Anxiety disorders in adult dogs are substantially influenced by early life experience; proactive interventions during the critical development window prevent the most common and welfare-significant behavioural problems.
Anxiety prevention in dogs requires understanding that adult welfare is built in puppyhood. The neural circuits that determine how an individual dog responds to threat, novelty, and social interaction are shaped during a brief sensitive period that closes before most owners even acquire their puppy. This means that the welfare trajectory of each dog is largely determined before the owner can act. Breeder education and practices during the first 7-8 weeks are as important as owner management after acquisition.