What makes your dogs Heart Beat Faster

The fact that anything your dog finds exciting , fun or scary raises their heart beat

What do you think makes your dog's heart soar ?

Shared from "Doggo" Facebook page

This is really an interesting topic and as a trainer that works with reactive dogs, or nervous anxious dogs, I can fully understand why this dogs heart beat increased.

This post showed images that the dog had seen and the camera took a picture activated by the increased heart rate.

The post showed images of a cat, turtle, another dog, random images that supposedly raised the dogs heart beat.

Firstly new/novel things, 

Your dog doesn't know whether these new things are safe. So adrenaline gets produced, just in case they need to react. The cat, could be "want to chase or want to say hello"

The dog, anticipation of play ?

When a dog, or human feels stress, (good or bad) their body produces hormones.

đŸ© Adrenaline – This is the first hormone secreted when a dog is stressed. It prepares the body for “fight or flight” by increasing heart rate and blood sugar levels. Adrenaline also increases respiratory rate, as a higher heart rate means the dog needs to pant to maintain blood oxygen levels.

đŸ© Cortisol – After adrenaline, a stressed dog’s body secretes cortisol. This is a stress hormone that increases the amount of fatty acids and glucose in the blood, so that the dog’s muscles and organs are prepared for activity.

đŸ© Testosterone – The sex hormone testosterone is released by both males and females during a stress reaction. It can increase the chances of an aggressive response.

Stress is a subconscious reaction to a trigger (or “stressor”) that changes hormone levels in the body.

This can lead to reactions such as barking, aggression and other stress signals.

These are not symptoms of a dog misbehaving or being “bad.” Instead, they are side effects of stress – something which your dog has no conscious control.

Not all things that cause stress are negative.

Dogs may also show signs of stress at “happy” or positive experiences.

For example, a dog knowing that it is dinner time, may pace or start barking at the slightest noise.

Maybe they always get walked after the 1 o'clock news may become stressed before 1pm in anticipation of the walk.

Some dogs become almost obsessive about ball throwing when on walks, which has a similar effect.

Even the traveling in the car before a walk can raise stress levels.

So when I hear someone say that their dog behaviour was completely out of the blue, no signs before hand, I always think about "Trigger Stacking"

In simple terms, lots of little stress events that can build up, until that stress bucket overflows and you see that "out of the blue" behaviour.

The key is, to know your dog, learn the subtle signs your dog is telling you when he feels stressed. This means knowing the signs when your dog is relaxed, happy and comfortable, so you can spot the little signs of stress when they happen.

Humans react to stress in different ways. Some respond with anger, while others become reserved or anxious. Some people get headaches, while others experience shaking or stomach upsets.

It’s the same with dogs. Every dog experiences stress, but the symptoms vary greatly depending on the breed, gender, stress trigger, and whether the stress is acute or chronic.

For this reason, it’s important to identify your dog’s most common stress signals. Almost anything that differs from your dog’s normal behaviour could be a signal. Some are really subtle.

These could be-

  • Lip licking
  • Yawning when not tired
  • A paw lift
  • Scratching when not normally itchy.
  • Sniffing at the ground
  • Looking away
  • Turning head away
  • Turning body away
  • Showing the white of their eyes
  • Frowning.
  • Ears pinned back 

Are you struggling with your dogs behaviour?

Do they find everything stressful and scary?

Do they show signs of separation anxiety?

Categories: Anxious/nervous dogs, Dog Behaviour, Reactivity, Separation Anxiety