Most people are aware there are some basic emotions recognisable when one observes human behaviour, although not necessarily know all of them. There is one, though, that everyone has felt and therefore, understands and associates with easily. That is the emotion of fear.

Not everyone manifests fear the same way, but most signs of fear are easily identifiable in humans. Some of the most common signs of the presence of that emotion are when one notices the eyebrows of the person are pulled up and sometimes together, eyes may be wide opened and the mouth shows different expressions, from it being stretched to almost showing a rictus, to also being wide opened, as in surprise. There may be other physiological expressions to indicate that emotion, such as sweating, trembling, cold skin and sometimes the impossibility for the person to move. Not observable are other changes like accelerated heart beat, for example.

We are familiar with these in humans but, if you own a dog, are you also familiar with your dog's fears and how it manifests them? Perhaps you have observed what you suspect to be a fearful reaction to certain things and have noticed some signs that are relatively clear to you if you have owned dogs for a certain period of time. Among those you have probably observed your dog's tail going right between its legs, there may be some trembling, from mild to intense, depending on the degree of the fear reaction, your dog may hide where it feels best protected, like under a piece of furniture or a far away corner, there may be a withdrawal behaviour or its activity may dramatically decrease and there could also be escaping attempts. If you look closely, you will also notice dilated pupils.

All these are typical of what may be considered a mild fear, but there are others that clearly indicate the intensity of fear is really much higher. Observable may be a marked intention of escaping the situation (running away), increased trembling reaction, diarrhea and sometimes an anxious behaviour, like compulsive biting or licking itself.

The causes of your dog's fear may be of several origins, from dramatic stressful situations it might have been exposed to, to painful illnesses or diseases that affect the central nervous system, to toxic poisoning, to abandonment, to having been the victim of other animals' attacks, to social deprivation, etc.

There are times when it is easy to recognise in your dog what it is reacting fearfully to, but others may be more subtle. Let us identify the most typical fearful reactions a dog may have:

1. What has been called separation anxiety disorder; that is, the fear your dog feels of being left alone or that you may not return to it.


2. Fear of loud noises, like thunder or fireworks. This last one is, of course, more common during certain festivities, like the 4th of July, Halloween, November 5th (UK Bonfire Night)  Xmas and New Year, just to mention some.


3. Some dogs tend to become fearful of riding in cars, which they might associate with being taken away or simply reacting to an unknown movement they cannot control. If this action is repeated regularly, this fear usually disappears.


4. Fear of altitudes, commonly manifested in situations where the dog has to go up or down stairs, might this be at home or elsewhere. In these cases, you will observe your dog is almost paralysed when approaching the situation or when already right in front of it.


5. A negative reaction of fear when encountering strangers or members of any of the sexes it might associate with unpleasant previous experiences. You may observe your dog being afraid of either men or women, but usually, men are more recognized as being the target of that behavior, the reason typically being either of having been abused by a member of that gender or by not having been exposed to them while growing up.


6. Same as the previous, children may also be identified by dogs as something to fear, the reasons for this being similar to the one already mentioned. Children, unknowingly or knowingly, could have hurt the dog in different ways, sometimes just showing it extreme acts of affection. In other circumstances, the child was perhaps not taught the love for animals from an early age, or he can be suffering from some sort of psychological problem and uses aggressiveness towards animals as a means of demonstrating it.


7. Finally, there are certain objects to which dogs react with fear, such as vacuum cleaners, blowers, big objects or toys, decorations, like the ones used during Xmas, and even areas of the house the dog has related to something that produces fear, like for example, certain corners or pieces of furniture.

As usual, it is not recommended that you try to deal yourself with your dog's fear unless you have been trained to do so. Your veterinarian will always be your best source of information as to what method should be applied to deal with it, be that in the form of medicines or a psychological type of therapy.