Depressed Doggie

[Jade Tigress]

My poor dog. He is having a hard time and I don't know what to do for him.

He is a 6-year-old Jack Russell Terrier, named Moose, usually full of vim and vigor.

First we move in April. He loses his large wooded yard which he hunted in all the time, finding moles, snakes, you name it. Plus, he had a nice little doggie door to hop in and out as often as he liked. Here he has a nice big yard, but it is not wooded, no where to hunt or dig good holes. It is still fenced so he still has run of the yard.

Next, we had to put his Mama down about a month after we moved. She had a degenerative disk disorder that was causing severe pain. She was miserable. The vet recommended putting her down at this point.

So, poor Moose lost his yard and lost his mama. Now all he does is lay around. He doesn't play anymore. He's *going* in the house. We let him outside and he won't even leave the porch. He stands at the door and whines.

My daughter, his *godess* is busy with high school and new friends.

His mama was his playmate even though they had their share of scraps. She kept him busy, gave him something to boss around...lol.

He needs a companion animal. Unfortunately, he does not play well with others. And by that I mean he will kill ANY other animal without hesitation. He snaps. It's in his blood. We've tried.

So. What do I do for the poor thing? I try to give him as much attention as possible. You can just tell he is depressed. And truthfully, this *going* in the house, which is a new development within the past few weeks is becoming very, very, frustrating in spite of my feeling sorry for the poor dog.

Anyone else deal with animal depression? How can I help our little guy get back on his feet?

Thanks.

Below is a picture of my son with Abby (the smaller one we had to have put down) and her son Moose (my now depressed dog) in his happier days at our old home.

 

[MA-Caver]

Sorry to hear about that... it's hard when a pet loses a friend/pack-member, about as hard on them as it is on the owner.

Condolences. Hope your dog will bounce back soon. :asian:

 

[Ceicei]

Are you sure a second dog at this point would be rejected? Some dogs may be territorial previously, but with losing a "member of the pack", may be willing to accept another (generally younger) one. If that has already been tried (after the death of his mother) and still didn't work, then give him LOTS and LOTS and LOTS of attention. A depressed dog may not be as territorial.

I've seen depression happen with cats, dogs, ferrets, and even gerbils. The introduction of another animal does take time.

I've heard of some vets prescribing antidepressants for animals. If he doesn't improve his mood within a reasonable time, you might want to talk to the vet if that is an option.

- Ceicei

 

[KempoShaun]

quite true, I had a dog on prozac... Talk to your vet for sure. They may have some other alternatives.

 

[Kacey]

Ceicei said what I was going to say - talk to your vet about medication if Moose doesn't start feeling better. One of my neighbor's dogs is on medication for OCD because he was obsessed with ball chasing - that was all he'd do - wouldn't eat, sleep, anything if there was a ball anywhere he could see it. The medication wasn't perfect, but it did reduce the behavior to the point that the owners could retrain the dog.

 

[Swordlady]

Ditto to the meds. And there are pet behaviorists who may be able to help your pooch sort out his depression. They aren't cheap, but can be very helpful and worth the cost.

Good luck to you and Moose. Sounds like he's going to need all of the loving he can get...

 

[Jade Tigress]

Oh my, doggie prozac...it may be the only option.

He would kill another animal, even at this point. Before we moved, my in-laws had Moose's full brother. Whenever they went out of town they would bring him to our house to watch and Moose was fine with him since first and foremost, he was accustomed to Jake by seeing him on a regular basis since the time they were litter mates and second, Jake would submit to Moose. Of course, even with his own mama we could not have bones or anything on the floor. All dogs had to seperated for treats less a blood bath ensue. And I am NOT exaggerating.

Due to health issues my in-laws could no longer take care of Jake so they gave him to my sis-in-law who lives here. Shortly after we put Abby down and Moose was showing signs of depression, my sis-in-law decided to bring Moose's old buddy and brother Jake over to play. Well, Moose went absolutely mad, wanted to eat Jake alive. Jake cowered, shivered and almost peed where he was standing. We had to quickly scoop Moose up and restrain him while Jake was removed from the scene without harm.

