Fears and phobias in dogs and cats

My dog is afraid of thunderstorms. My dog panics at fireworks. My cat has been afraid of everything since she was tiny. Not all fears are alike, and some can become very disabling for your dog or cat — and for you:

• Phobia: an extremely intense, disproportionate fear reaction (thunderstorms, fireworks, sudden noises…) during which the animal partly loses its ability to think and seeks only to flee or protect itself, sometimes to the point of injuring itself.
• Deprivation syndrome: when a puppy or kitten has not been sufficiently exposed to its environment during its sensitive period of development, it may struggle as an adult to see perfectly ordinary situations (noises, strangers, new places) as normal, and develop strong fear reactions.

A phobia generally does not go away on its own over time, and an animal with deprivation syndrome will not spontaneously "get used to" what frightens it. The earlier it is addressed, the better the chances of improvement, through gradual work that respects the animal's abilities.