Yes — dogs can get depressed. They don't experience clinical depression the way people describe it, but they do go through periods of withdrawal, low energy and lost interest that look unmistakably like it, usually triggered by loss, upheaval or boredom.
The important part is that almost every sign of depression in dogs is also a sign of physical illness. So the first step is never behavioural — it's ruling out pain.
Signs of depression in dogs
What you're looking for is a change from your dog's normal, sustained over days rather than hours:
- Withdrawal — hiding, sleeping somewhere new, avoiding the family
- Loss of interest in play, walks, toys or favourite people
- Appetite change — usually eating less, sometimes more
- Sleeping more, or restlessness and disrupted sleep
- Low energy and reluctance to move
- Clinginess — the opposite pattern, following you everywhere
- Excessive licking or grooming, sometimes to the point of bald patches
- Changes in vocalisation — more whining, or unusual quietness
- House-soiling in a previously reliable dog
Rule out illness first
This is the part most articles skip. Lethargy, appetite loss and withdrawal are how dogs show pain, and pain is far more common than depression. Conditions that look like low mood include:
- Arthritis and joint pain — especially in dogs who've stopped wanting walks
- Dental disease — often missed, and genuinely painful
- Hypothyroidism — classically causes lethargy and weight change
- Infection, injury or internal illness
- Canine cognitive dysfunction in seniors
- Side effects of a new medication
A dog who suddenly seems sad needs a vet exam before a behaviour plan. If there's a physical cause, treating it fixes the mood too.
What triggers depression in dogs
Once illness is excluded, the usual causes are changes in their social world:
- Loss of a companion — another pet or a person. Dogs grieve, and it can last weeks.
- A change in household — someone moving out, a new baby, a new pet
- Moving house
- Routine disruption — a return to the office after a long period at home is a common one
- Reduced exercise or stimulation, including after an injury that restricts activity
- Your own mood. Dogs read us closely and are affected by sustained stress or low mood in the household.
- Less daylight in winter, which for many dogs also means shorter walks
How to help a depressed dog
- Vet first. Always.
- Hold the routine. Predictable meals, walks and bedtime give a dog something stable to anchor to.
- Increase exercise, modestly. Physical activity helps mood in dogs as in people. Sniffing walks — letting them explore at their own pace — are more mentally tiring than brisk ones.
- Add enrichment. Puzzle feeders, snuffle mats, scatter-feeding, short training sessions. Ten minutes of problem-solving does more than an hour of company.
- Reward the behaviour you want. Praise engagement and activity. Try not to lavish attention on withdrawal — it's a natural instinct, but it can accidentally teach a dog that hiding earns comfort.
- Reintroduce social contact gradually if they've become withdrawn — a calm known dog rather than a busy park.
- Give it time after a bereavement. Most dogs adjust over weeks. Rushing a new companion in can add stress rather than relieve it.
When to go back to the vet
- Signs lasting more than about two weeks with no improvement
- Refusing food for more than a day, or any weight loss
- Self-directed licking or chewing that damages skin
- Any new aggression, or fear that wasn't there before
- Sudden severe change, particularly in an older dog
Behavioural medication does exist for dogs and can help in genuinely persistent cases, but it belongs with a vet or veterinary behaviourist alongside a behaviour plan — never on its own, and never from a human medicine cabinet.
The short answer
Dogs get depressed, most often after loss, upheaval or under-stimulation. The signs are real but they overlap almost completely with the signs of pain and illness, so a vet check comes first. After that, routine, exercise and enrichment do most of the work, and most dogs come back to themselves within a few weeks.
This article is general information, not veterinary advice. If your dog's behaviour has changed, speak to your veterinarian.