dog not himself - not sure what to do

[user233675892]

For the last month or so, our 6 year old retriever hasn't been his dim, happy, waggy-tailed self. He's very fit, eating well, getting on and off the sofa without trouble, so nothing obvious, but somehow just not normal.

He's sleeping a lot. Is happy once he's in the park, but not desperate to get there as he usually is. He's always been a huge cuddler, but is choosing to spend more time on his own. He's not been snappy, but has been a bit irritated with our other dog, who he's very bonded with.

I took him to the vet for a check a couple weeks ago, and they couldn't see anything obvious, Joints fine, ears fine, mouth and teeth all good. We tried him on a trial of anti-inflammatories to see if that changed his behaviour, i.e. there was hidden pain, but it didn't make a difference.

I'm going to take him back in. Any wise suggestions of what they should be looking for?

Full blood panel including thyroid. My lab had no obvious symptoms but was ‘off’ and it was hypothyroidism.

But, how is your own mood? Is he picking up on something from you or family members ?

Has he been affected by weather ? My older girl had been quiet, but perked up this weekend when the sun came out.

Hope you get to the bottom of it .

Thanks. Yes, I think you're right on the bloods.

No, nothing amiss here, other than worrying a bit about him. And no on the weather. As a general rule, it can't be muddy, rainy or windy enough to suit him!

This was the same with my Spanish Water Dog. Well worth a checkup. Hope he’s OK.

Yes, full bloods as a start. Everything you’re describing sounds like a dog doing its best to keep going in pain. Did they check stomach etc? Not hard.

Thanks for the replies.

Yes, stomach checked @theemmadilemma and all seemed fine, poos have been fine.

We've been back and had bloods done, thyroid levels will be checked @Dearg. No results yet, but we've started a longer trial of an anti-inflammatory as vet is inclined to think he's masking some kind of pain.

Two days in and he did try to swipe a piece of cake off the worktop for the first time in quite a while...

Good news on the cake swipe. 😃

How is your health OP? And the family. I ask because a bit like the weather comments my terrier in particularly is very in tune with me. When I went through multiple pregnancy losses we actually found her to be depressed. 😔

if I cry she is withdrawn and quiet.

We're all pretty good. In fact, that's been one of the worries - he doesn't seem to quite be matching the rest of our energy levels.

I do always marvel at dogs with that kind of empathy. I'm pretty sure he's a dog who would step over my still-warm body to get to a pizza.

I'm sorry for your losses. That's so hard.

Isn't that odd, I came on here to see if there were any historical threads on this sort of thing and here we are! DDog is 9 he was ok this morning and now is completely subdued and quiet, moving very slowly. He's eating and drinking ok, poo etc all ok, but just walking very slow, needing cuddles and going back to sleep at lot. He looks unhappy in general. First thing I thought was he's masking pain but not sure where from. I'm going to see if he's ok overnight then decide on vet appointment, unless he's bouncing about first thing of course. My last dog died in horrible circumstances aged 5 so I am always hyper alert for any changes in this dog, but I'd say it isn't that subtle, there's definitely something amiss and I don't think its temperament related.

Let us know how it goes OP and hope both our dogs are "stepping over us for pizza" very soon.

Aw, I hope he bounces back tomorrow. Please come back and update. Fingers crossed it's just an off day.

Last night I was very worried, he just seemed so unhappy, moving so slowly and desperate for cuddles. Then 8am I woke up and he was almost unresponsive I thought this is it. He got up and staggered around a bit, cheered up towards the end of his walk and then came back and demanded treats and breakfast, wagged his tail for a cuddle and has been barking at trees. I've booked a vet appointment but have no idea what they will say, he was clearly in pain last night. I've done an online consult with my free vet subscription thing, they said its going to need a stomach exam and bloods which is what I thought but they didnt think it was a bloat type thing, confirming my impression that bloat is rapid onset and progress.

I do think that dogs do their best to carry on when in pain or unwell so I am not entirely reassured by the sudden return to normal, because yesterday he was suddenly unwell, suddenly appearing normal and then unwell again. Anyway, vet later. Not my normal vet surgery either so bit wary but just hope to get some painkillers just in case, with the weekend coming up. I don't think I've ever had a dog be ill on a Monday ...!!

They always choose a Friday, preferably before a bank holiday Monday. Mine have always liked it if my husband is away and one or more of the kids is ill.

Is he a gobbler? I ask because our first dog acted similarly when he had managed to somehow swallow a massive hiking sock (without chewing it). Once it was discovered, the vet was shocked he was managing to perk up at all.

Sending good wishes to your boy

Hi OP, vet today, dog has been fine. She did bloods, no clues whatsoever. I've got some pain killers she said we could try anti-inflammatories so will ring back tomorrow and say yes let's go with that for now. It could be that he has eaten something, but not to my knowledge. I think this has been going on for a while to be honest, maybe a month or more, had some suspicions things weren't right. Last dog died of pancreatitis he was only 5 so I am hyper aware of any hint of a problem.

This evening he is very quiet and wanting cuddles again but nothing I can put my finger on. I do feel there might be something that wont be easy to diagnose but lets just see, have to take it one day at a time, vet was nice anyway. £280 thank you please.

So how is your boy OP? I just re-read your posts and see you tried anti-inflammatories too.

How's your boy doing @DecisionTime123? Hope he's on the mend.

Ours seems ok at the moment, I think the anti-inflammatory has made a difference.

Well you know he's still not entirely right and I am really thinking this has been a while and we didnt notice, so like today his harness was too tight round the ribs this has been happening on and off for a few weeks, I thought maybe one of us or even the dog walker was altering the harness but it was fine, maybe loose, this morning and then tight this afternoon. Then on the walk he suddenly began to stagger and had his head very low to the ground. It was over in maybe 30-60 seconds, then later he wanted to eat grass but only a small amount (usually if he's going to be sick he goes mad on grass). Then he's been sleeping on and off, not hugely unusual. So yeah just watching and waiting.

I did read that this could be Lyme symptoms, so I might ask the vet for that test otherwise she was saying CT scan etc., I think Lyme test first perhaps?