Recognizing Depression in Your Pet
Pets can have depression just like us humans do. Sometimes it may be harder to detect depression in our pets. They may stop eating, drink less water, stop wanting to play, lose weight, get insomnia, or be less energetic.
So what can cause depression in pets? Well many things can relate to the depression in pets, grief, change of environment, separation anxiety, climate, health issues, dental issues, etc. One of the biggest reasons for pet depression may be losing a playmate or friend. Perhaps a child in the home has grown and moved out, the pets owner has changed or passed away, or another pet in the home is no longer there for whatever reason.
Pets grieve like humans grieve however it sometimes can be very difficult to pull them out of it. If this happens you should work on it right away. Make your pets days more exciting by giving them more activity, make things more fun for your pet, buy them a new toy, take an extra walk with your pet, give them some extra attention, pet your pet, increasing your activity level will in turn increase your pets.
By petting your pet it will lower your blood pressure and heart rate as well as your pets, leading to a relaxed calm feeling. You benefit your pet as much as your pet benefits you.
You could also look into a pet park or pet daycare where you’re pet may play with some other pets. Schedule some play dates for your pet so that they may be in contact with a “friend”. You may want to ask your vet about anti-depressants if you’ve tried all you can but find your pet is still depressed. Depression can be life threatening to your pet if left un-dealt with for too long.
Prescription medications may help to perk your pet back up again however they do carry a lot of negative side effects so whenever possible try using an all natural supplement for your pets depression.
During the school year my pet gets depressed a lot because the kids are no longer home during the day to play with him so I did some research and found this all natural pet product to use. I don’t like the side effects of prescription medication so I chose to go the all natural route instead.