Content
- How do I know if my dog is sad? - Symptoms of depression
- Causes of depression in dogs
- Basic Depression Treatment in Dogs
- Severe Cases of Depression in a Dog
’my dog is sad" is one of the phrases that the proud owner of a dog wants to say the least, because it is another member of the family that we care about as well.
Puppies are very sensitive animals that easily sense when we are sad, happy or tired. It often happens that we are happy just to receive your affection and company, but what should we do when it's our dog that's sad?
Puppies are intelligent animals that undoubtedly detect the loss of a loved one, the lack of affection or other factors that, even when it comes to small details, are important to them. Continue reading this PeritoAnimal article to learn the keys to overcoming depression in dogs.
How do I know if my dog is sad? - Symptoms of depression
If we know our pet we will have no difficulty detecting depression and we will know that he is sad just by looking at him. Still, there are other, more unusual cases, such as the case of stray dogs that we can adopt.
You depression symptoms are identical to those that human beings can suffer:
- We watch our dog with an attitude of sadness
- have little appetite
- Shows apathetic behavior
- does not show affection with us
All these signs together are symptoms of a sad or depressed dog and you should know that the dog is a very social animal, who likes to receive attention, affection and pampering.
Causes of depression in dogs
A dog usually suffers depression when faced with a significant change to change your usual routine. The causes can be different and very varied and, below, we will give you a list of the most common ones:
- Death of a loved one, whether human or animal
- Moving home
- spend a lot of time alone
- Moving home from another dog who lived with him
- Shock
- Having gone through a very unpleasant situation
- Having been in a fight with another dog
- the couple's divorce
- A new partner
- The arrival at home of a baby
As you can see, the causes that can cause your puppy to be depressed can be many and different. The important thing in this case is to identify what makes our dog feel depressed to try to minimize this situation.
Basic Depression Treatment in Dogs
Let's start by treating this situation like an ordinary case and we just need to be a little empathetic and know the causes to try to resolve this situation. It is very important to make our dog feel wanted and important within the family nucleus, for this, we will dedicate time to activities such as hiking, going to the beach or practicing some kind of sport with him, such as canicross.
In addition, we must provide you with at least two different toys when you are alone and without your company. We advise you to use the ones that make noise so that you have a feeling of environment.
Try to encourage and reward him when performing basic activities and orders, it's very important that you make him feel useful and part of what he considers his pack. The tips for having a happy dog are many, but we can summarize them in: walks, fun and affection.
Severe Cases of Depression in a Dog
If none of this works and your attempts are in vain, you should treat this situation in a special way and consult an expert to help you solve this problem. Remember that you cannot allow your puppy to stop eating or to continue with their usual routines, it is unhealthy.
The veterinarian or dog educator will give you advice and even homeopathic remedies so that your dog's health improves, as although it is not a mental problem, depression can have serious consequences. Don't hesitate to do what's best for your best friend.
This article is for information purposes only, at PeritoAnimal.com.br we are not able to prescribe veterinary treatments or perform any type of diagnosis. We suggest that you take your pet to the veterinarian in case it has any type of condition or discomfort.