Depression?

[Scott Cesare]

Hello, I'm new to the doggiebagonline community and this is my first posting to a message board. Is it possible for dogs to be depressed? I think my dog is.

First - A lot of times lately, he doesn't want to go for a walk. He used to LOVE walking. Now, if we take him to the park, he still loves walking. But sometimes we'll take him out to walk around the neighborhood and we'll get half a block away and he'll stop, not wanting to go any farther. As soon as you ask him if he wants to go home, his tail perks up and he is fine (but the walk ends then). I think he thinks that if he goes home there's a chance he'll get to go in the car or to the park. There are some days that he'll still walk in the neighborhood but not many. He's also started spending time upstairs, away from us, instead of staying downstairs when we're home.

The other thing, and I don't think is depression, is that he's VERY afraid of storms and we've been having some lately. He shakes uncontrollably and is basically inconsole-able until the storm has passed and it's clear that there is no more thunder/lightning. I'm hoping someone might have some advice for me on that one.

He has no other behavioral issues and he's a FANTASTIC dog; so sweet and loveable. I really want to help him get out of his "funk." Would bringing another dog into the picture help?

Any advice at all? Thank you!

[Daniela Jantzen]

Scott,

yes, dogs can be depressed as well.
But there are a lot of other reasons why they might react differently all of a sudden.

How old is your dog?
Has it been checked through by your vet lately?
Is there anything which might have changed in its envirnonment? Even minor changes in our eyes can have tremendous effect on dogs....

Danny

[Melissa Brunoehler]

Hi Scott~

Welcome to DoggieBag. I recommend taking your dog to the vet for a thorough exam including blood tests. If a dog is acting "depressed" or lethargic it's best to rule out a medical problem first. Also has there been a change in the weather(or anything else)? Here, in IL, it went from about 60 to 90 degrees in about a week. The hot humid air can be hard for some dogs to adapt to. Also if you've been having a lot of storms your dog may be scared to leave the house.
Getting a new dog to perk up your first dog isn't the best idea. If he isn't feeling well he most likely isn't going to adjust well to a new addition.

As for the storms, you can desensatize him. Purchase a CD that has thunder sounds, I believe Amazon.com sells them. Get a bag of really yummy treats ready. Start the CD, quietly at first. As soon as the CD starts, start feeding him the treats. Let the CD play for about about 30 seconds. Feed him the entire time. After 30 seconds turn the CD off & STOP feeding. Practice this often, gradually increasing the time & volume of the CD.
If there’s a storm in the mean time don’t baby or console him if he’s scared. Stay happy & upbeat & try to close out the storm as much as possible by shutting drapes, windows, turning on white noise.

Hello, I'm new to the doggiebagonline community and this is my first posting to a message board. Is it possible for dogs to be depressed? I think my dog is.

First - A lot of times lately, he doesn't want to go for a walk. He used to LOVE walking. Now, if we take him to the park, he still loves walking. But sometimes we'll take him out to walk around the neighborhood and we'll get half a block away and he'll stop, not wanting to go any farther. As soon as you ask him if he wants to go home, his tail perks up and he is fine (but the walk ends then). I think he thinks that if he goes home there's a chance he'll get to go in the car or to the park. There are some days that he'll still walk in the neighborhood but not many. He's also started spending time upstairs, away from us, instead of staying downstairs when we're home.

The other thing, and I don't think is depression, is that he's VERY afraid of storms and we've been having some lately. He shakes uncontrollably and is basically inconsole-able until the storm has passed and it's clear that there is no more thunder/lightning. I'm hoping someone might have some advice for me on that one.

He has no other behavioral issues and he's a FANTASTIC dog; so sweet and loveable. I really want to help him get out of his "funk." Would bringing another dog into the picture help?

Any advice at all? Thank you!

[Scott Cesare]

Thanks for getting back to me.

My dog is 7 years old. He's a black lab/dalmation mix). Nothing has changed about his environment, really, except the weather. We're in PA and it has gotten HOT this week. Now that I think about it, he walks fine throughout the winter months. Maybe it IS just the heat?? We do take him to the vet about every six months because he's on thyroid medicine. He's due to go again in July.

Also, thanks for the advice on the cd. I'll try anything.

[Ann Morscher]

Our previous dog, Aspen was very scared of thunder/storms and fireworks. We would use Bach Flower Rescue Remedy with her and it did help to take the edge off. I also found that giving her a safe place to go during the storms really helped. When a storm came she knew a good 30 minutes ahead of time. I would give her a spray of Rescue Remedy and then she would head up to our bed. She felt safe there.

Ann

[Scott Cesare]

Ann,
Where did you spray the Bach Flower Rescue Remedy? I found it on the internet and I'm going to buy some, but it says to put a drop on your dog's ear.

Thank you for the advice!

[Ann Morscher]

I would spray it into her mouth. They also have droppers and you can drop them into a small bowl of water or directly into the mouth. I like the spray since it is easy to use. I couldn't always say for sure she would drink the water if I put the drops in a small bowl or water especially when she was scared. You can apply Rescue Remedy onto the skin and it will find it's way into the body. It's basically just a preference. Also Rescue Remedy is preserved with alcohol so some may not want the alcohol or the taste. My dogs do not have a problem with it. I sometimes give a treat as a chaser!!

Ann

[Grace Erick]

Scott,

I have seen where dog's get depressed, but it happens after another family dog dies and they miss the other dogs companionship.

My dog will try and walk back to the house if I walk her around the block, but she always did that. In parks, she is fine, so I don't know that is a problem, except annoying when your dog wants to keep going back home. Once I pass a certain half way point around the block, my dog seems to realize this and walks home with no problem.

