Dogs and Seasonal Affective Disorder

[Catherine]

I think of it as the hibernation effect. For some animals staying in and sleeping more is a good idea. I makes them less vulnerable to the cold weather. It has been a bad winter. It has been very cold and often quite dangerously icy with a lot of snow. So walks are harder to get and probably even the dog doesn't want to be out too long.

I think what gets to us is how short the days are and how little sun we get. It is dark when we go to work and dark when we go home. Even the dogs miss the sunshine.

Still some people and some animals are affected more seriously. The darkness makes them actually depressed. For people, light therapy works. It does have to be a very bright light. I would think it would make a dog feel better too. Of course a trip to a warmer country might do the trick even better.