Monday, July 14, 2014

How can you tell if your Dog is Depressed

depressed dog, lonely dog

It's hard to tell if your dog is depressed since you can't ask how they feel or if they are okay. This is why it is very important to bring your dog to a vet if you see your best-friend has an abrupt change in behavior. So that they can assess what causes it.

Depression in dogs differs from each, here are some signs that dogs make if they are depressed:

1. Moody - the most common sign that your dog is depressed is if suddenly your pet stop getting excited on things he look forward to. You will see him often inactive and moping around all day. His head will be hanging and his tail are between his legs. His ears will also be pulled back.

If you want him to get back to his perky self is to introduce new activities or toys and when you see his tail wag or if he gets excited reinforce the positive behavior immediately.

2. Eat less or Don't eat at all - if a dog is depressed he usually eat less or worse he will refuse food at all.

Make sure you feed your dog on schedule as much as possible and be patient if he don't eat immediately once you give the bowl don't remove it right away. You can also add a little wet food but not always he might look for it every meal time.

3. Inactivity, sleep too much - On the average dogs sleeps 14 hours a day. But if the dog seems to sleep too much give him something to do or give the little pooch a walk.

4. Aggressive behavior - usually it is because of not enough exercise, so let him run in the yard or in a park.

5. Appears looking for someone - this usually happens following the loss of a family member the dog will look from one room to another searching for the lost individual. 

Depressed dog will be okay as long as they are drinking, eating, urinating and defecating and they still wants to go outside for a walk just be patient specially if they are grieving. By giving them ample attention and activity like enjoyable things your dog likes, most of them tend to overcome depression on their own.

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