Is your pet depressed?

Is the ‘black dog’ chasing your canine pal or cat?

06 Dec 2018 By Josh Thomas Comments

With one in four dogs left alone for more than five hours a day, can we really blame man's best friend for questioning their own existence? No best friend, human or otherwise, should be left alone so long with vets stressing the need not to leave canines alone for more than four hours.

Loneliness is having a huge emotional affect on dogs everywhere, with symptoms of depression taking their toll on our once optimistic four-legged friends. If you notice your dog lose their usual unquenchable hunger for food, become eerily quiet or show signs of aggression, chances are your animal is depressed. 

Wrestling with what is often referred to as the “black dog” in the human world is a difficult but very winnable fight. In case you’re not familiar with the term, when we say black dog we're not referring to that tough dog down the street, rather the ugly figure of depression. Thankfully there's a few very easy ways to keep the black dog away from our dogs:

Preventing dog depression

  1. Take your dog for new and exciting walks, there's nothing like a new scent to get those endorphins flowing again.
  2. Find them a new friend to play with at home in the shape of another pet, dog or otherwise. Dogs love their packs after all.
  3. Rather than sitting tall above your dog at night, get down on their level and let them know you're their friend not just a provider. Beware, excessive licking is a possibility.
  4. Don't let your dog sleep all day, activity is crucial to keeping the black dog at bay.
  5. Just like with humans, sometimes medication may be needed to restore the balance, so if things don't improve take them to a vet.

Cats are at risk of depression too

Dogs aren't the only ones the black dog is fancying however, with cats also being hunted down by the menacing presence of depression. Signs are very similar to that of a dog but treatment methods should obviously differ; I don't think a walk will cheer up any cat!

  1. A minimum 30 minutes of play time is recommended for our cats to keep them cunning.
  2. While some cats like having other pets around, often another pet will make your cat feel threatened and in turn depressed. Make sure they want the company before introducing another pet to the household.
  3. Although a bit more content staying inside all day, leaving curtains open so your cat remains curious of the outside the world is a good idea.
  4. Leave the radio on when you go out to make your cat feel less lonely, who knows they might not even realise you're gone with the radio blasting.
  5. Cats are very self-conscious creatures so keep them looking and feeling beautiful with a daily brush.   

Vets are getting increasingly worried about the number of depressed cats and dogs around the world, but with these simple steps hopefully we can promote happy cats and dogs.

06 Dec 2018 By Josh Thomas Comments

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