Aa
My dog keeps crying?
Hi I wonder if anyone could shed some light.
I have an 8 year old Neapolitan Mastiff. He has always been a happy dog and he is very active for his age. He goes for walks once a day and cant wait to get out - He wakes me up every morning for his morning walk.
I have had him since he was a puppy and nothing new has changed in his lifestyle.
Over the last year though he has started to cry all day long for no apparent reason. He is not sick (as far as I can tell) he is not in pain anywhere, he wants to play all the time, nothing has changed from his daily routine and nothing new has been added to our home (kids, animals or anything else)
He just spends the day crying while laying in the hall way. He will come in from his walk, sleep for a couple of hours and then when he wakes up he will just cry all day long until he eventually goes to sleep in the evening. He then starts the process all over the next day.
When one of us gets up to rub him, he will stop and wag his tail and be all happy again but then when we leave him to carry on with our stuff he starts to cry again.
I really don't know whats up with him - Is he depressed? Should I start taking him out more then once? He does have a bit of a wobbly leg which is why he only gets one long walk a day but ever since he was a puppy he has got one walk a day. Someone is ALWAYS home with him, he is never alone.
Is he to dependent on us? What should I do?
Thanks for reading and hopefully I can get some kind of help - Do they do doggy shrinks? :)
I have an 8 year old Neapolitan Mastiff. He has always been a happy dog and he is very active for his age. He goes for walks once a day and cant wait to get out - He wakes me up every morning for his morning walk.
I have had him since he was a puppy and nothing new has changed in his lifestyle.
Over the last year though he has started to cry all day long for no apparent reason. He is not sick (as far as I can tell) he is not in pain anywhere, he wants to play all the time, nothing has changed from his daily routine and nothing new has been added to our home (kids, animals or anything else)
He just spends the day crying while laying in the hall way. He will come in from his walk, sleep for a couple of hours and then when he wakes up he will just cry all day long until he eventually goes to sleep in the evening. He then starts the process all over the next day.
When one of us gets up to rub him, he will stop and wag his tail and be all happy again but then when we leave him to carry on with our stuff he starts to cry again.
I really don't know whats up with him - Is he depressed? Should I start taking him out more then once? He does have a bit of a wobbly leg which is why he only gets one long walk a day but ever since he was a puppy he has got one walk a day. Someone is ALWAYS home with him, he is never alone.
Is he to dependent on us? What should I do?
Thanks for reading and hopefully I can get some kind of help - Do they do doggy shrinks? :)
Hi again!
Ok, so i keep him in the crate bc I live with 2 other people and if i don't put him in there he will sneak onto the beds/couches to sleep/roll around all day haha. But we just recently moved so I have been keeping him outside (we have a decent size fenced backyard) during the day while I am at work if weather permits to give him some room to stretch his legs and smell stuff and play. But its like he doesnt like it or something because every time I come home he frantically barks and cries until I get into the house and can let him inside. If he knows I am inside and he is outside he will cry until I bring him in.
When I do keep him in his crate I try to keep 1-2 toys in their, a rope toy and his squeaky duck/monkey to play with but I can definitely try a Kong and see if that helps.
I usually take him out after I get home from work for about 20ish minutes since he's usually out all day long so I take him for a stroll to sniff around/pee on everything. He is a lab mix, I got him as a rescue at about 6 months and they thought he was either lab/pit or lab/beagle. He likes other dogs, we have a 5 month old female chihuahua who he will play with but he prefers human interaction over dogs. Don't get me wrong, he is very friendly with other animals, but he'll pick playing with me over most dogs/cats. He can definitely be off leash around other animals if the dog park is fenced but at the unfenced ones I keep him on leash.
Ok, so i keep him in the crate bc I live with 2 other people and if i don't put him in there he will sneak onto the beds/couches to sleep/roll around all day haha. But we just recently moved so I have been keeping him outside (we have a decent size fenced backyard) during the day while I am at work if weather permits to give him some room to stretch his legs and smell stuff and play. But its like he doesnt like it or something because every time I come home he frantically barks and cries until I get into the house and can let him inside. If he knows I am inside and he is outside he will cry until I bring him in.
When I do keep him in his crate I try to keep 1-2 toys in their, a rope toy and his squeaky duck/monkey to play with but I can definitely try a Kong and see if that helps.
I usually take him out after I get home from work for about 20ish minutes since he's usually out all day long so I take him for a stroll to sniff around/pee on everything. He is a lab mix, I got him as a rescue at about 6 months and they thought he was either lab/pit or lab/beagle. He likes other dogs, we have a 5 month old female chihuahua who he will play with but he prefers human interaction over dogs. Don't get me wrong, he is very friendly with other animals, but he'll pick playing with me over most dogs/cats. He can definitely be off leash around other animals if the dog park is fenced but at the unfenced ones I keep him on leash.
Hi. The biggest cure for separation anxiety is ensuring your dog has enough physical exertion (exercise) to keep him calm for the periods when he is alone. In addition to this, things that will keep the dog occupied for the hours he is left alone are also useful, but this is secondary. There are other matters to consider too, such as helping him acquire emotional independence from you, though from what you have said I think this may not be such a big issue.
Is there a reason you crate him when you are not there? Have you tried leaving the crate open while you are at work? If yes, what happens? If no, then maybe try it - just for a very short period at first (say while you are out for half an hour). If that is successful, increase the time slowly until the crate is open for the full 8 hours.
