Why Life With an Anxious Dog Feels So Exhausting (and So Lonely)

When your life quietly starts revolving around your dog’s anxiety, it can happen so slowly you barely notice.

Until one day you realize you’re always “on.”

Watching.
Anticipating.
Adjusting.
Managing.

Even when nothing is technically wrong.

Living with an anxious dog can feel exhausting in a way that’s hard to explain to anyone else. Your routines change. Your relationships shift. Rest feels complicated. And sometimes it feels like there isn’t space for you anymore.

In this episode, Em and Jess talk honestly about what life with an anxious dog really looks like inside the home — the guilt, the hyper-awareness, the loneliness, and the quiet ways it impacts both ends of the leash.

Because this kind of exhaustion isn’t a personal failure.

It’s what happens when you care deeply and carry a lot for someone who can’t tell you what they need.

If you’ve been feeling stretched thin or alone in this season with your dog, this conversation will feel like sitting down with someone who finally gets it.

Learn More about Handlers & Humans at: www.handlersandhumans.com

Free Resources & Support

Dog Nutrition Quiz

Not sure if what you’re feeding is actually supporting your dog? Take the free quiz and get access to the Mini Bowl Blueprint.

👉⁠ https://tinyurl.com/feedingquiz⁠

Free 15-Minute Clarity Call

Feeling stuck or unsure what your dog needs? We’ll talk through what’s going on and find the next step together.

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PetMatRx Supplements We Trust

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Email ⁠⁠em@thedogwhoaskedformore.com⁠⁠ to get in touch with Em

New episodes of The Dog Who Asked for More release every Monday and Wednesday.

This podcast explores life with dogs and life with pets through dog behavior, reactive dogs, dog anxiety, and real-life dog training challenges. It supports overwhelmed pet parents who want to better understand dog body language, communication, daily routines, and canine enrichment so dog life feels clearer and more manageable. Episodes focus on dog behavior while offering practical help and support, exploring common behavior patterns, and addressing real-life challenges many pet parents face — including experiences like dog barking, habits, obedience, and socialization — while also speaking to the emotional side of living with sensitive dogs and navigating lifestyle with dogs.

Hosted by a canine nutritionist, dog nutrition coach, dog trainer, and retired vet tech, the show covers canine nutrition, dog nutrition, dog food and behavior, dog gut health, training challenges, training burnout, rescue dogs, dog grief, dog enrichment ideas, dog health, and dog myths — while exploring what it looks like to build a calmer, healthier life with your dog and strengthen the dog–human bond.