Anxiety disorders are among the most common behavioral problems in dogs, causing significant psychological suffering and frequently leading to relinquishment or euthanasia.
Anxious dogs experience genuine psychological suffering through fear, panic, and chronic stress responses that impair their quality of life and physical health. Dogs with severe separation anxiety may cause themselves physical harm through escape attempts. Noise phobic dogs live in fear of unavoidable events. Chronic anxiety suppresses immune function and causes gastrointestinal problems. The behavioral symptoms of anxiety are often misinterpreted as misbehavior and punished, compounding the dog's distress through aversive training approaches.