I booked my depressed dog a holiday to see if it could cure his blues

I can’t tell if I’m imagining it, but I think my dog may be feeling a little down.

Bowser, my affectionate and ridiculous three-year-old cockapoo is normally bouncy and carefree. But lately his tail has been hanging a little lower than usual and he keeps giving me long, soulful looks.

If the black dog has visited my white dog, it would make sense. We’ve had a tough winter of endless rainy days that prevented the long off-lead hill yomps that he loves and he had a traumatic operation which required multiple vet trips and wearing the cone of sorrow for weeks.

And then we got cats.

Two beautiful, playful little kittens who humiliate him with their agility, eat his food, steal my affections and – the ultimate insult – poo in his bed. So I don’t blame him for being fed up.

As far-fetched as it may sound, our canine companions can suffer from depression, according to dog behaviourist James Hare, of Newquay Puppy and Dog Training.

James lists a loss of appetite, sleeping more, appearing lethargic, destructive behaviour and withdrawing from social situations as indicators that a dog may be feeling down, and he recommends that concerned owners try to establish what could be upsetting their pet.

‘Be there for them. Understand what they are telling you. Dogs do speak, but only to those who know how to listen,’ he says.

Bowser was a lockdown puppy and though I’d always wanted a dog, I could never have imagined how much he would enrich my life.

During those dark days of isolation, he gave me a reason to chat to strangers in the park and I would stand for hours talking sadly to them about death counts and vaccine development while Bowser made friends with all the local good boys and girls. He encouraged me to explore the nearby hills and woods and brought joy and warmth to those long, tedious months to everyone he met.

He looked after my mental health then, so I’m going to look after his, now.

But how to cheer a dog up? ‘Increasing mental and physical stimulation is key. Take your dog on different variations of walk. Give them puzzle toys, make them work a little for their food,’ James says.

I decide to go one step further, and take him on a little holiday, just the two of us.

Bowser loves two things more than anything in this world; a tennis ball and a beach. So we pack off to Winterton-on-Sea, near Great Yarmouth, a small town that prides itself on being dog-friendly. Neither of us have ever been to the Norfolk coastline, so it felt like a good destination.

We drive for hours from our home in Gloucestershire, past the broads and beneath expansive skies before we finally arrived at Eva’s Lookout, a lovely house a stone’s throw from the beach. It’s an upside down house designed so that the living rooms get the benefit of the light and sea views, and it has a fully enclosed front and back garden – perfect for dogs.

It also had a balcony along the first floor with a glass balustrade, which meant Bowser could watch the dogwalkers on the dunes below while I enjoyed the views of the North Sea.

What was great was that the property was completely enclosed, so he could frolic freely, and there was a sizeable downstairs sink for sandy paws.

Plus, Winterton Cottages kindly left me with a list of walks to explore alongside a menu of dog-friendly pubs and restaurants.

In fact, the whole area is; the local pubs are dog friendly, the post office sells tennis balls and Poppie’s Tearoom in town serves pupaccinos and doggy sausages.

As soon as we arrive, Bowser wants to explore, so we head out, over the dunes and onto the beautifully unspoilt beach. If this was Devon or Cornwall, dogs would understandably be banned from certain areas, but here Bower has free rein and immediately takes off, digging holes, running from waves and chasing his ball. Winter sun quenches our light-starved souls and we walk for half an hour before we meet anyone; it feels like a private paradise.

I want to head north to explore Horsey, where mother seals go to have their pups, but a local woman tells me we are too late in the season and that they’ve already gone. Just like the white baby powder sand that used to constitute the beach, she says. Winterton is beautiful, but half the size it used to be, much of it taken by Mother Nature.

We examine the spot where where coastal erosion and months of storms caused a road to fall into the sand, chunks of cement bearing double yellow lines littering the edge of the beach and she points to where a cafe used to stand, now vanished.

Unconcerned the beach is disappearing, Bowser, scampers on, leading me inland to sleepy Winterton-on-sea, characterised by tiny thatched houses and seaside cottages, but faded and wistful, in the way that out-of-season seaside towns are.

We head back to the dunes where we bumble up and down scrubby hillocks as the sun sets and skylarks and nightjars soar.

As Bowser bounds and frolics I see his mood lift. He tells me he has been SAD (seasonally affected dog) and that he spends too much time in the office.

Not in words, but I understand. I work from home, alone, and while we walk daily and make time for friends, I know the long winter has taken its toll on him. We decide to make more trips like this and head back to our holiday let.

Surprisingly, three quarters of the nation’s dogs show signs of having poor mental health, with 18% showing symptoms as often as weekly, according to 2022 research by Guide Dogs. The first port of call for worried owners should be the vet, says Joe Nutkins, Kennel Club accredited dog trainer and canine behaviourist at Dog Training for Essex and Suffolk.

But Bowser hates the vet. So instead, the next day I walk him up and down the beach as far as our legs will carry us.

We pass Hemsby, where telegraph poles and uprooted trees poke strangely out of the sand banks, telling of homes and gardens long gone. At least twenty houses have fallen or been demolished as coastal erosion threatens this little community’s future. All that is left of them is tyre tracks on the sand left by huge trucks that took the rubble. Moving up away from the shore we explore a sad spot where someone’s home once stood; kitchen tiles exposed to the seaside sky, fragments of broken mirror on the ground reflect memories of a life.

As the sun breaks through, we walk southwards to a small town called California, which is nothing like California. Tired, we stop for a drink and a snack before walking miles back up the beach to Eva’s Lookout. Bowser seems truly happy; enjoying the fresh air and meeting the locals.

Beyond exercise, there are other things you can do to help a glum dog, Joe says. ‘Some ways to help your dog feel happier can include spending quality time with them. Give them something to investigate, such as new treats, chews or toys. Invite your dog to play a game with you – such as chasing you, finding you, dragging a toy on a lead for more jerky movements.’

But when we return to our holiday home, Bowser is too tired for any of this and he sleeps soundly for hours, lulled by the sound of the North Sea from our open windows. Later that day, we head out for one final walk before nightfall.

As he pads happily along the beach, he tells me he’s not depressed. ‘Winters descend, people get ill, homes fall into the sea. Sad things happen. But we keep going. It’s just part of the rich tapestry of life. And anyway, just look at this beautiful beach,’ he says sagely with a wag of his tail.

‘Yes. Good boy’, I tell him, before he picks up his ball and places it in the sand next to the body of a dead seal, sniffing it curiously before cocking his leg and scampering off into the sunset.

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