Can dogs die from sadness
Signs of Depression in Dogs and How to Help Your Pup Cope
While dogs don't experience depression the same way humans do, here's how to cheer up your pup.
You notice your dog is lying around, not playing, and not even eating with his usual gusto. Could he be depressed? To help your dog, you need to look at why he is feeling sad and then come up with solutions to turn his spirits around. The next steps will vary with every individual dog and his situation.
Dog Dogs Truly Get Depressed?
The answer is yes, but luckily dogs tend to have short-term depression, not the long-term serious condition that some humans battle. For dogs, the mental slowdown is usually related to loss of a family member (human or animal) or a major change in lifestyle.
Certainly the death of a longtime companion can upset many dogs. When my English setter died, my German shepherd dog howled almost nonstop for 2 days. She was mourning the loss of her friend but also depressed and not acting like her usual self.
Because they tend to live "in the moment", dogs generally recover faster from depression symptoms than humans who can have recurrent long-term cycles of depression. Even so, some dogs, such as a dog who loses their home due to the death of an owner and gets placed in a shelter, can suffer severe and long-term depression.
Sad corgi puppy lays on the floor
Credit: nataba / Adobe Stock
Signs of Depression in Dogs
Common symptoms of depression in dogs include:
- Lack of interest in their favorite activities
- Spending much more time sleeping or lying quietly
- Loss of appetite
- In severe cases, they may stop eating and drinking altogether
Sometimes, a depressed dog may also choose to go off into a quiet corner and not interact with the family or other pets in their normal way. The signs and behaviors you see in a depressed dog can also fit with a number of different health problems. So even if you think your dog is simply depressed, it is always a good idea to have a check up with your veterinarian to rule out other illnesses.
While it is unusual for a dog to die from depression alone, if your dog has a chronic health condition such as diabetes, not eating could contribute to a life threatening situation.
What Causes Depression in Dogs?
Dogs become highly attached to their families, both human and animal. The loss of a companion they played and slept with can be devastating. Many dogs have close relationships with other dogs or even cats or other pets. Losing a buddy means no one to play with, run with, or curl up with.
Loss of a beloved human is even more upsetting. Dogs develop very strong feelings for their people. It goes beyond the fact that the person feeds them and walks them. They defend people and choose to hang out with their favorite people. Dogs are definitely part of the family, and they feel that way about you, too.
Dogs can also become depressed if their life situation changes. A dog who is used to running in fields every day or having a big yard to play in may become depressed if he now has to live in an apartment with shorter daily walks.
How Can You Help Your Depressed Dog?
Make a list of your dog's favorite things. This is a time when you can spoil him without (much) guilt.
- Try mixing special treats in with his meals
- Arrange your schedule so you have time for an extra walk or game of fetch
- Add a new interactive toy or two to his collection to get him up and about
- Consider a new fun activity like a food puzzle or games you can play together
If the loss of an animal companion is part of the reason for your pup's depression, it might be worth considering if a new pal could help. Take this approach with caution, however! It can be difficult to find another animal that your dog will bond to. If your dog is a senior citizen, a wild puppy might rejuvenate him—but it also might irritate him and cause him to withdraw even more. Consider fostering any new fur siblings before making it official, so you can see if your dog likes the potential new family member and enjoys having the extra set of paws around the house.
That said, a new puppy was just the ticket to help my dog! Cyrus was still young and adding a puppy gave her a playmate as well as a companion.
Can pets die of a broken heart?
The 'World’s Cutest Dog' Boo died in 2019 of what his owners think was a broken heart. The news of his passing came around a year after his pet companion Buddy passed away.
Boo’s owner wrote in a Facebook post: “I brought Boo home in the spring of 2006 and so started the greatest, most heart-warming friendship of all time. Shortly after Buddy died, Boo showed signs of heart issues. We think his heart literally broke when Buddy left us.”
Boo’s story doesn't seem to be an isolated case. In November 2017 another dog made the news when, after days of wandering around an airport appearing to be looking for someone, she died of what was believed to be a broken heart.
Wandering Cloud, as the staff at Palonegro airport, Colombia named her, had spent a month roaming the terminal, sniffing passers-by, before she curled in a corner, motionless and refusing to eat.
The pooch was later picked up by vets, but despite their best efforts, she died shortly after.
It's believed that the dog was abandoned at the airport and when her search failed to reunite her with her owner, she died.
But was it sadness that killed her and Boo, or was their death a coincidence that allows animal lovers to indulge in the belief that pets experience human emotions?
