[HannahandCoco]

Hi there,

I have a 1 year old Staffordshire Bull Terrier x American Akita who is coming to the end of her first season. For the past few days she has seemed really depressed and just not her usual self. She's usually very happy and full of energy, she loves her walks, playing fetch or tug of war and of course loves her food. Lately she has seemed disinterested in all of these things and instead curls up on the sofa looking sorry for herself and sleeps.
She is a healthy weight and is wormed and vaccinated up to date. She is showered with love and affection and has a happy, stable home. She is walked twice a day.
I have just spent a few days with my mum and sister, I took my dog with me. My mum has a 6 year old spayed female American Akita, both dogs get along well with each other and enjoyed long walks and playtime together.
Is her depression a result of her season or is she missing our other family dog? I've read that depression is normal during heat but she is so far away from her usual self that I am worried. Is there anything I can do to help her? Any advice is appreciated, I just want her to be OK.
We plan to have her spayed, I was only waiting as I had heard you should let them have their first season for health reasons but I have since found out this is an old wives tale

Thanks

 

[Esand]

Mine went through some mood swings as well. Just wait it out and see if she gets better.

 

[Shandula]

Heidi also had some strange moods. Wait for her season to complete and see how she feels.

 

[HannahandCoco]

Follow up

Hi again,

Wanted to follow up on this as I felt it was very important. we took Coco to the vets and it turned out she is very poorly, nothing to do with her season. She could have meningitis although it's not confirmed. It could be food allergies or a stomach bug, like I say we're still not sure. The vet wasn't happy that I hadn't brought her in earlier. Another 24 hours and she'd have died from dehydration. He said you must always notice a big change in your dog and bring them straight in. He wasn't happy that I'd been looking on Google and thought it was OK to pass off her symptoms as something else. Please, to anyone reading, if you notice a change in your dog, get them to the vets. It could have been too late for us, thank God we took her in