Some dogs are more fearful of noises. I was literally shocked when I was visiting in laws in PA and thunder or lightening actually shook the house!!! It was worse than the WA 7.0 earthquake! My husband's family dog broke right threw the glass window at their home when he was left alone for the 4th of July because of fireworks.

My dog, a chihuahua, hunkers down when a Harley with loud pipes drives by. I don't know if she will ever get over that loud noise since she doesn't hear it often enough and it comes on suddenly.

Bye, Grace

[Scott Cesare]

Thank you all very much! I appreciate the responses. What a great forum!

[Renee Premaza]

Hi Scott,

You've received some wonderful advice here! I would like to point out a few things to you also, okay?

Firstly, it IS much hotter now. If you have a black Lab, remember that the heat from the asphalt or concrete surfaces are radiating onto your dog. Black soaks up heat much faster than any other color. If you want to walk your dog, walk in the early morning or after sundown. Also, take water with you!

Now, as regards him stopping and wanting to go home, the heat may very well be causing this behavior. However, if you find that the behavior continues when it's cool, realize that anytime a behavior is reinforced, the behavior tends to increase. Sometimes I have to work with dogs that do "sit down strikes" along a walk that could be caused by various reasons. What I do is continue walking no matter what. When the dog gets up and loosens the leash and comes to walk with me again, I reward the heck out of him with treats and tons of pats and praising. This generally helps a lot to avoid those sit down strikes from occurring in the future.

Regarding the thunder storm phobia, here's a suggestion for you: purchase some fabric softener dryer sheets at your grocery store. Those sheets contain anti-static guard. Static has been shown to cause dogs to feel very uncomfortable during thunder storms. Take a dryer sheet and wipe your dog's coat down with it when you know a storm is coming.

Whatever you do, during a storm or anytime your dog shows a fear about something or someone, DON'T CONSOLE him by petting him or cooing to him. As other behaviors will increase when they're reinforced, so will that fearful behavior if you pet and coo to the dog when he's afraid. Speak confidently to him during a storm and see if you can engage him in some rewarding activity to take his attention away from the storm.

My first dog, a male German Shepherd was one of several dogs that I lived with that developed a fear of thunder. One day, I returned home after a storm had hit our neighborhood in the afternoon. I know that I had left my dog in the house when I went off to work, but could not find him ANYWHERE in the house when I came in. I looked all over the place and he was nowhere to be found. Finally, I had to use the bathroom, and I noticed that my shower curtain was moving! I opened the curtain only to find my dog lying in the bathtub. It's only recently that I learned from another trainer that the bathtub is grounded and a dog in the tub feels a decreased effect of lowered barometric pressure when a storm hits! Go figure!!!!


Thank you all very much! I appreciate the responses. What a great forum!

[Scott Cesare]

Thanks Renee,
I will try the dryer sheet thing. I had no idea they could pick up on things like that! He does go into the bathroom and lies next to the tub when it storms. He also loves to get under a blanket, but that's how he likes to sleep at night too.

I laughed at your term "sit down strikes" because that's exactly what he does! So my question for you is, if I'm walking him on a leash, how do I keep walking if he sits down? If I pull on the leash or get upset, he'll actually lie down! He only displays this behavior in the summertime. He never does it at the park or on the trails, only through the neighborhood... in the summertime. He's VERY stubborn! I've tried putting the leash down and walking away, sometimes as much as a half a block or more, but he stays put. It's frustrating.

Ann, I just bought a bottle of Rescue Remedy online today.

Thanks again!

[Jill Ramsey]

Hi Scott,





Regarding the thunder storm phobia, here's a suggestion for you: purchase some fabric softener dryer sheets at your grocery store. Those sheets contain anti-static guard. Static has been shown to cause dogs to feel very uncomfortable during thunder storms. Take a dryer sheet and wipe your dog's coat down with it when you know a storm is coming.

Renee,
I'm going to try the fabric softener sheets, too. Finnegan has just started showing "concern" over thunder. I also bought some nature sounds storm cd's, which I play all the time, slowly increasing the sound.

Of course, being in the Chicago area, we haven't had a storm in awhile, and it looks like we may not get one soon. :shock:

[Renee Premaza]

Hi Scott,

Your dog's strikes in the summer do sound like it's heat related. If he's in the park or on trails, it's not nearly as hot a surface for him to walk on. Try walking him at night and see if those sit down strikes don't stop. Let us know how this goes, okay?


Thanks Renee,
I will try the dryer sheet thing. I had no idea they could pick up on things like that! He does go into the bathroom and lies next to the tub when it storms. He also loves to get under a blanket, but that's how he likes to sleep at night too.

I laughed at your term "sit down strikes" because that's exactly what he does! So my question for you is, if I'm walking him on a leash, how do I keep walking if he sits down? If I pull on the leash or get upset, he'll actually lie down! He only displays this behavior in the summertime. He never does it at the park or on the trails, only through the neighborhood... in the summertime. He's VERY stubborn! I've tried putting the leash down and walking away, sometimes as much as a half a block or more, but he stays put. It's frustrating.

Ann, I just bought a bottle of Rescue Remedy online today.

Thanks again!

[Scott Cesare]

Last night it was a lot cooler than it has been (it was in the upper 80s and very humid for a couple weeks and yesterday it was in the 70s) and there were no storms in the area, so we thought we'd try taking Mikey out for a walk around the neighborhood. He did it! There was one point where his tail went down and he looked like he might sit, but I called him and gave him all kinds of praise and just tried to get him excited. It worked and he walked/ran with us!

I feel kinda silly getting so excited over getting my dog to take a walk, but I tried doing the things you all suggested and it really seemed to help. We'll keep trying while the weather is more tolerable to him and see how it goes.

Thank you again!