Lethargic/listless dog - any ideas?

odckdo

I have a very active 2 year old dog but tonite he has slowed down completely. He is not as responsive as usual and is sleeping a lot.

He had a shortish walk midday, had his food and is taking treats.

I got him on his own away from the other dogs this evening, played with him a bit and he seemed fine but he just doesn't seem his normal self. He is sleeping too much for my liking.

Hopefully it is just a bug - is there one going around? The fact he is eating hopefully means he is OK and that it might clear overnight.

Cheers.

EDIT: hope I worrying about nothing here. He is lying at the end of the couch - called his name repeatedly, wags his tail but doesn't come as usual. How can he be this tired after a 45 minute walk? Never happened before. I just left the living room to go into the hall and he didn't even get up from the chair which is not normal as he follows me everywhere. To check him out I bought him up & down the stairs which he managed - wagging his tail but seems to be moving gingerly - checked him all over and couldn't find any problems - wonder if it is something internal? Anyone know of a bug going around?

Whispered

It could be any number of things. From an injury to a sick stomach to something as simple as you having the fire lit and it making him sleepy.

Has he been drinking and is he hydrated?
Could he has eaten anything while out? Has he vomited t all?
Could he have injured himself on his walk? Was he playing with a stick or anything?
How does he react when you touch him? ( head, ears, face, back, ribs, legs, paws, under paws, stomach etc) be gentle and note his reactions.
If you get excited, does he react?
Has anything changed for him recently?

Really think hard about anything that could have happened today or over the last few days. If you're really worried, call your bet and get their advice. Most have a 24hr emergency number.

odckdo

Whispered wrote: »

It could be any number of things. From an injury to a sick stomach to something as simple as you having the fire lit and it making him sleepy.

Has he been drinking and is he hydrated?
Could he has eaten anything while out? Has he vomited t all?
Could he have injured himself on his walk? Was he playing with a stick or anything?
How does he react when you touch him? ( head, ears, face, back, ribs, legs, paws, under paws, stomach etc) be gentle and note his reactions.
If you get excited, does he react?
Has anything changed for him recently?

Really think hard about anything that could have happened today or over the last few days. If you're really worried, call your bet and get their advice. Most have a 24hr emergency number.

Thanks for the reply.

I checked his body and I don't think it has an external injury. When I was checking his body he was very quiet and allowed me to do it - this is not normal for him as like any young dog, he would be 'giving out' in a nice way - moving about, etc.

If it's internal he is not showing any pain by crying, etc.

No sick stomach as he hasn't vomitted and his toilet functions seem to be OK.

The fire is on in the living room as always but I have never seen him as sleepy as this. He is an energtic dog so for him to lie at one end of the couch (with me at the other end) while I repeatedly called his name, wagging his tail a bit, eventually looking at me and then make a partial movement towards me. It is almost like he is knackered tired.

I didn't notice him drink today but during the week he drank the usual amount. He had his kibble this morning and late this afternoon (with his walk in between). He is eating his treats. He had his walk at midday and everything was OK. He was off-lead but I kept an eye on him and I didn't see him pick anything up/eat anything. No sticks.

At about 5pm when I came back from a another walk with 2 other dogs, he rushed to sniff them up & down as he always does. Then he had his dinner. Up to this point he was fine.

When I was getting my dinner he was lying around and I thought he was tired. But by 7pm I noticed he wasn't his normal self.

Nothing has changed for him - routine is the same.

He is beside me atm and he is in a really deep, deep sleep. As I moved from the living room into the hall I called his name in a playful way, he followed after a few moments. Normally he is full of energy - always on the go, very attentive and receptive to what is going on in the room. He has completely slowed down this evening.

I thought initially it might have been a 24 hour bug but now I am thinking it may be an infection. I'll keep an eye on him during the night. I'll bring him to the vets first thing if he hasn't improved. A blood test might show something up.

Cheers for the post - I am just worried.

Whispered

Yeah keep a close eye. I know how you feel. They can be a worry. Don't hesitate to call your vet overnight if you feel the need. Better safe than sorry.

Check if he's hydrated by pulling gently a pinch of skin on his scruff. It should bounce back to normal. If you're not sure how to do this, check YouTube there should be an instructional video. If he vomits blood or what looks like faeces, vet immediately.

There was something going a few weeks/months ago in the Wexford area if i remember correctly. I'm in Kildare and almost lost one of my boys around the same time to a mystery illness (but I suspect he ate something as the vet found no virus in his blood tests).

odckdo

Just back from the vets. He has a high temperature, heart rate slightly off and breathing/lungs not right. Vet thinks some sort of respitory infection. He got some injections and is on tablets for the next 4 days.

Big relief! Hopefully he'll be back to his normal self soon.

EDIT: just read this on facebook about a virus in my area. I am going to ring my vet to check my dog is covered.

www.facebook.com/MullingarDogShelter/posts/611656988960547

"I am begging you all to PLEASE keep your dogs vaccinations up to date. There is a deadly virus on the go at the moment which shows all the signs of parvo but is not testing positive. It is killing dogs of all ages..parvo is out there too and the general public don't seem to be aware of how common it is. I know someone whos elderly jrt died yesterday because he caught a virus. A young pup this morning..whos mother is in the vets on a drip. And lastly a beautiful 1 year old dog from here who sadly passed away last night."