What are the symptoms of PTSD in dogs?
Cathrine Olson
2025-07-28 22:37:03
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If you think you may own or know a dog with PTSD, the signs of the condition in canines include: Intense abandonment discomfort (they become incredibly distressed when left alone). Being timid. Aggressive behaviour. Disturbed sleep pattern. They react intensely to a certain place or person. Excessive panting. Disinterest in food or treats. Disinterest in play or normal activities. They seem depressed/not themselves. If they’re a working dog (for example, military, police or security), they may appear to “shut down”, they may refuse to work or they may seem hyper-vigilant.
Izabella Gulgowski
2025-07-21 23:06:34
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A dog with PTSD may also display the below signs of stress:
Tucked tail
Pinned back ears
Dilated pupils
Hiding
Shaking or trembling
Rapid breathing
Panting
Crouching low to ground
Sudden aggression
Depression
Clinging to owner or caretaker in fear
Hyper awareness of surroundings and environment
It can be difficult to differentiate between PTSD and other anxiety disorders in dogs.
For example, going to the bathroom in the house, barking or whining, and destructive behavior can all point at either PTSD or separation anxiety.
Working dogs with PTSD will often shut down and refuse to work.
Cecil Wolf
2025-07-13 16:41:09
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The symptoms of PTSD in dogs are similar to those in humans and include chronic anxiety, hypervigilance, avoidance of certain people, places, or situations, sleep disturbances, fear of being alone, decreased interest in a favorite activity, or aggression. We don’t always know what may cause PTSD in dogs, but some potential causes are military or police work, being a bait or fighting dog, being raised in a puppy mill, severe abuse, living as a stray after being abandoned, trauma from a disaster, or being attacked by other dogs or animals. These symptoms may not be apparent at the time of adoption because as a survival mechanism, some dogs will mask their symptoms until they gradually adapt to their new home, depending on the animal’s trigger. Roughly 5 to 17% of dogs are affected with canine PTSD, but because the condition has only been recognized in dogs within the past 10 years, there is still much to learn.
Charlene Dooley
2025-07-06 15:56:20
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Symptoms of PTSD in dogs can include: panic, panting, fearfulness, being timid and clinging to their owners, aggressive reactions in dogs that were never aggressive before, depression, and hyper-vigilance. Working dogs such as military and police K9 dogs with PTSD will often ‘shut down’ and refuse to work. An estimated 5% of working dogs returning from war zones have PTSD. And now, many animals that lived through the tornadoes in Oklahoma have PTSD symptoms.
Mariano Casper
2025-06-26 15:35:06
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Anxiety, Hyper-Vigilant, Acute Fear Response - Flight, Terrified Of Everything. Every sound, shadow, sudden movement, car door slamming, car alarm, trees rustling, empty blue bin on the sidewalk, trains, motorcycles, lawnmowers, anything and everything has the potential to be a threat. He is in constant flight mode. His gait is no longer one that is open and excited to explore his world, it's now in pre-flight mode. Most recently he became so terrified by an empty blue bin that he leapt up in the air, over the blue bin, into the street, and dragged me head first into the blue bin which of course confirmed that blue bins were evil. From there he panicked, and broke free running with the retractor leash smashing behind him on the sidewalk, creating an even more terrifying experience for himself. Now a walk is no longer one he looks forward to. Any motion toward the gate has him fleeing to the back yard. Once off property, his expectation of potential terrors are all around us at any given moment.
Antonetta Skiles
2025-06-26 13:59:17
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Peeing or pooping in the house, howling, barking, or whining, and destructive behavior can be signs of PTSD and separation anxiety. A dog with PTSD might show these signs of stress: tucked tail, pinned back ears, panting, and crouches low to the ground. Other clues your dog could have PTSD: they cling to you in fear, sudden aggression, depression, and hyperawareness of their surroundings. They won’t get PTSD because you whacked them on the snout that time they chewed up a pillow, but they might develop PTSD because of a natural disaster, like a hurricane, being abandoned to live in the wild, the loss of their caretaker, military combat, physical or emotional abuse, a serious accident, or bad interactions with other animals. Anything you know about their history with bad experiences can help your vet make the right diagnosis.
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