I soooo wish that wasn't the case as I would love to add another pet. I wonder if getting a larger adult dog would work...something less intimidated by Moose, and something mellow enough to not bite Moose in half when he starts bossing him around.

The only thing is, if we try that, and it doesn't work out, what do I do with the other dog?

 

[jenngibbs2000]

Do they make canine prozac? Seriously. But also, because he lost his doggie companion, he may need to forge a new bond with possibly your son. Animals differentiate between adults and children -- I think they recognize a similar spirit in kids. Maybe they can spend time together playing, etc.

Sorry, I know it's trite, but hope it helps!

Jennifer

 

[Jade Tigress]

Do they make canine prozac? Seriously. But also, because he lost his doggie companion, he may need to forge a new bond with possibly your son. Animals differentiate between adults and children -- I think they recognize a similar spirit in kids. Maybe they can spend time together playing, etc.

Sorry, I know it's trite, but hope it helps!

Jennifer

Thanks for the suggestion Jennifer. My kids are paying as much attention as time allows with school and all. The dog does sleep with either my son or daughter. He prefers my daughter since she babied him from puppyhood, but if she kicks him out for whatever reason, he happily sleeps with my son. I tried tossing a ball for him yesterday and he just sat and looked at it. Even before we put Abby down, Moose didn't play like that. When we'd toss a ball then he was only interested in getting it before Abby did. Now that there's no competition he doesn't know what to do with it.

Occasionally my son has been able to get Moose to chase him around the house, and Moose seems happier then. But it's alot of work and I can't have my 13-year-old and my dog dashing around the house like maniacs. He just won't get into playing in the back yard. It's like he's lost out there...

 

[SFC JeffJ]

Damn, this is sad. Wish I had suggestions that haven't already been fielded.

Hope something works soon.

Jeff

 

[HKphooey]

I have gone through this with a dog. Because you fear the dog may be territorial, try interaction with other dogs at another location like a park or doggie daycare. Sometimes the change of environment wiil help things.

Sorry you are going through this. We just put one of our cats down last Friday. He was like a baby to my wife and he was one cool cat!

Crane - thanks for the kind PM!

 

[Brian R. VanCise]

I'm sorry to hear abou this as well. I like the above idea of interaction at the park and or possibly a larger adult dog. One of those might work. Good luck, I know this is probably going to be very challenging for you and let us know how it is going.

 

[terryl965]

Sorry Jade about your dog, I would also agree with interaction at alocal park and give him plenty of attention.
Terry

 

[Flying Crane]

Maybe there is a wooded area outside of town where you can take him and he can run and dig and do whatever, away from others. The change of scenery and getting out to an open space might relight that flame. Maybe try to take him there every weekend, and even on some weekdays if possible, and see if his disposition improves...

Work on spending some interactive time with him every day. Play games with him and try to get him to respond. It might take a while but maybe he can snap out of it.

 

[Cruentus]

Oh my goodness...

O.K., lets see what we can do here.

First off, another dog in the house is out of the question. People tend to anthropomorphicize (apply human tendencies/desires) to pets when not applicable or appropriate. Dogs do not "make friends" with other dogs in the same way that people do. Dogs dole out a heirarchy among each other, and then co-exist. Bonds can form from this co-existence, but even that is a controversial subject in the dog training world. The point is, Your dog doesn't 'need a friend.' No other dog will replace any bond he may have had with his mother who passed away, because that is not how dogs co-exist. Bonds with other animals, if they exist at all and in many cases they often don't, are unique and can't be replicated or replaced. So, regardless of your point of view on the subject of "dogs being friends," it is not a good idea in your circumstance. Not only will it not solve anything regarding his passed away mom, your dog is possessive over his territory/environment and owners, and fear-aggressive towards other dogs. That can be solved through training and socialization, but that would be a long term goal; and won't solve the problem you have now.

The problem that I see is this: he had an environment that was self-reinforcing because he was able to run and smell and hunt by himself in the wooded yard. Then he had all his needs met at home with human attention. Dogs generally have a major need that needs to be fullfilled for them to be happy; and that is self-worth from being a part of the human team. Smelling and hunting in the yard gave him self-worth, as he felt like he was doing a job. He felt he was a part of the human team as well due to the bond and attention he recieved at home. The attention at home has been reduced (your daughter being busy for example) and he has lost his job. To anthropomorphicize for analogy only; he is like the guy who has lost his job, who had to move to a smaller place, and who's family hasn't been paying attention to him (except grandma); so of course he is depressed!

