Anxiety disorders are among the most common behavioural welfare problems in dogs, and a combination of behaviour therapy and medication offers the best outcomes.
Canine anxiety represents significant, chronic suffering in affected animals: physiological stress responses (elevated cortisol, heart rate, gastrointestinal upset) accompany behavioural signs of fear and distress. The welfare cost is often invisible to owners who misread avoidance, shutdown, or hypervigilance as normal dog behaviour. Effective treatment combines a veterinary assessment (to rule out pain contributing to anxiety), behaviour modification by a certified professional, and medication where the anxiety is severe enough to impair learning. Dogs receiving appropriate pharmacological support alongside behaviour therapy show better and faster improvement than behaviour-only protocols for moderate-to-severe cases.