Have you ever wondered whether or not you were the cause of stress for your dog? There is no denying that much like humans, dogs can experience stress. We see plenty of behaviors that we associate with a stressed out pup. But that can lead us to question what the cause of the problem is.
And while we might think that we are not the problem, there is no denying that if other people can stress us out, why wouldn't that same idea apply to our dogs. So we decided to ask for some expert advice and insight. Thankfully, Kendall Wolford of Impact Dog Crates had an answer for us about whether or not we could be causing stress in our dogs.
Considering Impact Dog Crates has been around for 10 years, they understand dogs and their mental health. And they also understand pet behavior. So when Wolford shared her thoughts with us, we were happy to really listen to what she had to say.
So how much do pet owners impact their dog's stress levels? Here's what Kendall Wolford had to say.
Pet owners can have an impact on their dog's stress
We specifically asked the question of, 'can we cause our dogs to be stressed?' This was the answer:
According to Wolford, "It's entirely possible that pet owners can inadvertently cause their pets stress. Oftentimes, we may not even realize that our behaviors could potentially harm our pets. In our day-to-day lives, there are various ways we can unintentionally cause some level of stress for our pets. Changing environments, disruptions in routines, and even just new people can all trigger our pets. By recognizing the common causes and signs of stress, dog owners can be more proactive in creating a safe, stress-free environment for their dogs."
Honestly, this makes perfect sense. And we can understand how this would impact our dog. Anything we do in their home and even just around in their environment is going to potentially act as a stressor.
And that doesn't even take into account the fact that dogs can also sense our own stress and might take that upon themselves. So all of this makes sense and it is something we need to be mindful of when it comes to keeping our pups happy and healthy.