Beagles are generally very friendly and carefree dogs. They love spending time with their human companions and other dogs in their pack, and usually are very excited about everything in life, especially as young puppies.
For this reason, it can be a bit jarring to see your beagle exhibiting potential signs of depression.
When it comes to beagle depression, it’s important to know what signs to look for, and to understand what could be causing this underlying condition.
Additionally, there are a few fairly common dog traits that could be confusing you as a parent.
For example, beagles can be overweight, especially as they get older. This can result in a general lethargy that’s probably more of a physical problem, rather than a mental one.
In this article I’ll dive deep into the signs of depression in beagles, what could be causing these symptoms, and how you can treat or even cure your beagle’s depression.
Signs of Depression In Beagles
There are a few clear signs of depression in beagles that you’ll want to look out for. These most often include:
- Changes in Eating Habits
When beagles experience depression, changes in their eating habits are usually one of the first telling signs.
This can either come in the form of significantly undereating and showing a lack of interest in their own food, to the point of losing weight. Or it can manifest as overeating, binge eating, and generally having an increased sense of hunger day to day.
It’s pretty similar to how depression affects eating habits of humans, and while it isn’t always a guarantee that your beagle is depressed, it should definitely prompt you as their owner to consider getting a check up with a vet and looking deeper at other aspects of their health.
Over and undereating can be symptoms of a variety of conditions, so even if it doesn’t end up being depression, you shouldn’t ignore this kind of behavioral change.
- Withdrawn Behavior Around People or Other Dogs
One of the most obvious signs that your dog is depressed is a loss of interest in other people or dogs.
This can manifest in many different ways depending on the general temperament of the dog, but regardless of how much time has passed since your last interaction together, if you notice that your pooch is generally less excited to see you or people in general, then it’s a pretty good indication that they may be suffering from some degree of canine clinical depression.
This is even more apparent if their reaction to other dogs, especially dogs they know well, starts to change.
If your dog isn’t excited by visits from dogs that they enjoy hanging out with, it would be wise to consider having them checked out by a vet.
- Lack of Interest in Usual Activities or Playtime
Most healthy dogs are excited to spend time with their owners and participate in their favorite activities with them.
If your beagle isn’t doing these things anymore without prompting from you, it’s a good bet that something is going on with them mentally.
Usually beagles have favorite toys or activities that they’ll want to initiate with you, like bringing you their favorite ball or whining to get access to certain parts of the house.
If this behavior stops, it could be a sign that they’re starting to experience symptoms of depression.
- Changes in Sleeping Habits
If you’ve noticed that your hound has either gotten into the habit of sleeping more than usual during the day, or if they have started sleeping less at night time than normal, then these can be good indicators that there may be something going on with their mental state as well.
However, these two symptoms can also stem from a variety of other medical conditions, so it’s important to take them in for a general check up with their vet before jumping to conclusions based on their sleep patterns.
You should take other things into consideration if their sleep patterns are off, like if they’re getting enough exercise during the day, if their diet has changed, or if there have been any recent external stressors that got added to their life.
Causes of Depression In Beagles
If you think your beagle may be displaying symptoms of depression, you should look to these potential common causes:
- Large Life Changes
As you may have already learned as a beagle owner, this breed is highly routine-oriented. Any big disruptions to their way of life can have some significant emotional impacts.
Things like newborn babies coming into the house, moving to a new house or neighborhood, and even getting another puppy sibling are all considered potential triggers of clinical depression.
Like people, some dogs are just more predisposed to bouts of depression when faced with these triggers, and your beagle may be in that group.
- Chronic Pain & Illness
Chronic pain from illnesses or injury can be a big contributor of depressive symptoms, especially if the pain has lasted for a considerable amount of time.
This pain can often contribute to a decrease in activity levels and general loss of appetite.
If you suspect that your beagle may be struggling with depression, you should think on any recent injuries that may not have been fully resolved.
For example, if they hurt their paw recently, they may still be struggling with chronic pain, even if they don’t still have a limp or outwardly show signs of discomfort.
- Grief
Dealing with the loss of a family member or other significant event can cause a lot of grief for people, including our pets.
The feelings of sadness and loss can manifest themselves in a variety of different symptoms, including a lack of appetite and an unwillingness to participate in activities that they would normally enjoy.
Like people, most pets can recover from grief within a reasonable amount of time as long as the right support is provided from their family unit.
Grief can be a difficult thing for pets to process.
If your beagle’s demeanor has changed following a large loss event, it’s likely that grief is contributing to clinical depression.
- Trauma
Beagles can have negative mental health impacts from traumatic events, the same as humans can.
