Do Dogs Suffer from Seasonal Affective Disorder or SAD?

Why get up?

It is now 8:15 a.m. and the clocks were just turned back an hour. Lately, I've been having trouble getting up in the morning. I just can't get motivated. It's dark outside and it's rainy today. Why get up?

I go to bed early too. Why stay up? My owner is always out going to things like Dia de los Muertos parties and to dinner with her good friend Walking Wendy. Sure, I get a walk during the day, but lately those have been pretty short. So why get up?

There's information out there on how the shortage of daylight hours affects us dogs. Here's an excerpt from an article written by a psychologist. "Do dogs suffer from SAD? Some data comes from a survey conducted by a leading veterinary charity in the UK.  PDSA (The People's Dispensary for Sick Animals) found that approximately 40% of dog owners saw a considerable downturn in their pet's moods during the winter months. In addition half of the dog owners felt that their dogs slept longer, with around two in five reporting their pets to be less active overall. According to the survey, the symptoms are not specific to dogs, since one in three cat owners also claim that their pet seemed "sadder" and less playful during the wintertime. For both dog and cat owners one in four of those surveyed reported that their pet's appetites increased in the winter." You've got to read the whole article!

So what can be done about SAD in dogs? Well, about the same that is done for people. Brighten the lights, exercise and don't over-eat. That's pretty simplistic but, aside from a trip to Arizona, this might be useful in helping dogs like me. Here's more information on that.

All this is very good advice but I don't like the part where they suggest that I cut back on my eating. UNFAIR!

I'll try and stay up. Really I will!

Love, Sleepy Cinnamon