My senior dog sleeps more and hides to nap. Should I be worried?

Poor Zena! She is a cutie pie! Since it has come on so suddenly, I worry that she may be painful somewhere or not feeling well. It is common for them to act this way with neck or back pain. I would have your vet do a thorough orthopedic exam on her. If he cannot find anything wrong with her, your vet may decide to do a trial course of pain meds to see if that perks her up. I hope this helps and she starts to feel better soon!

Hi, thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! Poor Rudy! Any change in behavior or appetite in an older dog raises concern. The symptoms are non-specific. Possible reasons are: pain, fever, nausea. These things could be causes by arthritis, lyme disease, kidney, liver or gall bladder problems or even cancer. I recommend an exam by your Vet and full blood work and urine to try to find out what could possibly be wrong. I hope this helps and I wish Rudy a speedy recovery!

At 3years of age he would generally expected to be more active but every dogs character is different and some are very placid. If his behavior has changed over the last 3 months I strongly recommend a full health check by your vet to rule out medical or painful conditions which may be reducing his mobility

I'm glad to hear Jill is doing so well. Dog's preferences can change with the weather or just due to their own reasons. As long as she doesn't;t seem anxious or fearful outside, I think it's probably fine. Many dogs, especially older ones, do sleep a lot! Make sure she is going outside to potty at least 4-5 times a day and watch her for any signs of illness. I hope this is helpful and please feel free to post any additional questions.

Thank you for submitting your question regarding Suzy. I recommend that she sees a veterinarian. I worry that she is actually quite painful. Small breed dogs are prone to neck and/or back pain which can be quite excruciating for them. Based your description of her sleeping more than normal, not wanting to do stairs and not running as much, this is a possibility. The veterinarian will examine her and determine if she is in fact painful. If so, x-rays may be taken. Based on these results, treatment can be started to help her feel better. In the meantime, keep her quiet and carry her as much as possible. Do not give any over-the-counter pain medications as these can be toxic to dogs. They can also interfere with veterinary medications that may be needed for her. I hope this information helps!

I am sorry to hear about your chihuahua. Because of her age and her symptoms (lethargy and decreased appetite) I would definitely recommend an examination by a veterinarian. We can certainly see medical problems in older dogs that can cause these symptoms such as kidney disease, infections, liver disease, and more. An exam by your vet and some bloodwork may help to be sure there isn't a treatable medical issue. If there are no abnormalities found, then they may recommend some over the counter products that can help with anxiety such as Adaptil which is a pheremone product available as a plug-in or collar, Zylkene or Composure which are calming supplements, a thundershirt which is a compression vest that calms some dogs. And in some cases prescription strength medication may be necesssary from your veterinarian.

I can understand your concern. It seems you have done the right thing by checking her vital organs with baseline bloodwork and her poops are normal. At her age, she is entering senior/mature dog status, so this is most likely the reason Hazel is slowing down and no longer behaving like a puppy or young adult dog. I would also suspect that Hazel may be experiencing some arthritis in her joints, which tends to enable pets a bit. I would recommend getting her started on some joint supplements such as Dasuquin, Synovi- G4 or Duralactin to see if that makes any difference with her activity level. And if you are overly concerned and start noticing an abnormal gait, then I would consider getting an x-ray done of her joints to look further into things. I hope that Hazel does well moving forward. Best wishes and take care.