Many owners assume that it is just their dogs physical well being that they need to focus on. All to often their dogs mental health is overlooked. Physical health isn’t the only thing you should bare in mind when having a dog, their mental health is just as important. Below we will have a look at common problems that affect your dogs mental health.
Depression
Just like us, dogs can also suffer from varying degrees of depression now and again. This is recognisable by their behaviour, if they are depressed, they can appear down, lack energy and not want to do anything. You may find that they are off their food or have a lower appetite and can also lead to them losing weight. Reasons for the depression can be due to several factors including illness, phobias, changes in their environment of grief i.e. the loss of another dog or person.
Anxiety
a wide variety of anxieties, fears and phobias can be seen in dogs, from fear of humans, dogs, removal of resources, traffic, loud noises, separation anxiety the list goes on! Fear may at times lead to aggressive behaviour being exhibited.
Illness
Pain can cause alterations in the dogs behaviour and can ultimately affect the dogs physical and mental well being.
Obsessive Behaviour
A repetitious, relatively unchanging sequence of activities or movements that has no obvious purpose or function, more commonly seen in working dogs but can affect any breed. Behaviours such as shadow chasing, tail chasing, spinning. Sometimes obsessive behaviours develop as a coping mechanism or from boredom.
With all of these factors the most important thing is noticing the changes and tackling them head on. If caught early enough you may be able to address the problem yourself or contact a local canine behaviourist for help and advice.
For more advice speak to us at Maisies Pet Boutique Redditch
