My sister who lives in another state has my previous dog Dozers brother Eddie. Eddie is a rather large version of Dozer. Both had opposite personalities. Dozer was very energetic and was very outgoing, always exploring. Eddie likes to be loved on and would rather be "lazy" watch from afar only interacting with different things once he's encouraged. Just like Dozer, Eddie was never abused and is a great family dog, protective, quiet blah blah blah. My sister brought Eddie down a week or two after Dozer was PTS (June 1st). They came down on June 12th or close to it. When he was here he did a quick 20 minutes running around looking for his brother and acted as if he always had before. My sister and I were talking last night and she said that ever since they got home (They only stayed for 3 days) Eddie has been acting more and more isolated. Not really sure if that's the word to use. She described it as if you had seen an abused dog in the shelter. He doesn't shy but he just wants to be left alone. He'll get up and walk away from the family and go lay in a different room completely. Something he has never done. She says he's not aggressive but looks sad and is sleeping more. I told her I don't know what would cause that. I did inform her that he's turning 10 years old next week and that he could just be going through old age or it could be that he's reaching the end of his time. Might of been the wrong thing to say because that made her sad but it's something we all will have to endure at some point in our animals lives. I told her I would ask on here and see what others might think it could be. I told her if it gets to bad and she starts to get super worried too take him to the vet. Some questions I asked her Is he eating and drinking normal? - Yes Does he go outside? - Yes but after doing his business, lays down some where and enjoys the sun (Other wise sleeps) When he's doing his business, does it look different than normal (Color, size, texture, etc.) - No Has he growled or nipped at any of the kids, anybody else including her other pets? - No he gets up and walks away from them. My honest opinion is he just got old but this all happened after they came down here. Thoughts?
I agree, considering he isn't a youngster anymore there may be some discomfort somewhere. I remember when seeing Casper's X rays of his back and joints feeling a bit shocked that he didn't have more severe symptoms. The vet commented that labradors are such a stoic breed, they hide any illness very well. Equally when he was admitted as an emergency with pneumonia, the only symptom we noticed was a slight cough and he was quieter than normal. We nearly lost him then he was so poorly. So based on our experience, would advise a check up at the vet. Hope he is OK x
I informed her what you all said. After talking to me, as soon as we hung up, she called and made a vet appointment. They are going to do blood work and also was told to bring in a stool sample. Thanks for the responses. I too hope he's ok. I want him to be around long enough to meet his little step brother, Stryker. That and he's the closest thing I got left that resembles Dozer.
Some dementia setting in? Our field trainer's dog was 10 when he started showing some signs. You never know too, how many signs you missed. Pain somewhere is another possiblity. Yes, a Vet check with complete blood work might show up something easily fixed.
Vet called my sister and told her that the blood work and stool sample came back and they didn't find anything wrong. He did tell her that Eddie is a Senior who needs to lose weight and exercise more. Suggested they start giving him fish oil once a day. He's got a little bit of stiffness in his hind end but that's to be expected. Long story short, he's just an old dog. Thank you for your replies.
