Behavioral disorders affect thousands of pets each year causing stress to the family and to the pet. Sometimes, the problem behaviors are just that, annoying behaviors that can be mediated with training and consistency. In other cases, our pets have emotional disorders causing fear, anxiety, stress and aggression. 

Animals don’t usually grow out of disorders that cause fear, anxiety and stress, such as separation anxiety, storm phobia and fear related aggression. Instead, the signs of these disorders get worse with time. 

The bright side is that there are many treatments for emotional disorders in pets. Sometimes we use medications or supplements to help pets feel better while using behavioral therapies to change their fear. Thankfully, we have many options for medical treatments which do not affect the great things that we love about our pets like their drive to play, but do affect the level of arousal and fear. New behavioral treatments and techniques surface each year which help owners to condition their pets to be happier, calmer and more relaxed.

The take-home is that your pet can be happier and so can you making sure that the bond between you and your little furry child stays as strong in the future as it was the day that you adopted her. 

Most pets can be treated successfully. The earlier they are treated the better the prognosis in most cases. Your pet can be less fearful and yes, even happier.