I think I have a depressed dog

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itbrokeagain

itbrokeagain

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10 Year 15 Year
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219
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Location
Amelia (east of cincy) ohio
We rescued a lab eagle mix from a local shelter. He actually came from a foster home associated with the shelter. They told us before hand that he is very well behaved and a great dog. We got him home and pretty much all he does is lay in his bed. He gets up every once in a while to make his rounds under the table after the kids have eaten but that's about it. We have had him for 5 days now and he is 4 months old. Should I just wait for him to come around or can I do something?

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He gets played with. I have 4 kids. They are constantly playing with him. When you don't interact with him he just lays there. When you are playing with him he doesn't run around and jump and play he just kinda slowly follows you around and might chase a ball once or twice. This is my first dog in 10 years
 
Cannon88 said:
Just give him some time, he may just be adjusting.
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Agree, and he's just a pup. Five days is not enough time for a character indictment. :meh:

Personally, I prefer mellow dogs. If he stays that way, consider it a blessing.:D
 
Maybe he needs a job/purpose, have you tried doing any training with him so he can figure out what's expected of him and where he fits in? Simple sit/stay/come stuff just to get a feel for each other? Sounds like you have a busy household with 4 kids, maybe he's overwhelmed a bit?
 
He does sit when you tell him to. The foster home lady said he was the most well behaved dog she was had. And yes the house does get crazy with four kids but while he is very mellow he doesn't seem bothered by the craziness
 
itbrokeagain said:
He does sit when you tell him to. The foster home lady said he was the most well behaved dog she was had. And yes the house does get crazy with four kids but while he is very mellow he doesn't seem bothered by the craziness
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Sounds like a keeper to me.:cool:
 
we had one Golden we had to give "puppy uppers" to...sometimes it's just their make up....he eventually came around, but if he got any more laid back he would've been in a coma..
 
X3 on giving him more time. Don't be surprised if it takes weeks or months to adjust, especially if he's a rescue. Also try to get him around a monitored pack of other dogs, too, as its good therapy. If there is a good doggie daycare place near you that groups the dogs by their size or behavior, that would be a good place to spend 1 day a week or so for socialization, or more days initially if he is in need of it. That worked wonders for our rescued pooch.
 
we have fostered a few dogs and have also adopted a few....your dog is still finding itself in its new home. Typically, it will take a few months for the dog to open up.

Bond with it, do some positive reinforcement training with it, and try to expose it to as many other people and dogs as you can....


congrats on you for adopting a dog in need.
 
Silly question but have you had the dog checked out by a vet? I ran a animal shelter for three years and your dog may be ill. Hundreds of dogs adopted from shelters around the US, leave those shelters ill only to die later at their new homes. These dogs come into the shelter already sick and depending on their "cuteness factor" they could be adopted on the same day they were brought into the facility. Numerous canine diseases have varying incubation periods, before they become symptomatic leading to the dogs death after making it to their new home. Hopefully it's just a "getting used to your family" and not parvo or distemper. Particularly nasty diseases. Either way if you haven't get your new family member checked out by the vet.
 
He has a vet appointment coming up. He seems to be coming around. He wouldn't eat for a while now he is starting to. Hopefully he is just a calm dog. We will see
 
We rescued our last dog and had the same experience. We specifically searched for an older, calmer adult dog and finally found a 15 pound lhasa apso in Atlanta that was supposedly around 3 years old and the most mellow dog they had ever see.

When we brought him home he acted like you describe and seemed to have a little trouble chewing his food. We assumed he was older than described and took him to the vet to get checked out. It turned out that he was sick(nothing serious) and was actually a mix breed about six months old.

Once they got the illness cleared up he perked right up, started running around like a normal puppy, eating and eventually doubled in weight.
 
itbrokeagain said:
He gets played with. I have 4 kids. They are constantly playing with him. When you don't interact with him he just lays there. When you are playing with him he doesn't run around and jump and play he just kinda slowly follows you around and might chase a ball once or twice. This is my first dog in 10 years
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Barring any health problems and the "honeymoon period" that tends to wear off on rescues when they come out of their shells, some dogs are just really mellow and they don't have a real high activity level. It may look like they're sad but I assure you just being there in a loving home where their needs are getting met and they aren't being abused, your dog is happier than you'll ever know.
 
Dude, how can that dog *not* be happy?

Look at that big cushy bed...
He's got a collar on...
His owner takes him to the vet when they're concerned....
4 kids that play with him constantly....
Crumbs under the table....
He lives INDOORS, not chained up to a tree in the back yard....

He's just minding his manners. Like I said, that could just be for the honeymoon period. It couldn't hurt to go through some basic obedience training if you haven't already in case some of those mild manners wear off.

It probably won't be long before he lets you know what his favorite games/toys/things to do are.
 
ih88hi10 said:
Dude, how can that dog *not* be happy?

Look at that big cushy bed...
He's got a collar on...
His owner takes him to the vet when they're concerned....
4 kids that play with him constantly....
Crumbs under the table....
He lives INDOORS, not chained up to a tree in the back yard....

He's just minding his manners. Like I said, that could just be for the honeymoon period. It couldn't hurt to go through some basic obedience training if you haven't already in case some of those mild manners wear off.

It probably won't be long before he lets you know what his favorite games/toys/things to do are.
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Maybe he just feels guilty about all that good fortune.:hhmm:
 
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