While animal lovers recognize our pet’s unique personality and emotions, there are many people who still view pets as “just a dog" or "just a cat". Sadly, they are mistaken. Pets have feelings just like people do. A pet’s emotional and stress levels not only impact their behavior, but they can affect their health too. Cats and dogs want to be near us, they want to please us and they can get lonely and scared like we do. To the surprise of many people, cats and dogs perceive and internalize their owner’s feelings and behavior far more than their owners may know. They feel sad when we are sad, they feel stressed when there is discord, sickness, or fighting in the household and they know far more than people give them credit. Cats and dogs are creatures of habit, in-sync with their people and the everyday routines that go on in their households. Changes to your work schedule, changes to their feeding or exercise schedule, or introducing new people or pets to the home can create stress and anxiety for your dog or cat. Yes, pets have feelings and if your pet has anxiety, Ask Ariel’s calming drops: Happy Paws and PSY-stabil can keep your pet feeling content and stress-free.
