STRESS IN DOGS AND CATS
PETS CAN EXPERIENCE STRESS JUST AS HUMANS CAN.
Stress doesn’t have to be a bad thing; it helps animals and humans to function and to react actively to different situations. However, if the stress continues and the recovery time is too short, physical and psychological problems could appear. There are many causes for stress. For dogs and cats, a visit to the veterinary clinic for a medical procedure can be quite stressful for example. To reduce further stress after surgery, it is important to offer your dog or cat a happy recovery.
How to recognize stress in your dog or cat
Your dog or cat can show different stress signals when he experiences stress. Some examples:
- Panting
- Scratching
- Sneezing
- Shaking
- Lifting paw
- Trembling
- Excessive licking
- Yawning
- Dilated pupils
It is important to take the context into account. If your dog yawns after sleeping, he probably yawns because he just woke up and not because he is stressed at that moment.
Less stress for a faster recovery
A medical procedure and pain after surgery can already cause stress for your pet, so you want to prevent extra stress for him during recovery. It’s important to cover and protect the problem area after surgery. However, by restricting the pet’s head with an e-collar, sounds are amplified, movement is restricted, and dogs and cats will bump into furniture. This often results in more stress. That is why we have developed animal-friendly alternatives to a pet cone.
The Medical Pet Shirt® Dog, Cat and Rabbit is a professional alternative to an e-collar. The shirt covers and protects the problem area against licking, biting and/or scratching instead of covering the pet’s entire head. If the problem area is on the dog’s front leg(s), the MPS-TAZ® Single Front Leg Sleeve or the MPS-TAZ2® Double Front Leg Sleeves offer the right protection.
Calming effect sleeves®
The MPS front leg protection can also be very useful to reduce stress after a medical procedure. Thanks to the adjustable closure and soft stretch band, the sleeves offer a gentle pressure around the dog’s chest. This pressure offers a calming effect for most dogs. In this way, the front leg sleeve covers the problem area, but could also reduce stress or anxiety.
