Common dog mental health conditions

Most pet owners aren’t aware their four-legged friends can suffer from the same mental health issues that humans can. Generally, people pay attention to the physical health of their dog but are unable to recognize the signs of dog mental illness. There are several mental health conditions that dogs can experience, and we’ll round up the ones that are the most common.

Separation anxiety

This disorder is common in dogs, and it causes them to panic when they feel they will be left alone. When it comes to separation anxiety, some signs of dog mental illness include frantically barking, engaging in destructive behavior (getting into trash, chewing shoes, chewing furniture), and even having housebreaking accidents.

Noise anxiety

Loud noises can be startling for anyone, but especially for pets who don’t understand the cause of the chaos. Dogs with noise anxiety show a lot of similar signs to those with separation anxiety. A sudden change in behavior when fireworks, thunderstorms, or other loud noises are occurring usually indicates signs of dog mental illness.

In other words, when this happens, it’s pretty clear that your pet is stressed under those circumstances.