As animals, dogs aren’t always treated right, especially if they’ve had to be rescued off the street or from an abusive environment.
Even if your beagle has been living comfortably at your home for years, they can still exhibit post-traumatic stress, which can contribute to depressive episodes fairly frequently.
If you know your beagle has experienced trauma earlier in their lives, or even if something traumatic happened recently, it could be a trigger of their showing of depression symptoms.
- Social Isolation
Loneliness is a very common cause of human depression, and it can unfortunately be something that many pets feel on a daily basis.
A lack of social contact can often contribute to a decreased level of activity and a reluctance to engage with others, even their owners.
It’s not uncommon for dogs to isolate themselves when they are feeling depressed because they aren’t necessarily looking to connect with others.
However, if your dog is starting to isolate themselves more frequently than they normally do, it’s always a good idea to try and break up their routine and get them having play dates with other pets and even other people.
- Extended Periods without Exercise or Outdoor Activity
Dogs need to get plenty of exercise every day in order to stay healthy both physically and mentally.
If they are not getting adequate amounts of physical activity and running around outside, they are at an increased risk of becoming depressed.
Even short periods of inactivity throughout the day can contribute to an overall decrease in mood for some dogs.
Sometimes something as simple as going for a walk around the block can help stimulate their minds as well as their bodies.
How to Treat Depression in Beagles
While it can be very discouraging to learn that your beagle has depression, fortunately it can be often easy to treat with enough effort. Some of the most effective ways to treat depression in beagles include:
- Mental and Physical Stimulation
One of the most common ways to treat canine depression is to give them additional mental stimulation and exercise.
If your dog is generally reluctant to participate in anything with you that they usually love to do, try introducing some new activities into the mix to get their mind off of whatever might be bothering them.
This can include things like taking them on walks more often instead of letting them run around in the backyard by themselves, or even giving them a daily puzzle toy to play with that will encourage them to use their brain instead of just going with the motions.
Even if you don’t have yard access, there are a lot of great ways to help get your beagle stimulation and entertainment indoors.
- Improved Diet
An improved diet can go a long way towards helping your pet feel better mentally as well as physically.
While proper diet and exercise are important for any dog’s overall health, they can be especially beneficial for those that are suffering from clinical depression and lethargy.
Try changing up your dog’s diet to something lower in carbohydrates and more nutrient dense instead to help give them more energy throughout the day.
If your dog doesn’t eat their food willingly anymore, try adding some new flavors and textures to help re-engage them with their meal routine.
- Enrichment
Providing enrichment activities for your pets is one of the best ways to improve their overall quality of life. You can turn almost anything into a fun game for your dog with the right level of engagement from you.
Some of my favorite ways to enrich my beagles include:
– Hide & Seek
– Playing Frisbee
– Interactive Play Toys
– Puzzle Toys
– Fetch Games
– Tug of War
– Hiking
– Visiting Other Pets
- More Attention
Dogs can feel lonely just like we do, and this can lead to depressive episodes for them as well.
It’s important to pay as much attention to your dog as you can to help them feel like they aren’t being ignored or forgotten about by your family.
Try spending some extra one-on-one time with them each day playing their favorite games or taking them on extra walks to keep them stimulated and engaged.
You should also do your best to avoid giving them too much alone time because this could make them feel more isolated
- More Frequent Access to Outdoors
Your dog needs access to fresh air and outdoor activity as much as they need food and water to survive.
If you notice that your dogs are showing signs of clinical depression and aren’t getting enough exercise outdoors, you should try to get them to spend more time outdoors during the day to get them out of your house and stimulate their minds
As a hunting breed, beagles love having jobs to do and yearn to use the full potential of their strong sense of smell.
The only way they can really do this is by going outside and smelling the wonderful world around them!
- Medications
For severe cases of canine depression, medications can be an effective way to help alleviate some of the symptoms and help get your dogs back to their normal self.
There are a variety of different medications available for treating canine depressive symptoms, but be sure to discuss these options with your veterinarian before giving any medication to your pet.
There are a wide range of side effects associated with different medications for dogs, so be sure to do your research on the different options before making a decision about what will be best for your beagle.
Final Thoughts
It can be hard to deal with when your animal companion is feeling down in the dumps, so it’s important to pay attention to their behavior and moods so you can recognize the signs before they become severe.
If you suspect that your beagle may be suffering from clinical depression, take them to the vet as soon as you can so they can get a proper diagnosis and start treating the disorder as soon as possible.
As long as you pay attention to their symptoms, and keep these common causes at the top of your mind, you’ll have everything you need to give your beagle the best chance at a long, happy life.