Dogs and Mental Health
NB: This post will not follow our usual light-heartedness due to the seriousness of the issues being discussed. Sorry! 🙁
Did you know?
1 in 4 humans suffer from mental health issues throughout their lives so a lot of us can understand how difficult it is to deal with these problems. As pet owners we can only imagine what it must be like for pets who aren’t able to get help themselves or talk about their issues.
Recognising mental health problems in pets is extremely difficult, mainly because they can’t tell you that something is wrong with them! Whilst this is a challenge for us paw-rents it can be overcome by looking out for signs in your pet, whether it be their eating and sleeping habits, or time spent playing! We know our pets best and therefore as owners we must take the responsibility for our pet’s mental health as well as their physical health. Below we have some common mental health problems and the symptoms that may be recognised in the hope this can help you understand, self-diagnose and improve your pets health and happiness for the rest of their lives.
Please note we are not vets and this is post is only to provide basic knowledge of mental health in dogs as well as our own experiences with mental health problems with our own dogs. As always, if you do believe that your pet is suffering from a mental health problem please visit a qualified vet for further assistance, advice and treatment (if required)!
Symptoms of mental health problems
Your pet may not show any signs of mental health issues that we, as owners, would find obvious, so it is extremely important to keep an eye on your pet assessing their current health and happiness every couple of weeks, particularly when changes occur in their life or environment. We have a few symptoms below that may help you determine if your pet is suffering with mental health issues so you can help improve the wellbeing and happiness of your pet. Please note, some of these symptoms may be linked with physical health issues so it is important to rule out any physical health problems first by consulting your veterinarian with any immediate concerns you may have.
- Retreating from their normal activities
- Spending more time than usual sleeping
- Being restless when they are usually calm and relaxed
- Loss of initiative when playing
- Lack of engaging in playtime
- Refusal to eat food / no interest in dinnertime or treats
- Aggressive behaviour such as barking, growling or jumping towards people/animals (especially with anxiety)
- Panting or drooling (especially with anxiety)
Depression (Credit to https://www.thesprucepets.com/do-dogs-get-depression-1112512
- Causes
- Physical illnesses: Just like with humans when a pet begins to struggle and can not do the things they find most fun and interesting it can get them down.
- Grief: Dogs do mourn when their human or animal companions have been lost, just like humans mourn for friends and family. Grief could be caused from a human, fellow dog or another household pet passing away or suddenly disappearing from their life (e.g. relationship breakdowns etc)
- Environmental changes: Dogs can take a while to adjust to big environmental changes (moving house, weather, renovation, new pets in the home, trips away etc)
- Fear: Dogs can have fears and phobias just like humans. Although they may not show clearly that they are scared they will show signs of fear or anxiety including; Flattened ears, Tail tucked between the hind legs, Cowering, Lip Licking, Raised hair on the back of the neck, Avoiding eye contact, Frequent scratching, Retreating from a situation.
- The owner: If the dogs owner is depressed or sick they may pick up on your energy and could feel the same as you. Many dog owners experience extra love, affection and attention from their pets when they’re feeling under the weather – Dogs are intelligent mammals, they know more than we realise! Please remember if your dog is showing signs of depression when you are going through the same thing and you think it may be linked to your mental health state this is not your fault. As we have seen many a time online dogs can sense things that humans aren’t able to and if anything it’s a blessing when they know you’re not okay because without realising they actually help. From personal experience we know how much dogs can lighten up your life and its little moments like that that keep mental health sufferers going.
- Treatments
- Exercise: As human doctors say, getting out to do exercise can be very beneficial to your mental health! Not only does it help improve their cardiovascular health but it also helps relieve stress, anxiety, depression, feelings of loneliness and more. Not only that, it helps you build an even stronger bond with your dog and helps stimulate your dogs mind! What better way to exercise than with a workout partner that always shows up AND never complains?
- Activities: Engaging in fun activities and playing with your dog can always help. If you are out of the house for long periods of time, possibly consider taking your dog to a doggy day care in your local area or getting a dog walker.
- Getting a friend: If your dog has recently lost a friend, if you feel that it is right for your family you may consider getting another dog as a companion.
- If none of these help with your pet’s mental health, it may be worth visiting your local vet.
Anxiety (Credit to https://www.thesprucepets.com/social-anxiety-in-dogs-1112496)
- Causes
- Socialisation: If a dog has not been socialised properly they may feel overwhelmed when in new situations with new animals or people. This also applies to new environments (such as the park, others houses, cars etc)
- Their background: If they come from a more troubled background (for example with rescue dogs) they may have had little or no human contact or just negative experiences with humans.
