depression and eating

Question
I had two dogs, and one of them *the mother* of my present dog ran away. We have not been able to locate her. However, the dog that we have seems to be going through some form of depression. She used to be very hyper and very snippy. NOW she is very staid, barely barks, and she refuses to eat out of her bowl. When the other dog left, she just wouldn't eat out of her bowl, but now my dog won't even eat unless she's eating directly out of mind hand. Do you have any suggestions about what I can do to 1. make my dog eat her food out of her bowl again and 2. do you have any idea how I can help her get out of this state of depression.

Gratefully

Pier  

Answer
Hello,
She seems to be going in a state of depression because of losing her mother. I am saying this considering everything else is normal of course. Because sometimes when we examine dogs like that, make blood tests, etc,it may turn out to be a completely different study. But considering she is healthy, she is probably feeling lonely, and what you need to do is to take care of her a lot more than you used to, pet her, take her for walks, etc. for much longer hours than before. Also try to give her some different foods that she may like, canned food for example, which is usually something they dont refuse. If these dont work, you may consider taking her to a vet who is specialised in dog psychology, your vet may consider the use of anti-depressants. Please do not hesitate to contact me if you have further questions, and please keep me informed on how it goes. Thank you...