So, he needs a job and he needs to feel that he is part of the human team again.

His job, right now, should be to walk with you for about 30-60 minutes a day. Get him to walk normally with you. He'll probably drag his feet at first, but this is part of the learning process. Remember, praise and encouragement! He has to learn to replace the self-reinforcing behavior of hunting/smelling in the woods with other jobs (like walking and play), so it will take a little time. But sooner rather then later, he'll be trying to get YOU on a walk rather then the other way around.

As soon as he is used to walking, (after the 1st couple of days). Put on a doggy backpack, and put a bottle of water in it. Again, praise and encouragement! About half way into your walk, stop and get the bottle of water from the pack and drink it. Make sure you thank him, with praise and encouragement as if he did a good job for you (essentially he did). Remember, your giving him jobs and making him a feel that he is a part of your team.

Consider increasing the walk to a jog or run when both he and you are comfortable. Also consider going to wooded areas or feilds where you can give him some "freetime" of going around and smelling; just don't let that replace the walk. It is better to walk too such a place, give him "freetime," then walk home. Transfer him to a 20 or 30 foot lead for this, or take him off lead if it is safe and if he won't flee.

Once on a walking schedule (after 1st few days), you need to re-teach him how to play. Try to find a toy that he is interested in so you can play fetch. He might not seem interested at first in anything because he doesn't know what the game is, and doesn't realize that play will meet his needs. Just keep trying. Use things that bounce around a lot, and that you can tug on with him; he is a terrier so I can almost gaurantee that hs has a lot of prey drive that you can tap into for some good games of fetch. Playing with Grandma is also a "job" as well, btw.

You can get into other things, like obedience with food reward, agility, etc. if you want later. These all help the dog feel like he is doing good for his human companions.

As to relieving in the house; if he wasn't doing this before but is doing this now, this might be attention seeking behavior, so don't give it any attention at all. If he does it, don't say or do anything about it good or bad. Keep him on a strict feeding schedule, only once or twice a day. Make sure that he is not getting overfed (which is difficult because dog food companies basically lie about how much to feed your pet to keep pets fat. My dog is a working dog, and only eats about half of what is recommended by the company). This means DO NOT LEAVE FOOD OUT ALL DAY. He gets a strict feeding schedule; if he chooses to only eat a little bit and not finish, or doesn't eat at all, leave it out for 10-15 minutes, but then remove it and throw it out. He'll begin to understand what feeding time means if he doesn't already. This will regularize his bathroom schedule; you will be able to predict when he has to go after a few weeks. The mixture of attention and activity as perscribed above, plus the feeding schedule and lack of reinforcement for the bad behavior of going in the house should solve the problem. You can and should praise him when he goes outside. If this doesn't solve the problem, then there are other solutions, but try to see if this takes care of itself first.

All and all, you need to be working with your dog about 60 minutes a day, between walking and play and other activities. This is a committment that energetic dogs like Terriers require.

Lastly, for ****s sakes, don't medicate your dog for depression, of all things.

Keep us updated as to how it works out. These are my suggestions and opinions based only on what you have told me here, so keep that in mind and try to find what works for you.

Good luck, and try to have fun!

Paul

 

[Cruentus]

Oh yea, and one more thing;

For the love of all that is sacred, don't take him to the frickin dog park, please.

That is a recipe for bad experiences with other dogs that will only promote his defensive aggresiveness. One could argue that they aren't bad for all dogs, but for sure it would be bad for YOUR dog. If you decide to bring him around another dog (which I don't recommend until he has had a lot of obedience training, as well as plenty of time doing the activities I prescribed above, at this point) you should only do so in a very controlled environment. A dog park is not that place.

Paul

 

[John Brewer]

Sorry I can't help. Hope it works out.

 

[Jade Tigress]

Thank you everyone all the concern and helpful advice. Paul, I appreciate the time you took with your reply and have printed it for reference. I'll keep you posted as we try implementing the suggestions. Thanks again.