Does Your Dog Get the Winter Blues?

After the joyous glow of the holiday season ends, the festive lights come down, the tree is stored or discarded – and we wait for some hopeful sign of spring through the gray months of January, February, and March, the winter blues can set in.

Many of us get the winter blues while waiting for warmer temperatures and sunny skies to return. Some of us mope around the house, whining, and making nuisance of ourselves with our restlessness.

Others get seriously depressed to the point where daily activities are difficult to perform. If these feelings are deep enough, the condition is called "seasonal affective disorder" or "SAD."

SAD is a disorder different from "the blahs," those moments when we feel generally down. Although not fully understood, SAD is though to be caused by a lack of bright light affecting hormonal balances. Affected people may have bouts of unexplained crying, desire for sweets, excessive fatigue, lethargy, depression, anxiety, and mood swings.

Do our dogs suffer from the same malaise? Dr. Nick Dodman, professor and the Director of the Behavior Clinic at Tufts University School of Veterinary Medicine, explains Here