Are you stressing your pets out?
Some people say that owning a pet is stressful. There are vaccinations and teeth cleanings to worry about. Spaying and neutering. Wondering if you’re feeding your dog or cat the best food, offering them the best treats, and giving them the best life possible.
And in some respects, yeah. It can be stressful. But have you ever considered that the inverse may be true, too? Could you actually be stressing your pets out? New research indicates that it can, and is, happening.
Think about it: You’ve likely had a bad day at work or school, and to some extent, taken it out on your friends or family members. Maybe not physically, of course, but maybe you were short, copped some attitude, or otherwise radiated “leave me alone” vibes. Well, the same relationship exists with our pets, and they can catch wind of our stress and mood via a sort of “emotional contagion.”
So, if your home is filled with stressed-out people, it’s likely that the pets in that household are going to be stressed out, too. That’s what researchers recently concluded when they looked at the stress levels in 85 homes with pets. The more stress in the home, the more stress is experienced by the animals in that home.
“We found that employees with more job stress owned dogs who themselves showed more behavioral signs of stress. This crossover effect was explained by an owner’s tendency to engage in work-related rumination, or continued thoughts about work after work,” the study reads. “Prior work on rumination suggests that this tendency may remove the owner’s attention from their pet, leading to less care, or may induce physiological and behavioral changes that communicate the owner’s negative feelings to their dog.”
As for what to do about it?
“We encourage dog owners to combat work-related rumination through targeted interventions like mindfulness practice and being intentional in using leisure time for leisure,” the authors write.
Further, if your pets are stressed out—and you, too—some relatively simple measures can be taken to turn down the temperature. First and foremost? Get some exercise. Work it all out. Get your dog out of the house for a walk, or go play fetch. Just get moving.
You can also switch up their diets. There’s evidence that certain types of diets or foods can have an effect on stress levels. This may require a bit more digging into, or a consultation with your veterinarian, but it may be worth exploring.
You can, of course, also look at medication. The world is a crazy place, and some people can really benefit from discussing their options with their doctors. Their pets might, too.
In all, keep an eye out for signs that your pet is experiencing stress. That could take the form of heavy breathing or panting, whining, irritability, shedding, and even changes in certain bodily functions. Basically, all the stuff you might experience yourself if you were stressed out!
Finally, if you’re worried about your pet’s stress levels, give us a call. We’d be happy to sit down and discuss what’s going on.
Contact us to make an appointment today!
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