Can animals die of sadness?
A heart condition in humans, often caused by severe stress such as the loss of a loved one, known by the popular name of 'broken heart syndrome', causes a weakening of the heart muscle that can result in heart failure and even death.
So, if a human can die of a broken heart then perhaps a pet can too?
The team of the South Pacific County animal shelter in Washington released a heart-breaking report, saying that they’d looked in veterinary medicine for the mention of broken heart syndrome, and despite not being able to find it, have witnessed it first-hand.
Cory McKeown, the author of the report, says that cats and dogs brought in to the shelter often stop eating and curl in a corner of their cages hiding their heads in their paws.
However, as McKeown says, there is no mention of broken heart syndrome in veterinary literature and there is no medical evidence that indicates that pets suffer the physical symptoms of broken heart syndrome.
Furthermore, for every story of a pet dying following the loss of an owner, there is one of a pet spending years stoically waiting for the return of the deceased and eventually dying of old age. Greyfriars Bobby even has his own statue in Edinburgh.
We spoke to veterinary surgeon Dr Neerja Muncaster who said: "Animals certainly can exhibit significant behavioural and character changes when an animal or person that they are attached to dies.
"These changes can trigger physiological changes that can lead to the deterioration of that animal's health.
"Conversely, I have also witnessed positive changes in behaviour, for example, increased confidence and interaction, in animals who have been dominated or bullied by another animal in their household.
This can occur in some multi-cat households. When the aggressor dies, the more timid cat will often exhibit altered behaviour."
Veterinary medicine provides no proof that pets die of heart failure due to stress, but observations show that pets do go through behavioural changes and even death when they lose an owner or a companion, suggesting that perhaps there is something happening to them.
Can pets die from grief?
When Dr Stanley Coren PhD, canine psychologist, visited an old friend, he was surprised to find their pet companion group had gone down from two Boston terriers and a cat to only one Boston terrier.
He told Psychology Today, that his friend explained that her dog Lily had died and shortly after her cat Rosie followed, leaving one surviving pet.
In a 2011 article for the Daily Mail, reporting on the death of a dog in Afghanistan that had lost its owner, animal psychologist Roger Mugford said that he’s witnessed "a number of cases in which pets have died of grief".
These stories bring to mind a phenomenon among people known as the widowhood effect where one partner of a couple dies and the other becomes severely depressed and follows within the next three months.
And even though the widowhood effect has not been documented in veterinary medicine, according to a study conducted by the journal Animals, there is plenty of evidence that pets experience grief in a similar way to humans.
The study, a survey of 279 people, showed both cats and dogs can experience severe behavioural changes following the passing of a fellow animal. The animals often kept searching for the deceased and whined and whimpered when they couldn’t find them.
In addition, the cats and dogs in the study, a lot like Wandering Cloud and the animals in Cory McKeown’s animal shelter (and just like humans when they are depressed), exhibited moderate to severe loss of appetite, lack of energy and loss of vivaciousness.
Unfortunately, when cats stop eating, they are quick to develop a condition called fatty liver disease, which causes liver failure and eventually death.
Cats normally develop the disease as the result of stress-related appetite loss; so, when cats grieve, it is not their heart that takes the hit but their liver.
Something similar happens to dogs when they stop eating. A number of biochemical reactions kick in and in order to make up for the lack of energy, the body begins digesting internal fats and the metabolism becomes sluggish. Lethally low level of blood sugar levels set in.
So, it could be argued that, in cases of severe loss of appetite, pets' grief leads to a form of indirect self-destruction by refusal to feed.
The warning signs of grief in animals are many, so learning to recognise them could help owners take action before the symptoms of grief have taken an irreversible toll.
Signs of grief in pets
Signs might include but are not limited to:
Louder, more frequent and prolonged vocalisation – meowing, barking, whining, whimpering, etc
Lick granuloma – a skin rash that is the result of excessive grooming and licking
Loss of appetite – rejecting food
Excessive clinginess – demanding a lot of attention
Oversleeping during the day and being restless at night
Continually checking the spots where the deceased used to go
Rejecting affection
Lack of energy and interest
Listlessness
Some dogs will start crying and whimpering as soon as they sense their owner is about to set off to work – this is separation anxiety and can be extremely severe for some pets, especially after bereavement.
Pets who are extremely attached to their owners (or fellow companion pets) tend to be hit the worst by separation anxiety and grief. The bigger the attachment bond, the more severe their mourning.
How to help a grieving pet?
