Dealing With Depression In Dogs

By Shari Evans


There may be times when your pet dog is acting differently. There are cases when they seem to have the blues, not being on their usual selves and spending most of the day lying on the floor or couch. These may be signs of canine depression that was caused by a recent change in their surroundings. Like humans, the causes and effect of depression can be the same. To help them to get back to their former self, there are many things that you can do and you being their pet parent is the most important part of their recovery.

Causes of Depression

Dogs suffer from depression brought by different things and in fact, these may be of the same reason that people do. If it is easy for you to identify those things that cause frustration, you can also determine what causes the dog's depression. The first and the most difficult culprit is illness. When a dog is not feeling well, they appear to be down at all times. They will just lie in a corner and refuse to join any activities that they used to enjoy before.

One of the ultimate wishes of dogs is stability or for things to stay as it is. If things around them have changed, they can be anxious about it before they can fully adjust themselves. Examples of changes that can cause an emotional loop for dogs are change of residence, a divorce, change of schedule and adding a new pet in the house. Loss can also turn their world upside down. If people found death or parting to be devastating moment of their life, it is also heartbreaking for dogs.

Treatment of Depression

Time can heal the depression and dogs can recover on their own like people. There are also some cases when people are dependent of others when it comes to enlightening themselves and moving forward from different events of their life. This can be the same for dogs, which means that you as a pet parent should comfort then and help them go back to their former selves. Before you totally involve yourself on their dilemma, it is important for you to see point out the reason of depression so you will know when and where to start coming from.

Spending more time with your dog is the best thing to do. You can try talking them into doing some activities that they want to do before. If they are still lazy to do anything, sitting beside them is enough to make them feel good. Try to make it better by petting and cuddling with your dog. Every time that your dog shows signs of happiness, give him a reward for that. Never give a treat while the dog is on a depressed act as he may think that being depressed will please you. If it has taken too long and no signs of improvement were shown, talk to a veterinarian or dog psychiatrist to help you out on this kind of situation.




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