Symptoms of mental illness in dogs. Have you heard of these mental illnesses?

Jul 26,2025
5Min

Dog mental illness: depression

Speaking of depression, everyone is familiar with it, and many people are patients with depression. As human beings, we may be sad and suffer from depression due to excessive pressure, unsatisfactory work, and unsatisfactory love. In fact, dogs are the same and can suffer from psychological problems due to their owners' neglect and other incidents. Dogs cannot speak. Even if their physical and mental states undergo changes similar to those of human depression, it is often difficult for owners to observe them. Most of them will only think that the little guy has grown up and his personality has become calmer.

Dog mental illness: obsessive-compulsive disorder

People have more or less obsessive-compulsive disorder, such as making sure to lock the door and checking it again, and always remaining skeptical about what they have done. Not sure if it has been done. The same goes for dogs, and dogs’ obsessive-compulsive disorder is easier for their owners to detect and identify. Although the symptoms displayed by each animal are different, they all have the same characteristics, that is, aimlessly repeating an action or behavior, such as "biting the tail", "excessive grooming", etc. If it is found that the dog has been exhibiting some kind of abnormal behavior, the owner should promptly take the dog for treatment. Dogs will repeat this action all day long, even without eating, drinking or sleeping. In extreme cases, they will cause serious self-injury to themselves. In fact, it is a mental illness that urgently needs treatment.

Dog mental illness: anxiety disorder

Anxiety and fear themselves are very conducive to survival emotions. When animals encounter danger, these emotions keep them alert and alert, allowing them to avoid danger as quickly as possible. The problem is that some animals still show anxiety and fear even when there is no threat, which will have many negative effects on their lives. Some dogs will behave particularly anxiously when their owners leave home, such as spinning in circles, barking, etc. This is a typical anxiety disorder.

Dog mental illness: "hypothetical" syndrome

Some dogs will be overly afraid of specific things, such as cars, firecrackers, people wearing hats, and even small balls, stuffed toys, etc. Completely harmless to humans and animals. This is not necessarily because they have been stimulated by something, just like people who are afraid of snakes may not have actually been bitten by snakes. The specific reasons for fear are difficult to trace.

Dog Mental Illness: Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder

I believe many friends have heard that service dogs help retired soldiers suffering from PTSD (Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, PTSD) The story of returning to normal life, but I never thought that military dogs returning from the battlefield might also suffer from similar psychological abnormalities. Military dogs retired from conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan were found to have symptoms of suspected PTSD after returning to the United Statesshape. These dogs are extremely sensitive and are afraid of jumping into cars or being near bearded men, making it difficult for them to return to their normal lives.

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