Depressed dog
A Trust your assumption as you know
your dog best. Profound life changes
resulting in loss can certainly put some
dogs at risk for a form of depression.
First step would be to have your veterinary
practitioner examine your dog and rule out
any possible illnesses which elicit similar or
the same symptoms to that of depression.
Depending on your specific case, there
are medications that can be prescribed
which would work hand-in-hand with
professional behavioural assistance.
Keep your dog feeling safe; protect him
from possible interactions that may distress
or frighten him.
Make sure to keep his routines the same
as that will provide comfort and security.Q (^) Our dog was very attached to a family member who recently
passed away, and seems to be depressed. How can we handle
this situation?
Encourage activities that he used to
thoroughly enjoy. Keep this exercise short
as we want your dog to have a choice to
engage or not. If he’s not that interested,
don’t worry, try again in a few days. If
your dog has always enjoyed walks, do
a little more of this. If his appetite is
still good, use food with additional soft
treats to encourage him to engage in a
mentally stimulating food game – utilising
his olfactory senses would be an advantage.
A poor appetite can be stimulated by giving
him his favourite meals.
More than anything your dog needs a little
more time to adapt to the absence of his
favourite person, and lots of TLC.
Samantha Walpole, behaviourist
Q
Out of the blue, my dog started
growling at certain people in the
household. What can we do about it?
A
Detail on context would be needed
to answer this question specific to
your dog. I must compliment you on this
question. You are taking the warning signs
seriously and seeking advice. The first two
immediate steps would be to have your
dog examined by a veterinary practitioner
to rule out any possible underlying medical
reason which may be causing pain or
discomfort. Second is to contact an
accredited behaviourist to address your
specific case in the home environment.
The growling is more than likely not ‘out
of the blue’ but instead an elevation of
communication which started as subtle
polite requests to get the person to stop
what they were doing or move away. As
dogs speak ‘dog’ and you speak ‘human’,
from the dog’s perspective no one was
listening to his discomfort, so he has had
to elevate his requests to ‘shouting’, i.e.
the growl. Growling is a precursor to a
bite, so there is no time to waste in getting
professional assistance. Something is
making your dog feel unsafe and anxious
around certain people. An experienced
behaviourist will be able to problem-
solve from detailed information and a
practical assessment, and thereafter can
put together a behaviour modification
programme to help you and your dog.
In the meantime, do not allow
anyone to punish the growl as this is a
communication not a challenge. Punishing
a growl could have a dog skip this part
of his language and go from subtle
discomfort signs to bite, as he has learnt
growling is dangerous when around
people. Try and prevent a repeat of a
typical situation when your dog growls;
give him space until such time as a
professional can see you – sooner, rather
than later.
Samantha Walpole, behaviourist
Growling dog
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