Vet Dr Karen Becker recommends keeping the pet's routine as stable as possible, including feeding, walks and other daily interactions and encouraging and providing plenty of distractions to take the pet’s mind off the loss, such as long walks, exercising together and playing fetch.
In addition, she advises giving your pet enough time to cope with the loss before you introduce a new pet into the family.
Pets have a natural ability to pick up on the moods of their owners, so avoiding emotional outbursts around your pet might also speed up his or her recovery.
In addition, nearly all of our pet insurance policies cover treatment for behavioural disorders.
Evolutionary biologists believe that grief has the purpose of motivating emotional bonding and attachment.
And where there is attachment, there is separation anxiety.
Domesticated animals are very social and easily become deeply attached to their owners and companion pets and can suffer when they lose them.
If you're concerned about your dog or cat's behaviour after the loss of a two-legged or four legged companion, make an appointment with your vet.
Behaviour treatment might even be covered by your pet insurance. All our policies cover behavioural treatment where you've been referred by your vet.
All our policies also include free unlimited video vet calls. They might be able to give you some useful advice for your grieving pet as well.
Is it true that a pet can die of longing for its owner? | QUESTION-ANSWER
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Weekly "Arguments and Facts" No. 42. AiF-Penza 14/10/2020 Category: Society Q&A from the newspaper: Weekly "Arguments and Facts" No.
42 14/10/2020
They say that a dog endures separation from the owner very hard, up to death. The film "Hachiko" is a prime example. And I'm going on a long business trip and I can't take my dog with me. Is it true that a pet can die of longing for its owner?
V. Kodovskaya, Nikolsk
“Animals can really be very worried about separation from their owner,” says veterinarian Ilya Tekuchev . - Cats and dogs refused food and their usual games when they left somewhere. There were cases when it was necessary to put the dog under a nutritional drip. But it did not come to a lethal outcome.
Tip: try to talk to your pet on the phone, because someone is probably looking after him, and it will not be difficult for this person, being with a dog, to call the owner and turn the phone on speakerphone. It really helps! In practice, this works better than any dropper. I had cases when the dog, having listened to the owner on the phone, began to eat.
But this is only on condition that the dog is sad, and not really sick.
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Depression in dogs: symptoms, causes
01.01.0001
A rare owner did not notice a change in mood, sadness and blues in his pet
Many owners are convinced that a dog, unlike a person, does not have depression, but a rare owner did not notice a change in mood, sadness and melancholy in his pet.
Dogs are generally very emotional in the manifestation of their feelings - both joy and sadness. They are able to experience not only joy or sadness, but also more complex feelings: pride, shame, and even jealousy. Depression in dogs is difficult to diagnose. Its clinical signs are similar to those of other diseases - lethargy, apathy, refusal to feed, drowsiness. If these symptoms are persistent and last more than two days, the dog should be seen by a veterinarian.
There are many reasons that can provoke depression in dogs. The most common is a sudden change of ownership.
In this case, such a disorder can be short-term and last 1-2 weeks. At the same time, the dog either does not show strong signs of anxiety, or may be alert, eat little, sleep fitfully. But it happens that depression develops into a more severe form. Dogs tolerate depression in different ways, it depends on the characteristics of the psyche and the nature of a particular animal.
Another cause of depression is the departure of the owner for a long time or the death of one of the family members. Dogs, like people, are attached not only to the owner. They also have friends among their brethren. The loss of such a friend is also fraught with hard feelings for the dog. Depression in dogs can manifest itself not only in apathy and lethargy. In some cases, the animal may become aggressive and run away from home.
Severity and rudeness towards the dog, prolonged and violent restriction of its freedom will also cause depression and inappropriate behavior. In this case, the owner needs to reconsider his relationship with the pet, and possibly the conditions of its maintenance.
It is also interesting that dogs can suffer from seasonal mood swings, for example in winter. There are fewer walks, their time is shortened. The dog does not receive enough light, fresh air and movement. The communication of the dog with his fellows and active leisure with the owner are also reduced. In such a situation, you need to reconsider your daily routine and spend more time with the dog in communication and walks, engaging it in active games.
Hormonal depression in dogs is associated with excessive production of sex hormones. This can be observed during the puberty of a young dog - at the age of 8 to 18 months. In females - in the postpartum period, when her behavior becomes anxious and aggressive, giving way to apathy and lethargy. Sometimes a bitch who has given birth under the influence of a depressive state may refuse to feed the puppies. It is possible to alleviate her condition only by giving her complete rest.
Depression is a serious illness. The mental state of an animal is directly related to its health.
