When the "Stay at Home" orders were first imposed, I was delighted to see the number of people out walking their dogs; I'm even happier to see that, at least in my neighborhood, I'm still seeing them walking six weeks later. No doubt most pets are enjoying having all this extra time with their humans. On the flip side of that, I want to take this opportunity to remind everyone that pets are very in tune with our emotions and as our frustrations with the confinement grow, that negative energy can affect your cats and dogs.
Our pets may not understand everything we say, but they are very good at reading our emotions. Given the strains of being stuck at home all the time, home schooling, spending WAY TOO MUCH TIME with your mate or your kids, watching too much tv and reading or listening to too much sad news; can make our emotions be run high at times.
Animals are sensitive and may react in different ways to negative stimuli. It's important to be aware of how much your pet is exposed to any upset happening in your household. Cats for example, will normally find a good hiding place away from the fray, but that doesn't mean they're not affected. Dogs on the other hand, tend to become clingy and protective under these circumstances.
Like humans, cats, dogs and other animals have the ability to sense energy shifts in people. Speaking or acting out in fear, anger or stress are obvious sources of negative energy, but our pets may even pick up on silent fretting. You could be worrying about your debts, and although they have no idea what the issue is, they do know when you're unhappy. Mental stress sets off changes in hormones, which as we all know, shift depending on our emotions. This in turn changes the scent we give off and scent is something that both cats and dogs are highly sensitive to.
Our pets are completely dependent on us for their well-being both physically and mentally. They suffer worry and stress much like us; it can affect their health as well as their behavior. Our pets may fall into destructive habits like chewing or marking when they are upset by a depressing or edgy environment. Dogs may even bite when their protective instincts are stoked by physical altercations between adults or children.
So … need to yell at your spouse? Remember, a pet's sense of hearing is incredibly acute, so if you must holler, go out and sit in the car with the windows rolled up, then you can really let it out! Kids getting into fights? Tell them to take it outside! And whenever you get the opportunity, take a few minutes to sit down and snuggle with your furry friends; that brings everybody's blood pressure down.
Hang in there and stay safe!