TO HELP YOUR DOG MOVE PAST GRIEF, DEPRESSION

Dogs can suffer from depression and/or grief for many reasons. Depression and/or grief may be triggered by:

• The passing of a loved one (another dog, cat or other non- human animal companion or human companion);
• When someone that the dog is close to (human or non-human) goes away for a short or extended period of time;
• When the dog's human or non-human companion is ill, depressed or grieving.

If your dog is depressed and grieving over loss, your dog may become lethargic, not want to eat, not want to do anything but sleep. They may fixate - for example, on the door waiting for their beloved companion to arrive.

When your dog is depressed he/she really needs you to help her rise above depression. Feeling grief is good and natural and allows us to appreciate all we loved and will continue to love about someone we were close to. To honour this state (respect and acknowledge it) is sensible and wise as to move forward and beyond we must pass through this state. The key is to move forward and pass through. If you are still grieving it reinforces your dog’s state of grief and depression. Now it is pretty difficult for you not to grieve but what you can do is work with your dog, as a team to pull each other through this time.

If you feel bad for your dog you will reinforce his/her depression - you give your dog the message that she is in a state that she can and should remain in. This message will hamper and could completely disable her from passing through the state and forward. Instead respect the state but treat her with calm, confident love and encourage her to do the things she normally enjoys doing. If you can be patient and push yourself to get her out and about - if you can relax and enjoy seeing her engaging, she will work with you and move forward beyond this grieving stage.

At this time more than any other times you need to help her reconnect with the dog that she is. Take her for brisk daily walks, if you can walk her with other dogs, bring her to a dog park, and bring her to pet supply stores where she will be encouraged to use her nose - explore and engage.

When we sit and mourn we get more depressed, when we don't get out and active we feel more depressed. Physical activity releases chemicals in our bodies that make us feel better - so too for dogs. You need to get her to engage with the outside world on a daily basis and expend energy - this will start to lift her spirit.

How we feel profoundly effects our dogs and resonates with them. If you are confident and committed to getting her out and about on a daily basis she will start to re-engage with life. Psychological stress also takes a toll on our bodies' good flora - the good bacteria in our gastrointestinal tract (GI Tract) - this is also true for a dog's GI tract. The GI tract part of the immune system and is one of the body's first lines of defense against invasion by microbes and parasites. Lack of balance in the GI tract's flora can also contribute to anxiety, depression and lethargy. You may want to consider adding a probiotic to your dog's diet - either by adding fresh foods that are naturally high in probiotics or by adding a good probiotic supplement.

A lack of balance in the amount of Omega Fatty Acids can also contribute to depression. Commercially manufactured dry dog food  (and I have looked at many) is not - despite what the manufacturer may claim 'nutritionally complete'. If you are buying per-prepared raw food for your dog you still need to supplement with Omega-3 fatty acids. To protect your dog's mental and physical health, your dog should be ingesting good quality omega-fatty acids in a ratio of 2 parts Omega-3 to 1 part Omega-6 on a daily basis. Take a look at the nutritional facts on the product you are feeding your dog - you will see the Omegas are not balanced. To understand the impact of insufficient daily intake of Omega 3 on your dog's mental state read this. To understand the impact on your dog's physical state read this.

If, in addition to grief, lack of good bacteria in the GI tract and insufficient intake of Omega-3, your dog is also carrying a toxic load his/her system, is under even more stress. Take a look at your dog's food and see if any of the toxins and carcinogens listed in this article are present in your dog's diet.When we are grieving we may not want to eat. See if you can encourage your dog by adding,good fresh whole foods to his/her diet. You can always make a batch of homemade food if you have the time.

When a dog is depressed - the best approach is a holistic approach, just as it would be for a human. 

In addition, you can also try using flower essence to help spark your dog’s energy and senses back to life. Flower essences can be helpful, however you need to make sure that you are purchasing a high quality product otherwise the product will not be effective. There is a flower essence company called Black Wing Farms who produce a wide range of excellent flower essence products. They have an essence called Grief, Depression & Shock. BlackWing Farms

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