At Kalmpets, we focus on good mental health for our furry friends. It seems like we rarely acknowledge the toll that our pets well-being takes on our own mental health.
It’s not easy to live with anxious dogs
Our clients often come to us feeling distressed and distraught that their pet is suffering. Furthermore, it is also important to note that they themselves are also suffering. Certainly, a lot of our cases are very difficult, for example, dogs who are acting “aggressively” towards other dogs or people. As a result, clients feel embarrassed, helpless, or very worried and stressed that their pet is going to cause harm.
How did we get here?
It is incredibly important to know that it is very rare for a client to “cause” their dog to have anxiety. In most cases, pets have to be genetically predisposed to get anxiety in the first place. For example, consider me and my fiancé – he absolutely loves surfing and going swimming. If he got bitten by a shark whilst surfing I bet that he would still be back out in the water the day after his stitches came out. I, on the other hand, am too afraid of sharks to go in the water at all, even though I have never even seen a shark. You can see that I am genetically predisposed to be a bit worried about things, and he isn’t. Therefore I could never absolutely cause him to become anxious about sharks.
Having a pet with anxiety makes life tricky for their owners. First of all, they need to always consider all sorts of things, ranging from leaving their pet alone, thunderstorms, or meeting unfamiliar people or pets. This can be incredibly draining for owners. After all, we all get a pet with the ultimate aim of living a happy and fulfilled life together.
It is so important for us to support owners of pets with mental health problems. No judgment is passed, rather we ask “how can I help you?”.
Thank you for the love you have for anxious dogs
And to all of the owners of worried pets, we absolutely salute you. You have been dealt a very tough hand and we applaud the commitment that you have made to your furry family. We congratulate you on recognizing that your pet is suffering, and on the steps that you are taking to help ease that suffering. But most of all on behalf of your pets we raise a toast to you for the countless seconds, minutes, and hours that you spend thinking about how you can make their life happier.
We are not just about pets – we care about their humans too 🙂
Dr Anna Sim
Veterinarian
Kalmpets
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