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Depression in Dogs Causes, Treatments | Depressed Dog Symptoms

Filed under: Dog Health — Tags: — Nik @ 4:39 am

Depression in Dog:

Just like humans, dogs too occasionally suffer from depression. A depressed dog is usually easy to notice. A depressed dog will mope, drink very little water, stop eating, seem lethargic, and will not show any interest in social activities. A depressed dog may also start to lose weight unexpectedly.

There are many reasons attributed to why a dog may get depressed. A change of place, illness, chemical imbalances inside the body, or grief are common causes of depression in dogs. In fact, something as trivial as a change in weather could be enough to cause depression in an otherwise normal dog. Even though the behavior of dogs changes drastically when they are depressed, unfortunately, many people are not able to understand these symptoms and the dog remains untreated. Even if you take the dog to a veterinarian, you will probably rule out physical causes, without realizing that there is nothing physically wrong with your dog.

Usually, your pet may get depressed if it loses a friend or a family member. If the dog plays with another dog in the neighborhood and that dog either moves away or dies, it may have a very deep impact on your dog. Death in the family is another cause for severe depression in dogs. Losing a playmate is a serious tragedy in the life of a dog. Dogs are very deeply affected by such events and may grieve for the rest of their lives. If a dog has been grieving for a long time, it becomes extremely difficult to bring the dog out of it.

Depression causes slow deterioration in your dog, both mental and physical. If your dog remains depressed, it simply means that you alone will not be able to bring your dog out of it and that you will need the help of an expert. Talk to your dog’s vet about anti-depressants for dogs. Though depression is not very dangerous in itself, the physical manifestations that it has may become life threatening for the dog. Your vet will run some blood tests on your dog to check for any physical ailments that could display these kinds of symptoms. These blood tests are crucial in determining whether your dog is in depression or simply has another illness like coronavirus or distemper. Once it is confirmed that your dog is in fact suffering from depression, use of anti-depressants can help perk up your dog. Your vet will meanwhile also keep guiding you on how to deal with your dog.