# depression caused by new dog?



## tricia beaver (Jul 16, 2011)

So about 2 weeks ago I could a dog while walking my two dogs. he had no tag so I took him home with us and made up flyers. no one has come to claim him so he is still with us.

when we first brought him home, both my girls (Koda: husky and Dusty: a husky/lab mix) were excited and played with him. but after a couple days dusty stopped wanting to play with him. stopped really playing all together. dust is usually the first into every game, she has even grabbed the tug a war rope and shoved it in the cats face a couple times. she LOVEs to play! but now I grab the rope and she just looks at me and lays her head back on the floor.

I have noticed that koda usually plays with the other dog now, when it was only koda and dusty before.

I bought a Chase-it (mychaseit.com) 2 days ago to cheer dust up. she loves chasing small things but usually she gets into trouble for it (not that she ever listened when it came to chasing stuff) but I decided she needed a toy she could chase. I took her to the meadow across the road, in the woods a ways and ran the chase-it along the ground in front of her. she just sat down and looked at me, then went to sniff the bushes.

I don't know if I should take her to a vet or what.... She isn't acting herselve but I don't know if its cause of the other dog or if something is physically wrong with her.

any ideas?
could she really just be depressed about the other dog?


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## xellil (Apr 4, 2011)

I really don't know. I've brought alot of dogs in with other dogs, and i've never had one do that. But I know dogs definitely have emotions, I think it's entirely possible.


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## BoxerParty (Nov 9, 2011)

I think it's possible. It's a big change, and she's probably just needing some time to adjust. If you are in a position to take her to the vet to err on the side of caution, it couldn't hurt.


That being said, the title of this thread made me think you meant _humans_ being depressed in the wake of a new puppy. That I know all about


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## Kat (Jul 12, 2011)

I also thought this was about humans getting sad over a new dog lol. 

It could be possible... maybe they are jealous of the new addition? Did you take the new dog to the vet to make sure he doesnt have anything like worms or something like that?


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## xchairity_casex (Oct 8, 2011)

how is the new dog with toys? is he pushy or does he try to take them all for himself? if another dog has a toy does he try taking it away and wont stop till he gets it?
is he pushy about playing (like yuor girl shoving toys in your cats face?) does he do that to the otehr dogs or chase them around with the toys?

if you said yes to any of those behaviors it could be the cause of your girls odd behavior. if koda is natrually a follower having him be "pushy" about the toys could turn her off completly and make her feel like toys=bad situation.

when i first brought Cesar in he tried possesing all the toys and when he tried to play was very pushy about it my sisters poodle kira soon wouldnt touch any of the toys and would leave him be if he had a toy and wanted her to play although he wasnt aggressive or mean about possesing the toys it was still enough to make her uncmofortable once i took control of all toys and wouldnt let him constantly snatch toys away from ehr she relaxed and began playing WITH him even getting him started playing again.

so if your first dog is relaxed and more dominant of a dog then your girl koda and the new dog is also dominant it could explain why she is no longer comfortable and your other dog is.


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## MollyWoppy (Mar 19, 2010)

Ok, I want to start off by telling you that I don't think you are imagining things. Many years ago I had a dog who was my one and only for 13 years. Then, I rescued another dog, one that was beaten and in bad shape, I felt like I had no other choice, she wouldn't have survived otherwise. My old dog, she went into depression. Her tail was down the whole time, when I tried to cuddle her like I'd done for 13 years, she would get up and walk away. 
I was really careful with the new dog, making sure she slept in the laundry, the old dog slept with me, the old dog got fed first, got taken places whilst the new dog stayed behind, more treats. Took her to the vet, but nothing was wrong that he could pick up. Nothing I did made a difference.
I'm at a loss to know what to suggest. Hopefully Dust is younger than my old dog was, maybe if you really make a concentrated effort to spend time alone with her, make a huge fuss of her all the time, I just don't know.
I"m just telling you this as I want you to take this seriously. Don't think you are humanising Dusty, I know for sure that this can happen.


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## DaneMama (Jun 27, 2008)

Dogs can definitely go through depression...which it sounds like that may be the case. Honestly I wouldn't pay much attention to the behavior or it will get worse. Over time it will subside as they learn the new pack dynamic with this dog. Best of luck!


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## bridget246 (Oct 26, 2011)

Is that chase it like a flirt pole? I made my own awhile back. Bridget liked it but it didn't serve it's purpose which was to play with her without me having to move much.


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## Liz (Sep 27, 2010)

You all make me feel so mean! Even with my kids I am more the "suck it up and move on" type. Not a lot of sympathy. We have a lot of dogs in and out of the house because of petsitting so I never really worry about moodiness brought on by a visitor or new pup. I guess I am just mean.:shocked:


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## MollyWoppy (Mar 19, 2010)

The reason why it upsets me so much is that my 14yo old dog died within 3 months of us getting the pup. It just broke my heart, I killed her. Her tail was down the whole time, she withdrew from me, I knew her inside out, we did everything together for 14 years. I'll never forgive myself for that.


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## porchpotty (Aug 10, 2011)

She feels depressed. She must be jealous. But still, I would suggest taking her to the vet for chances are, she must be in pain too or it could be that she is having other health problems. You don't know the history of the new-found dog. We could not tell if the dog is suffering from an infection or anything that may be transmissible. It's better to be cautious than worry more in the future.


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## tricia beaver (Jul 16, 2011)

the new dog is definitly pushy and tries to guard stuff. I did take the new dog to the vet and had him checked out. koda tries to guard food so I'm use to dealing with it. unfortunitly the new dog tries to charge cats that get to close to his food, which gets him in a WHOLE lot of trouble. 

I took my girls with me to a friends place and let them in their yard, she's feeling better now, more perky. Dust and koda got to go to the lake for a bit as well. 

I always feed my girls before him and let them outside first.


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