Long read: simply put, my dog doesn't know how to dog. We adopted Finn at 3 months and now he is almost 10 months. He is beyond lazy, which is a blessing in some ways but also has me worried. He also just does not eat his food, which was the last thing I expected when it came to a Lab. We have tried everything in the book to get him to eat regularly, but our vet says he is healthy and will eat at his own pace. It still has me worried. My main concern now is that he just absolutely hates walks. It has always been bad, but recently he doesn't even want to go outside. He will freeze a few steps in and pull to go back inside. We have tried different routes and letting him pick where to go but we hardly go more than a dozen feet from our front door before he turns around. We live in an apartment complex so letting him off leash to roam is not an option. Even before when he didn't mind walks he still preferred to just lay in the grass rather than explore. I've considered that he is possibly scared for some reason, but we live in a pretty quite area in Orlando Florida. He loves our neighbors and meeting people on the walks. The one thing I know he is for sure terrified if is skateboards. I'm not sure where this came from but if he sees one he freezes and gets spikes. Luckily there are not too many on our walks. It is hard to tell if something is bothering him because he doesn't react much. Never whines, only barked a couple times and that seemed to scare him. I guess my main question is: does anybody have a lab that exhibits the same characteristics? Any tips on how to encourage eating or walks, or is this something I should not stress too much about? Should I be concerned and get a second opinion from a different vet? Thank you in advance for the advice!
Some dogs can be free feeders. My Malamute did jump on his food, and often would let it sit. We just left it down for him, since he was the only dog in the house. He ate what he needed to maintain healthy weight. That is not typical Lab behavior, but I would not see it as a problem if you don't have another dog. Not sure about walking and outdoors. If it is hot it is not too surprising, but our younger dog will always run initially given the chance, and is always happy to go for a walk. Our older (12) Lab will always go, but sometimes is less enthusiastic. Incidentally Cooper also hates skate boarders. She doesn't like them when they aren't on the skate board, if she recognizes them.
Hi, and welcome to the forum. I think you are right to be a little concerned. You say your dog is now less willing to go out than he was a few month's ago. If he only goes out under your supervision and you know that nothing has scared him during one of your walks, then I would suspect a possible health issue. With regard to the vet, in your situation I would be tempted to get a second opinion. Lack of appetite is unusual in a Lab but not unheard of. But lack of appetite together with reduced tolerance to exercise can be a sign of health problems. Finn is probably absolutely fine, but to be on the safe side I'd have him checked over by another vet. Do let us know how he gets on
Hi and welcome. I agree with Pippa that another vet appointment is in order. You might use the term "exercise intolerance" when you explain your concern to the vet. I find it helpful to write down a rough record of what I'm worried about. Perhaps jot down what happens each time you try to go for a walk for a week. Doing this should help your vet rule out anything serious. I assume in the time you've had him you've seen him run around like a wackadoodle *at some points*. Has he had the chance to play with another puppy or what happens (cringe) if you toss a ball in your home? I experienced some of what you describe with my black Lab mix - Lab plus a bit of Plott Hound we believe - from the time we adopted him at 16 wks. until about 18 mos. Depending on if it's more or less than 50 deg. F, I have two different dogs. When it's cool Johnny behaves normally for him. In the summer when it's mostly in the upper 80s and 90s with horrible humidity, he'll run or trot after a ball and then lie in the shade. When he was under a year at the dog park he would do the puppy chase thing briefly and then lie down; his behavior was *very* different from other dogs. I know this because owners where shocked to find out his age, having assumed he was 4 or 5. I was at the vet a lot, but fortunately he was able to rule out illness and congenital heart problems. There's a range of activity for dogs and Johnny is at the low end of it. In the winter his activity level is closer to the average dog but he still has the same pattern of run around and lie down - yes it looks weird when he does this in the snow When he came home in Jan. he refused to walk more than a block. Looking back this was fear & getting used to his environment. Each day we got a bit farther and at some point I also drove the two blocks to the dog park and got him to walk home. Since this doesn't seem to be your situation, could you drive him a block or so from home and see if he'll walk back? Better yet is there something you could take him to like a training class (with positive reinforcement only), a doggie playgroup, or daycare indoors with AC? Does the Orlando SPCA offer classes? I wouldn't expect a radical change immediately but perhaps over time, especially with well socialized dogs. Think of it like nursery school for a child, rather than babysitting you don't need. Is there a difference if you try to go out at night or right before sunrise? This didn't work for Johnny because he was afraid car lights and and and, oh and especially skateboards to this day. As for food, he rarely finishes what's in his dish at one go. He doesn't eat in the morning so he gets his first meal at noon and a second meal around 7PM. Since he's the only dog I leave the food down. His weight is always the same; he looks slim but not skinny. I worried about this when he was a puppy but now I consider it a blessing for his health. He's 83 pounds; big AND pudgy is not good for the joints. One very helpful thing I learned on this forum was that mental stimulation was great when I couldn't get him to run around like a nut or go for long walks. So we played games and did what training I could manage in home.
So a little more explanation and update on Finn and what we have been doing: he has always been on the lazy side. Refuses to get out of bed before 9. Throws tantrums. The best way to explain it is he is like a moody teen. this makesit a little hard to distinguish between pure laziness or being sick. But he isn't lazy all the time. Every Wednesday we go to the lake and he plays non-stop until he drops. He is very social and has played with every size and every breed and we have never had any issue with aggression from his end. Training wise, he is pretty great! