Sharing Your Life With an Anxious & Reactive Dog

Sharing your life with an anxious and or reactive dog isn’t something that until you’ve experienced can you truly understand. You find yourself looking at other dog owners who seem to be living in dreamy harmony with their dog and feeling nothing but envy and sadness that your life doesn’t quite look like that. For some of us, our dog might not have always been that way either, and they’re behaviours have evolved, which leads you to ask questions and feel nothing but guilt that you could have done something to stop you ending up in your difficult co-existence. Here at Soothe and Settle, we really get what life with an anxious and reactive dog looks like, and it’s something that is the foundation of everything that we stand for and sell, from our beloved hush muffs to the choice of soothing supplements we choose to stock.

Those Dogs Change Your Entire World

Getting a dog is something that will change your world in so many positive ways. There are so many scientific studies about the benefits not only for us but for them too. But, what about when that dog means you can no longer leave your house unless they’re cared for every second you’re gone? And every time you leave the house, it feels like a military mission just to take a couple of steps out the door. Not only is it exhausting for your dog to always be in such a heightened state it also takes a huge toll on our mental state, and the two can constantly ping off each other.  The smallest incident that so many dog owners might brush off can have a long-lasting effect on anxious and reactive dogs, which can then turn any type of activity into a minefield.

It’s fair to say that having a dog with a lot of additional needs takes a huge toll on the people who look after them, and it’s often not in a positive way. But, it can also make us appreciate all the tiny little wins we achieve that may otherwise pass us by for bigger, shinier achievements.

What Anxious and Reactive Dog Owners Want You To Know

Having a dog that struggles with the modern world is something that can get you a little bit of an unfair reputation, and this is a subject that certainly deserves an entire blog post all of its own. Having to endure difficult conversations with strangers isn’t something that anybody wants to deal with when you’re just trying to be outside with your dog. We don’t hate other dogs, far from it, but when you’re desperately trying to show your dog that the outside world isn’t terrifying and they’re safe, you don’t need a strange dog up in your business. We know that things happen, and we don’t live in an ideal world, but it can sometimes feel like a battle to simply walk your dog. Trying to advocate for an animal that can only communicate in a way that the world has decided is intolerable can feel like a pointless exercise.

You Can Do Everything ‘Right’

There is so much conflicting advice online about how to raise your dog, and it’s pretty exhausting when you take everything on board. When you’ve got a dog that needs a more finessed level of training and behaviour management, it often feels like you can’t do right for doing wrong in some capacity. It’s easy to lull yourself into a false sense of security when you see all these elusive steps you should follow, and you’ll get the dream dog.  That’s a lovely dream, but it’s not reality, and it’s not raising a dog in the current world where dog ownership feels harder than ever before. There’s no ten-step guide to the perfect dog, there are so many elements that come into play, from environment to genetics and even when you think you’ve done everything right, a curveball can come out of nowhere and change your dog's life drastically.

It’s Ok To Be Sad About It

When your dog requires a lot more than you could have ever anticipated, there is often a lot of guilt associated with it.  Often it feels like if you voice that, people might presume the worst, like you don’t love or care for your dog, which, of course, isn’t the case at all. In reality, it’s because we harbour so much love for our dogs even when we’re frustrated and upset with the reality of what our life may look like with them. It’s ok and normal to feel a little down when you’ve had a particularly difficult period, and dog ownership doesn’t look like anything you ever imagined, and you’re trying to figure things out every day. More than ever, there are probably more dog owners who get those frustrations and struggles than the elusive, easy-going dog owners.

Living A Fulfilled Life With Your Dog

It’s easy for people to presume that when you have an anxious and or reactive dog, their life is miserable, full of management and boundaries. However, something that we’ve found to be true is that those dog owners go above and beyond to make sure their dogs' lives are fulfilled in absolutely every way they can imagine, whilst still keeping them safe. There are so many ways dog ownership can look like now, and it’s a far cry from what it once was, where if your dog got a walk around the block twice a day, it had a good life.

Here at Soothe and Settle, we truly do get what it's like to own an anxious and or reactive dog. It's at the core of everything we stand for, and we're here to help you and your dog. For more helpful tips and advice on caring for your nervous dog, and to be part of our mission to help dogs everywhere feel safe, subscribe to our mailing list below.