If that's not successful, try a Kong. You can buy these from most good pet stores. Smear a little peanut butter inside it - or anything really that you know your dog loves - and this will certainly occupy him for an hour or so, relieving some of the boredom. You might also try leaving a radio on at a fairly low volume - sometimes just the sound of a human voice is quite calming on dogs, even if it's not the owner's own voice.
How often do you take your dog out for walks (please be honest about this)? How long are the walks and what time(s) of the day do you take him out? How long do the walks take in minutes? What breed is your dog? What is your dog's behaviour like when he is with other dogs, such as off leash at a park?
Tony
Is there a reason you crate him when you are not there? Have you tried leaving the crate open while you are at work? If yes, what happens? If no, then maybe try it - just for a very short period at first (say while you are out for half an hour). If that is successful, increase the time slowly until the crate is open for the full 8 hours.
If that's not successful, try a Kong. You can buy these from most good pet stores. Smear a little peanut butter inside it - or anything really that you know your dog loves - and this will certainly occupy him for an hour or so, relieving some of the boredom. You might also try leaving a radio on at a fairly low volume - sometimes just the sound of a human voice is quite calming on dogs, even if it's not the owner's own voice.
How often do you take your dog out for walks (please be honest about this)? How long are the walks and what time(s) of the day do you take him out? How long do the walks take in minutes? What breed is your dog? What is your dog's behaviour like when he is with other dogs, such as off leash at a park?
Tony
Thanks for your response. I will be taking him to the vet as soon as I can get an appt. I'm not a vet by any means, but I think for the most party he is physically fine. He runs around, goes up and down the stairs no problem, and rolls all over the carpet back and forth playing with his toys.
I am glad to hear that dogs don't so much suffer from depression as much as anxiety. I do work 8 hours a day/5 days a week, and when I am not at home he has a little crate like cage he sleeps in, so I hope he doesn't get upset because he is often in there. However even when we may be relaxing in the house he'll go lay in there and nap, so I'm not sure.
If it is indeed separation anxiety, because he tends to whine most often whenever left alone or when he can't see anyone, would you mind explaining what some suggestions would be with that?
Thank you!!
I am glad to hear that dogs don't so much suffer from depression as much as anxiety. I do work 8 hours a day/5 days a week, and when I am not at home he has a little crate like cage he sleeps in, so I hope he doesn't get upset because he is often in there. However even when we may be relaxing in the house he'll go lay in there and nap, so I'm not sure.
If it is indeed separation anxiety, because he tends to whine most often whenever left alone or when he can't see anyone, would you mind explaining what some suggestions would be with that?
Thank you!!
Hi. There are things that should be checked first, before you consider this may be a psychological problem. First, check his eyes for any cloudiness. If a dog starts to lose it's sight, it will often whine in fear/anxiety, because an important sense is being undermined.
Second, the vet will check him for physical problems, and I would advise having bloodwork done, just to be sure. The vet should take a small amount of blood, have it analysed (some vets can do this in-house if they have the equipment), and the results can tell us a lot about any physical ailments that may be occurring.
If he is confirmed to be physically fine ... then it's most likely going to be an anxiety issue. I will be happy to help guide you through managing and ultimately resolving this problem, if you like, but it's not easy on owners - particularly in the first few weeks of treatment. Unfortunately, it could be a separation anxiety issue, and curing this involves being quite strict about how you deal with your best friend.
Dogs don't get depressed, as such, though the symptoms they present can seem like depression. They do however suffer from fear and anxiety, which are more often the case and more closely related to the emotion we have as depression. The good thing is, dogs live for the moment, quite literally, so almost all psychological issues can be resolved, given patience and consistency.
Let me know what your vet says. Good luck. Tony
Second, the vet will check him for physical problems, and I would advise having bloodwork done, just to be sure. The vet should take a small amount of blood, have it analysed (some vets can do this in-house if they have the equipment), and the results can tell us a lot about any physical ailments that may be occurring.
If he is confirmed to be physically fine ... then it's most likely going to be an anxiety issue. I will be happy to help guide you through managing and ultimately resolving this problem, if you like, but it's not easy on owners - particularly in the first few weeks of treatment. Unfortunately, it could be a separation anxiety issue, and curing this involves being quite strict about how you deal with your best friend.
Dogs don't get depressed, as such, though the symptoms they present can seem like depression. They do however suffer from fear and anxiety, which are more often the case and more closely related to the emotion we have as depression. The good thing is, dogs live for the moment, quite literally, so almost all psychological issues can be resolved, given patience and consistency.
Let me know what your vet says. Good luck. Tony
I have a dog, about to be 4 years old who has lately (within the last couple months) started whining non-stop. He cries all the time unless I am in his sight, and sometimes even if I am in his sight. I used to think it was his way of telling me he needs to go out but I'm not sure any more. It makes any living situation I am in difficult if there are other people involved, and is frustrating to me as well, as I have no idea what could be wrong. I'm about to take him to the vet and see if he's depressed or something. Anyone have any ideas for me to try? They would me much appreciated!!!
Hi and congratulations. Steph, this is the same problem ... Sarah is over-protecting, which is part of her anxiety syndrome. Please address the first suggestions I made - and tell me about Leo - and answer the questions I asked - then we can move on, if that's what you want to do. The anxiety won't go away. If you leave it, it will just get gradually worse. Tony
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