Emotional support animals provide the anchor a mentally ill person requires. Mental conditions can be physically crippling and affect our day to day activities. Emotional support animals help mentally disabled individuals deal with stressful situations and also helps them in the day to day activities.
These animals have a calm demeanor and are usually trained to manage stressful and chaotic conditions. They hardly act – out and understand the condition of their owners. Pets and ESAs love being close to their owners, but they also love to play and spend time outdoors.
If your ESA is a dog then he knows the local dog park like the back of its paw, but crowds? That is a totally different story. Crowds can be overwhelming to pets in general. You will often observe that pets do not take kindly to delivery men, trash men and others so well. This is because they are strangers and a crowd consists of all things your pets do not like. Children and unknown people can stress your dog out and they are likely to act differently than they do at home. This includes them not listening to you.
This is common in pets and can be fixed with a few tricks.
The journey to controlling your ESA’s behavior in public begins with patience. The more patient you are the more likely it is for your pet to start listening to you. It can be frustrating when your pet is not ready to listen to you in public areas and starts acting-out in a crowd. It is necessary that each time they start doing their own thing in a crowd make sure that they feel safe with you being there and do not get aggressive. Shouting at your pet may work once, but it is not a long-term solution, remaining patient and calm through the ordeal is necessary for long-term results.
Yes, pets do get over excited much like the average toddler who meets a cat for the first time. If your dog is not used to frequenting crowded areas it is sure to get overwhelmed and not listen to you. Once you have experienced an episode try to take your pet out on walks in crowded places until they get used to it and understand that there are going to be strangers “outside” and that also in large numbers. Make sure that they feel safe with you and their excited first-time energy is sure to subside after a few walks.
Actions speak louder than words and in an animal’s case; quite literally. They understand body language and tone well. Pay close attention to how you act when you go out in crowds, pets are sure to mimic your energy and pick up on your energy quite well. They might sense your discomfort and are sure to feel fidgety and uncomfortable themselves. Speak to them in a familiar tone; this is most likely to calm them down in crowds.
If he acts out more than usual, nothing is more important than to take him to a vet to check for any underlying medical condition. If not then the aforementioned tips are sure to help you get the response you desire even in crowded areas. Try to get the attention of your dog each time he tries to chase something by offering a treat and treat it only when he listens to you.