formulated to help your dog cope with external stresses.
These CBD supplements can help reduce stress from traveling, hospitalization, moving, or other situations that may cause stress.
Conclusion
Stress can be caused by all sorts of things and can manifest in many strange ways. By learning to look out for these signs of stress, you can respond appropriately. Therefore, you can ensure your dog is living their best life!
Keep Reading: How to Give Your Dog CBD Oil
References
- Stress-Related Behavioral Disorders
- Physiological stress reactivity and recovery related to behavioral traits in dogs (Canis familiaris)
- Psychogenic Stress in Hospitalized Dogs: Cross Species Comparisons, Implications for Health Care, and the Challenges of Evaluation
- Recognition and Alleviation of Distress in Laboratory Animals
- Psychogenic Stress in Hospitalized Dogs: Cross Species Comparisons, Implications for Health Care, and the Challenges of Evaluation
- Chronic Stress in Dogs Subjected to Social and Spatial Restriction. I. Behavioral Responses
- Evaluation of physiological and behavioral stress-dependent parameters in agility dogs
- Dog Shivering and Trembling: Causes and Treatments
- Shake It Off: Investigating the Function of a Domestic Dog Behavior in Social Contexts
- Stress & the gut-brain axis: Regulation by the microbiome
- Vomiting in Dogs
- Emesis in dogs: a review
- A single dose of cannabidiol (CBD) positively influences measures of stress in dogs during separation and car travel
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