Signs of Anxiety in Dogs: How to Tell If Your Dog Is Anxious

How to Tell If Your Dog Is Anxious

Dogs can't tell us they're stressed — but their bodies and behavior do. Anxiety in dogs is often misread as "bad behavior" when it's actually a cry for help. Recognizing the signs early allows you to intervene before anxiety becomes entrenched.

14 Signs of Anxiety in Dogs

1. Panting When Not Hot or Exercised

Panting at rest in a cool environment — especially with a tense body and wide eyes — is a classic anxiety signal. This is stress panting, not temperature regulation.

2. Pacing or Restlessness

An anxious dog can't settle. They pace back and forth, circle, lie down and immediately get up, or follow you from room to room. This restlessness reflects an inability to relax.

3. Trembling or Shaking

Shivering when not cold is a physical manifestation of fear or anxiety. Common during thunderstorms, fireworks, or vet visits.

4. Excessive Barking or Whining

Vocalization that seems out of proportion to the situation — especially barking at nothing, or whining persistently — often indicates anxiety. Separation anxiety commonly presents as barking or howling when left alone.

5. Destructive Behavior

Chewing furniture, scratching doors, destroying belongings — especially when left alone — is a hallmark of separation anxiety. The dog is not being "spiteful"; they're in genuine distress.

6. Hiding or Withdrawal

Seeking out dark, enclosed spaces — under the bed, in a closet, behind furniture — is a self-soothing behavior. Some dogs become unusually clingy instead.

7. Excessive Licking or Chewing

Repetitive licking of paws, legs, or other body parts can be a self-soothing behavior driven by anxiety. Over time, this can cause skin damage and hot spots.

8. Yawning, Lip Licking, or Whale Eye

These are "calming signals" — subtle body language cues dogs use to communicate stress:

• Yawning when not tired
• Lip licking without food present
• Whale eye — showing the whites of the eyes
• Ears pinned back
• Tail tucked

9. Aggression

Fear-based aggression is one of the most dangerous manifestations of anxiety. A dog that growls, snaps, or bites when anxious is communicating that they feel threatened. Never punish this — it removes the warning signal without addressing the fear.

10. Loss of Appetite

Anxiety suppresses appetite. A dog that won't eat in a new environment, at the vet, or during a stressful event is showing a normal anxiety response.

11. Accidents in the House

Urinating or defecating indoors despite being house-trained — especially when left alone — is a common sign of separation anxiety.

12. Excessive Drooling

Drooling beyond what's normal for the breed, especially in the car or at the vet, indicates significant stress or nausea from anxiety.

13. Hypervigilance

Constantly scanning the environment, startling easily at sounds, unable to relax even in familiar settings — this heightened alertness is exhausting for the dog and indicates chronic anxiety.

14. Compulsive Behaviors

Tail chasing, shadow chasing, fly snapping, or repetitive circling that seems impossible to interrupt can be anxiety-driven compulsive disorders.

Home Treatment for Dog Anxiety

💊 Recommended: VetriScience Composure Calm Chews — Clinically tested calming chews with L-Theanine. Non-drowsy, bacon flavor. Give 30–60 minutes before a known stressor.

See our full guide on how to treat dog anxiety at home for a complete toolkit of remedies and strategies.

When to See a Vet or Behaviorist

• Anxiety is severe, constant, or worsening
• Self-harm behaviors
• Aggression related to fear
• Significant impact on quality of life
• Prescription medication may be needed