Moods and Behaviors in Dogs

It has been proven that pet parents’ mood and behavior affect the mood of their pets. Owners have a strong influence on how their pets feel and how their personalities develop and change.

Studies show that dogs are able to smell our emotion state, and they then seem to trust our responses to the situation by adopting those emotional states as their own. Pet owners need to keep in mind how your mood and behavior affect your fur baby, and how your reaction to one of life’s curveballs might contribute to his/her behavior.

Living among people with consistently negative emotions can create negative behaviors in dogs. Which also means creating an environment in your home that fosters mostly positive feelings in your human family will help contribute to more well-adjusted, happy dogs with fewer behavioral issues.

Mood of your fur baby is not always dependent to your mood. Just like humans, animals have extreme days and unexplainable emotions. Which is completely okay!

Mood swings in pets usually happen due to hormonal imbalance or physiological reasons.

For example:

• Their Gender
• Female: It could be when she is going through her monthly cycle.
• Male: It could happen if there is a female in the periphery and they want to copulate.
• Environmental changes
• Loss of a family member
• Moving to a new house
• Changes in household members

If your dog’s behavior changes, it is always a great idea to check in with your veterinarian even if your suspect the cause of it. Make sure your dog’s behavior change is not signaling a medical condition.

Here are few tips for helping a moody fur baby:

1. Keep daily routine as consistent as possible
2. Keep your dog’s diet and mealtimes the same
3. Be careful not to inadvertently reward your dog’s mood
4. Give it some time

After all, it is completely okay for your fur baby to have mood swings. It is natural for owners to want to comfort their fur babies. However, giving attention to a dog who is displaying an undesirable behavior may reinforce the behavior. Being thoughtful about the interactions that you have with your pet, and remembering that they, too, have emotional responses to stimuli is important to raising a healthy, happy fur baby.

It has been proven that pet parents’ mood and behavior affect the mood of their pets. Owners have a strong influence on how their pets feel and how their personalities develop and change.

Studies show that dogs are able to smell our emotion state, and they then seem to trust our responses to the situation by adopting those emotional states as their own. Pet owners need to keep in mind how your mood and behavior affect your fur baby, and how your reaction to one of life’s curveballs might contribute to his/her behavior.

Living among people with consistently negative emotions can create negative behaviors in dogs. Which also means creating an environment in your home that fosters mostly positive feelings in your human family will help contribute to more well-adjusted, happy dogs with fewer behavioral issues.

Mood of your fur baby is not always dependent to your mood. Just like humans, animals have extreme days and unexplainable emotions. Which is completely okay!

Mood swings in pets usually happen due to hormonal imbalance or physiological reasons.

For example:

• Their Gender
• Female: It could be when she is going through her monthly cycle.
• Male: It could happen if there is a female in the periphery and they want to copulate.
• Environmental changes
• Loss of a family member
• Moving to a new house
• Changes in household members

If your dog’s behavior changes, it is always a great idea to check in with your veterinarian even if your suspect the cause of it. Make sure your dog’s behavior change is not signaling a medical condition.

Here are few tips for helping a moody fur baby:

1. Keep daily routine as consistent as possible
2. Keep your dog’s diet and mealtimes the same
3. Be careful not to inadvertently reward your dog’s mood
4. Give it some time

After all, it is completely okay for your fur baby to have mood swings. It is natural for owners to want to comfort their fur babies. However, giving attention to a dog who is displaying an undesirable behavior may reinforce the behavior. Being thoughtful about the interactions that you have with your pet, and remembering that they, too, have emotional responses to stimuli is important to raising a healthy, happy fur baby.