Just as your dog can alert you to an intruder, he or she may also help you recognize a mood shift.
While I helped set up our moose camp deep in the Talkeetna Mountains, my 10-month-old puppy, Lapua — a lanky, 50-pound, Great Pyrenees-husky-boxer mix — set up her own vantage point at the top of the knoll. From her spot, she could watch for any moose, bears, or caribou that might walk up from the ravine below through the swamp east of our camp, and up the hillside.
Lapua knew that this was the entrance to our camp, and what would be the main trail for any intruder, and so she sat on high alert, ready to warn us of any danger. Although we never saw a bear near camp during those two weeks, she frequently barked her alarm when a moose or a curious caribou ventured through the shrubbery along the mountainside above us.
Lapua is not a guard dog by any means, and she certainly is not highly trained. But, just as she did in moose camp, she is somehow able to sense anything that is out-of-sorts in her environment, and she always alerts my husband and me to its presence.
A Natural Sensitivity to Mood Shifts
At home in our living room, where she cuddles on a blanket in the corner with my old dog, Ruby, she senses and responds to any shift in my bipolar moods.
Ruby, old and perhaps accustomed to a decade of living with her human, often quietly gets up and walks into the comforting silence of one of the bedrooms when she hears the slight quake in my voice as my mood begins to shift.
But Lapua, a clumsy, overgrown puppy, hears that change and usually heads in the opposite direction — to my feet. She frequently sits and looks up at me, head tilted and eyes big, as if asking, “What is wrong?”
I have always found comfort in the five dogs I’ve owned since I became an adult, and nearly all of them could sense the changes in my mood, usually before I could even acknowledge the impending mood swing myself.
An Early Warning System
My first puppy, Murphy, an Australian shepherd I adopted from the pound, would look at me with concern as soon as I began to cycle. It was uncanny, how he could sense my mood shifting before I did. And Coleman, my big malamute-German shepherd, saw me through my divorce by offering comfort, leaning his giant, warm body against my legs during my darkest times.
But no dog has ever been quite as sensitive as Lapua. In fact, Lapua knew when I was pregnant before I did. She was only six months old, but suddenly, this puppy began following me everywhere. I mean everywhere. I could not shut the bathroom door without accidentally hitting her. A few days after I noticed her strange new behavior, I found out I was pregnant.
A couple of months later, when I miscarried, she followed me even more closely, and when I came home from the hospital, she lay with me on the couch — silent, warm, and calm. This time, she did not ask what was wrong with her eyes. Again, she knew.
Navigating Bipolar Without Judgment
How does my dog know that I’m having a mood shift before I even do? I don’t know. It may be the smell of increased cortisol in my body, or simply the slightly nervous twinge in my voice.
But when I recognize in Lapua’s eyes that I am indeed having an episode, she has given me a neutral cue in my environment. It signals that I must take great care and proceed with caution, or that I need to reach out for help.
When my dog tells me I am cycling, I can accept that without frustration, whereas it is much harder to hear that from the humans around me. Lapua tells me when I am cycling without the judgment and the packed emotions that can go along with human responses to bipolar disorder.
By letting me know I am cycling and then coming to comfort me, Lapua warns me with the same alarm she did in moose camp when she saw a wild animal. “Danger nearby,” she says with her eyes.
By doing this, she gives me the sign I need to reach out to others for help. And after I’m alerted to the presence of the danger, she comforts me just by sitting with me. Letting me gently pet her reminds me that sometimes the presence of a loving heart is exactly what I need.
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How Pets Support Bipolar Stability and Healing
Our animals don’t care about bipolar symptoms; they just want to give us pure, unconditional love.
Animals Offer Daily Motivation
Besides being the reason for some to get out of bed every morning, these creatures will get you off the sofa for a walk just by looking at you. They are the impetus for us to quit smoking, stay healthy, talk to other people, and live in the present.
Providing Routine and Structure
Pets insist on routine and consistency, which means our lives require routine. Getting up when they need to go outside and feeding them at the same time — for both breakfast and dinner — is good for other areas of our lives as well.
Unconditional Love and Empathy
Whether we’re walking back into a room or coming home at the end of the day, our furry, feathered, or scaly friends are always happy to see us. They don’t care if we screwed up at work or sat around on the sofa all day, depressed. They love us enthusiastically, without question.
An Innate Emotional Barometer
Animals just seem to know if you’ve had a bad day — without you having to come home screaming or crying. They have an inner knowing when you just need some quiet comforting. We’ve all experienced this, from our dogs placing their head on our laps to our birds snuggling against our necks or our cats reaching out with a paw.
UPDATED: Originally published November 2, 2018