- Fear: Dogs can have fears and phobias just like humans. Although they may not show clearly that they are scared they will show signs of fear or anxiety including; Flattened ears, Tail tucked between the hind legs, Cowering, Lip Licking, Raised hair on the back of the neck, Avoiding eye contact, Frequent scratching, Retreating from a situation.
- Distrust of people: Lots of rescue dogs may well have been stray dogs for a lot of their life. Therefore, they may not trust people and may fear them when encountering them. They may show signs of aggression, as after all this was necessary for survival when on the street. (Mia was a rescue dog from Romania and was a stray, and we still, after 2 years, are still working on her trust of other people and animals, so it can be a long process!)
- Treatments
- Create a safe place: We have found with Mia that this is extremely important. Find a room, or a cage, or even a sofa where your dog knows they will not be disturbed, and they will be safe. This will help when introducing them to new situations or people, as it means they can retreat to their safe place and will help to keep them calm and relaxed when they begin to feel overwhelmed.
- Socialise with others: Take your time with this. Start by meeting one person at a time and let your dog guide you. As much as you may want to think it will all be okay by forcing your dog to get meet a new person, it may make things worse. Allow them to initiate contact and allow them to retreat if they feel overwhelmed. Reward good behaviour. If it is becoming too much for them, it may be time to take them to their safe place (above) and leave them to calm down. This can take a lot of time, but patience is key and will prevent your dog from going over their anxiety threshold and reacting in a negative way (biting, barking etc)
- Exercise: As human doctors say, getting out to do exercise can be very beneficial to your mental health! Not only does it help improve their cardiovascular health but it also helps relieve stress, anxiety, depression, feelings of loneliness and more. Not only that, it helps you build an even stronger bond with your dog and helps stimulate your dogs mind! What better way to exercise than with a workout partner that always shows up AND never complains?
- Steady exposure to new experiences: When taking your dog out, try not to start with the busiest park or a busy high street. Take time to research your local area for quiet locations where your dog will meet few people or animals. Build their tolerance of outings until your dog is happy and comfortable with being in busy locations.
- Keep them away from other animals or people: In certain situations, it may be important to remove your dog from the situation completely. If they become too anxious, forcing them to continue in a specific setting may make things a lot worse. Keep an eye on the signs your dog is showing. We have found with Mia that when on walks, sometimes if we see another dog it is better for her if we either cross the road or turn around and walk back the way we have come. It can be frustrating when you must keep turning backwards and forwards, but it will prevent your dog from having to act aggressively.
- If you are still struggling, it may be worth researching local dog behaviourists (We recommend using positive reward behaviourists!) or visiting your local vets for help.
Obsessive Compulsive Disorders (Credit to https://www.thesprucepets.com/obsessive-compulsive-disorders-1112521)
- Causes
- Stress
- Boredom
- Anxiety
- Treatments
- Calming aids: There are loads of calming products on the market at the moment, from hemp treats, valerian drops and air diffusers.
- Visiting your local vet: if a dog gets too stressed, it could cause them to act out aggressively. Visit your local vet for information on natural medications (if these don’t work them you could try other medications but do try natural first!) and advice on how to reduce your dog’s stress
- Playtime: Prevent boredom by playing more with your dog! Take walks, get new toys, invest in a dog walker… The list is endless. This will prevent their boredom and will stop them obsessively digging, barking, tail chasing and more!
- Invest in games for the mind: By getting your dog to use their mind more, it helps to tire them out which will help when anxious. Some games you may be able to leave your dog with when you go out, as it will help to distract them from you leaving!
- Use toys to tire them out: Toys you could use include KONG’s (or other treat filling toys), bones, Yak Chews or Antlers to tire them out. Please bear in mind that we are not suggesting that you leave your dog with these when you are out of the house as your dog ideally should be supervised when consuming treats or playing with toys to prevent any harm from coming to your dog.
If you have any questions regarding the games/toys/treatments that we have suggested above, please do not hesitate to contact us for more information.
Just a reminder again that we are not vets or mental health professionals but are well experienced in dealing with and treating mental health issues with our own pets over the years, as well as having done extensive research to ensure the information we are providing here is correct and beneficial. As always, feel free to a comment below whether that is to let us know what you think of our blog or if you have any helpful hints and tips from your own personal experiences that may help other pet owners in a similar situation.
With love,
The Purely Pets Team xxx