Hi everyone. My JR is about 6 years old. He’s always had a very healthy interest in walks, swimming, playing with sticks and balls etc. Over the last few months his behaviour has gradually changed. He often doesn’t want to go for a play in the garden. He sometimes refuses to go for a walk at all. If I do get him to walk anywhere, he sticks to my heels and is desperate to get back to the car/house. Anyone got any idea what’s wrong with him?
Always wise to have a vet check when behaviour alters to rule out any medical conditions. Once ruled out then the thinking cap goes on: Has there been any changes? What about diet - the same or altered? Where you walk - the same or different? Any change in living conditions? Any change in family dynamics? etc
Thank you Chris B. We’re pretty sure there’s nothing medically wrong with him and there are no changes to his living arrangements. We think it’s some sort of neurosis but we can’t pin down where it’s come from
Unless he's had a big shock and nothing has changed, then definitely have him checked. Could be a little arthritis, or even a spine, hip or knee problem. It's always better to rule these things out
What does your vet say - has he or she run blood tests to make sure there is nothing medically wrong or is it just your feeling that he is just not right somehow. If there has been no change to his living situation or his diet, has he maybe been spooked somehow when he was playing in the garden or out for walks? He is rather young to have any form of cognitive dysfunction but that would require a vet's diagnosis. Whatever the cause is, I do hope you can sort it out.
I had vague feelings that Eddie wasn't quite right when he was around six years. Nothing was apparent at the vet examination, so I asked him to carry out a full blood profile. Ed's thyroid level turned only about a seventh of the normal mid-range reading, and his free calcium level was worryingly high. He now has thyroxine daily, his levels have stabilised, and has his sense of humour back. I am not saying that this is your boy's problem, (though the symptoms of hypothyroidism are vague, diverse, and are worth reading up on), but just trying to illustrate that a superficial examination may not eliminate a medical cause for a change in behaviour.
Declining memory cells mean that I have had to refer to my boy's rather too eventful health thread. (See Beagle forum, Eddie's ongoing health problem, posts #32 and 33). It seems that Eddie was seven, not six, before I noticed his decline. I note that I thought he had become sluggish and sleepy. He also seems to have been drinking more, and to have become unsociable with other dogs. When he had been on thyroxine for a month, I note that though his coat is still thinner than before, it is shiny and his skin feels looser - so he must have also had a dull coat and tight skin. I do remember that the coat that he grew after his moult was luxurious, - so soft, thick and shiny. He is an energetic lad these days, and very cheeky.
