I think my Jewels is depressed
 

A while back my Jewels just stopped jumping on the couch. Since then she has progressively become more and more reclusive. Now she spends alot of her day laying under this little couch we have. She wont come out when I call her she will come out when her daddy comes home she is a daddys girl. She is eating, drinking and pooping fine and I have taken her to the vet and he says nothing is wrong with her. What can I do to bring her outof this funk. As soon as its warmer I am going to take her out on walks. She just looks so sad

This makes me so sad to hear. I hope and pray she is not coming down with an illness and that she just has cabin fever. Hugs to you!

How old is jewels?

I'm sorry to hear that. Maybe something changed in her environment? Did you do anything differently around the house?

You know your dog best, and you know she's not acting right. She may have twisted her back or could have a disk problem. Is she painful on her spine anywhere? Feel each vertebra gently (tell her it's a massage), they should be evenly spaced with no swelling in between. If she gets sensitive or very painful between the end of the rib cage spine side and the hips, it could be a sign of pancreatitis. My last guess would be anal gland issues, due to this weather and decreased exercise. I'd get blood work and x-rays done, to be on the safe side. Hope she's feeling better soon.

awww Sweet Baby...Chach - how old IS Jewels?

Chanel is now 12 I just figured out and she has taken to being under things more and more - but she does come out with a 'certain' call of mine -

I make it a game...and keep asking "Where is that Chanel?...I'm lookin and lookin and lookin" and about the 4th "I'm lookin" she will come out all squirmy and happy - then I say really loud - "THERE IS THAT BABY CHANEL" and she comes as fast as she can to get a kiss -

it's worth a try - you will sound silly but it's worked for me for years -

Tip - Use the goofiest happiest voice you have...and if she starts coming out try giving her a small yummy - then exchange that with kisses right eye level

Good luck!

I hope it's just cabin fever. Does she act more normal in the evenings when your dh is home? Pixie was acting depressed for awhile, took her to vet (not her usual vet) did bloodwork and said everything looked fine. She continued to act depressed, the only symptom. She ate normally etc. I took her in to her usual vet and she did more bloodwork, urinalysis and stool test. Urine came back with protein in it. My vet wanted to check her blood pressure and it was very high. Did more testing, went to a specialist and she was diagnosed with protein losing nephritis. I only say this because her only symptom was depression. I felt a little silly saying she was acting depressed but we know our babies. Luckily my vet is very thorough and took my concerns seriously. The other vet did not. I hope Jewels is just sick if the winter like the rest of us.

Awww, I was also curious about her age. Older dogs can adopt such behavioral changes. It isn't necessarily depression, even tho it may look that way from a human perspective. But do check out her physical self. Dogs don't like to show pain or weakness. They will retreat. Hope everything is ok!!!

Sounds concerning. Reluctance to jump is often associated with pain. Sometimes vets can't even isolate it. More of a work up and maybe even a pain med trial need to be done (assuming all labs are normal).

I don't think dogs get cabin fever. Don't get me wrong, I think fresh air and sunshine is great for dogs, but Jewels could be dull for another reason. I hope you figure out what it is.

Pshhh, tell that to Jackson. Although he has the opposite problem. He gets so bored, he will start flinging things around and chasing them, or finding kid toys to get into and chew, or whining at me, or scratching at his toybox. He gets insanely bored when in the house for more than 5 days at a time w/o doing anything lol. It's actually cute because after a few days of not doing anything, and then when we have a really fun day, either at the park, or on a walk, or whatever, he gets so much happier. He will start licking my arm(he's not a kisser) and my face as if to tell me thanks.

But on a serious note, I think we know our dogs best. And while I do think dogs can get depressed (I've seen it when owners die, or other dogmates die, etc), I wouldn't say it's normal per say. My dads dog, Lilly, can sometimes get in funks, days where she acts sad, or sick, but we can't ever pinpoint a problem. And then the next morning she wakes up totally fine and normal. Who knows. Dogs hide pain very well. And it's so hard to explain to a vet sometimes, who doesn't know the dog as well, and bloodwork is coming back fine, etc... I hope you find the root of the problem.

The not jumping would worry me about maybe pain when she jumps or even when she gets down. Did the vet check her knees? I guess it could be depression from lack of sun shine. I have seen lights that are suppose to be like the sun and heard of it helping people not be so depressed in the winter time maybe it would help with Jewels? I bought one for Callie at Joann Fabrics a year ago but apparently put it in such a great place I can't even find it.

Poor Jewels! Praying you can figure out what has her down. I agree with others above that the not jumping is concerning and might be a clue that something physical is going on -- although she had a recent vet check.