Dog is lethargic and I'm anxious

[cornishone]

I've made an appointment with the vet later which she says I can cancel if he perks up.

He's very lethargic. Doesn't really want to move and when he does is very slow.

He's a two year old spaniel and very perky.

Hasn't eaten, I did manage to send him outside for a wee.

He hasn't been sick or had diarrhoea. Doesn't seem to be in pain.

He hasn't eaten anything moody that I know of except I think he may have eaten the cat food a few times over Christmas as people are rubbish at keeping the door shut.

Please come along and tell me he's just tired and there's nothing to worry about, at least until the vet appointment.

It's so difficult as they can't tell us what's wrong.

When my beagle doesn't eat it's a huge red flag for me as he normally has a massive appetite and no off-switch. That said, it's never been anything hugely serious - normally issues with anal glands or him having eaten something he shouldn't!

My money is on eaten something he shouldn't have. Normally a 2 year old Spaniel would be bouncing off the walls. Over Christmas we thought that our border collie puppy had eaten a glass dropper from my face serum... Until DH found it on the floor behind the toilet!!

He will eat anything so it's possible. But I'm not sure what, unless he picked up something on our walk yesterday.

Has he done a poo? Was that normal?

It could also be that he just doesn't feel very well and will be fine with some rest.

He hasn't today.

Yesterday we went on a long off lead walk and he did a poo but I couldn't find it in the undergrowth. So no idea!

If he had a long walk yesterday he could be tired or a bit sore. I assume he's never had any issues with hip or elbows before?

No. He's normally very bouncy.

I've just gone downstairs and he's still asleep but moved himself from the carpet to the sofa so I'm taking this as a good sign.

Mine was like this a few months back. His was an abscess on his anal gland. Does he feel warm to touch?

No. I've checked that and not particularly.

I have been known to take my dogs to the vets because they seem "depressed" . No symptons really but he was off colour.

Vet eye rolls in a sweet way does some tests and comes back that the dog had a UTI.

Trust your gut do keep the appointment and hopefully he will be back to himself quickly

Hmm. I now think his leg is in pain.

He seems reluctant to put one paw on the floor and was snappy when I tried to look at it.

There doesn't seem anything wrong with it though.

I think I'm going to have to keep the vet's appointment aren't I.

Hopefully it'll work like a charm and he'll be bouncing around by the time you get there :-)

My money given the breed would be on an obstruction. My friends springer swallowed a whole potato which needed to be surgically removed!

With tummy and digestive issues they tend to stretch and look uncomfortable.

Hopefully nothing serious. I'd keep the appointment.

If he has hurt his leg or paw he may be in pain, could he have been bitten.

I think it might be too many wet and muddy walks.

It looks like he's been chewing his paws and made them bleed, which is making him not want to walk on them.

You'll have to buy him some booties to keep his paws dry

Definitely get him checked - it could be anything from a grass seed to something environmental that's irritated him. Mine once managed to fracture his toe!

It would be very rare for a working dog to not be able to cope with wet and mud - possibly a foreign body BUT foot chewing can be a symptom of pain and discomfort elsewhere.

We are back from the vets.

He was so anxious that she couldn't examine him but says back legs appear to be very sore.

She's given painkillers and I have to take him back in 48 hours when they might sedate him to investigate further.

But he certainly wasn't lethargic in the vets!

That’s because adrenaline takes over. It’s very normal. Tension can also make things harder to spot. Hopefully he’s feeling better tomorrow.

Oh bless his heart. Keep us updated

Bless him! Hopefully he's just overdone it a bit and needs some rest, but I would be wary of back problems too, so I'd be avoiding stairs and jumping around for a few days just in case.

My dog has the same thing - a soreness and redness in between the pads of his back paw. We met another person at the vet whose dog also had the same issue.

Vet felt it was dermatitis, probably caused by all the wet, muddy walks.

Salt water baths and some steroid cream helped. And then once it seemed better, the other back paw did the same thing! 😫So back to salt water baths and using the cream on the other paw.

We’ve also been using a sock to stop him nibbling and licking at the affected paw, as that was definitely making it worse.

Hope your boy feels better soon.