Doggie Depression (No, it's not me this time)

[W_L]

I've noticed he's been very lonely recently, He no longer humps stuff or runs around much anymore (No I will never have my dog neutered, I personally think it is cruel to castrate your best friend).

 

Anyway, it coincided with a neighbor moving away with their dog (a boy dog, who's three years younger than him. As I said in my blog entries a few years back, my dog isn't exactly heterosexual), who just lives across the street. I know he's getting on in years at age 12, but I don't want him to feel left out and lonely.

 

Does anyone know how to help with Doggie depression?

 

With all the big discussions and stuff, I know this topic is fluff, but I'd like to hear what you guys think I should do.

Edited August 23, 2012 by W_L

[NotNoNever]

It's hardly fluff, it matters to you.

 

Not sure if they can get depression as we know it, but they can certainly be lonely, and they can be bored too. You could get him a playmate, but that's an awful lotta work. Do you walk him in a park? Is there a time when he might meet lots of other puppies (beyond yourself, of course )

 

Also, dogs get on a lot better with cats than most people think, and they're a lot less work. So that might be a solution. Just don't get a boy cat

[joann414]

My four legged friend is certainly not fluff. She is part jack russell, part chihuahua, and hyper as hell, but I love her like a baby. Ironically. we had a male cat when we got her as a pup, and she and that cat are unbelievable. He actually weighs more than her, but lets her drag him by the ear on the deck. lol. Yeh, if you like cats, you might want to consider that. But since you friend is almost 12. you might consider a kitten, and maybe it will be like my two little furry friends. He will invest his time in caring for the kitten. Just a suggestion. I hate when my pup is sad. I let her lay in my lap, and constantly love on her. They can pull your heartstrings.

[Ashi]

My cat (passed away) was very depressed in his later years. Partly due to a neighbor cat coming to our backyard, and my dad was cruel enough to like the new cat better than our very own cutest cat in the world. Cats aren't like dogs, so it's opposite of your dog is experimenting (cats don't like other cats. Cats are very jealous), but I believe the situation is similar. You have to give more attention to your dog. Maybe you have to walk him a little more so he doesn't feel he is by himself? I think dogs need more physical attention (play with them and do all sort of activities). Not sure if getting a puppy would be good for an old dog (it would be the absolutely the wrong thing for cats).

 

And another thing. Do pay attention to his diet. My cat ate a lot less. And the emotion problem eventually grew into a physical one. So do check if there is anything else that could be potentially serious, not just feed him love and forget about the physical well being. Check if his teeth are free of plaques. Older dogs (and cats) are more likely to get illness (just like human or any animals). My cat died from kidney failure, so do pay attention to such problem.

Edited August 24, 2012 by Ashi

[Y_B]

I'm dealing with doggie hyperactivity.

Wanna trade?

[MikeL]

I've noticed he's been very lonely recently, He no longer humps stuff or runs around much anymore

 

Anyway, it coincided with a neighbor moving away with their dog (a boy dog, who's three years younger than him.

 

I know what the problem is. Mating season is about over and he didn't get any.

 

I really know nothing of canine depression. We have a cat, 19 years old, blind...walks around all day bumping into things.

[W_L]

I'm dealing with doggie hyperactivity.

Wanna trade?

 

Well, we can try setting them up

 

As for the questions: yes, he does go on long walks and see other dogs. However, most boy dogs ignore or are too rough for him and he ignores girl dogs except to bark. His best friend was the dog across the street who was around his size and could wrestle with him. They would bark at one another at night driving us crazy.

 

As a reference, my dog is a cross between a pure bred pomeranian and mixed beagle. He's not small like a toy poodle, but he's smaller than a Labrador retreiver

 

He likes cats, boy and girl, even working with them to chase little squirrels. He has personally caught two mice in our house, so we sort of think of him as a cat.

Edited August 24, 2012 by W_L

[Andrea]

It's hardly fluff, it matters to you.

 

Not sure if they can get depression as we know it, but they can certainly be lonely, and they can be bored too. You could get him a playmate, but that's an awful lotta work. Do you walk him in a park? Is there a time when he might meet lots of other puppies (beyond yourself, of course )

 

Also, dogs get on a lot better with cats than most people think, and they're a lot less work. So that might be a solution. Just don't get a boy cat

 

I agree with NotNoNever. If you are up for the extra work, I suggest getting him a playmate. Rescuing an adult dog, say around 3-5 years old, would probably be the best. If you go to a good shelter, the dogs are generally fostered and house trained, you won't have to deal with the horrible puppy stages.

 

I recently had to deal with doggy depression with my dog. When my boyfriend and I started dating (eight years ago) it just happened that we had both adopted puppies a month prior. Our dogs grew up with each other from pups. They didn't get along all the time, but were still best friends. My boyfriend's dog passed away in May unexpectedly due to kidney failure and my dog was confused and later depressed when we didn't bring Skye home from the vet We went about a month and she didn't get any better, so we adopted a puppy from a local hound shelter. It is a hell of a lot of work (forgot how much having a puppy sucks), but it has helped her a lot.

[Zolia Lily]

I had a cat who went through similar. Chica (boy cat. yes. I was 5 when I named him...) was about 10 when his older companion (a cat who probably was around 20 - my parents adopted him as a stray years before I was born, so we were never exactly sure) passed away and he just pined. He aged really fast and was generally miserable. We decided to get him a friend, and went to get a new kitten (introducing another adult cat generally not being a good idea). When we got there, though, there were only two kittens left... and we couldn't just leave one there, so we ended up with both. That may have been a mistake as far as my old cat was concerned. Maybe not.

He made a real show out of disliking them and glared at them a lot, but actually, whenever he was asleep they'd curl up right on top of him and love on him, and he'd come and clean them and sleep on top of them as well. It was actually like they all just pretended to dislike each other.

Chica got really unwell as he got older - he was going deaf, and had heart murmurs, diabetes - and worst of all, mini strokes - and the kittens actually looked after him. They'd clean him and be around with him all the time.

Chica had to be put down a few years ago, and while the kittens really missed him, it was actually better than when our elderly cat passed away, because they had each other as well.

 

Dogs are generally far more social than cats, too - maybe a friend is what he needs?

 

I hope your poor puppy is doing better. Pretty sure you can get doggie anti-depressants from vets if it's something you're really concerned about; but maybe exhausting other avenues first is the way to go.

 

Let us know how everything goes!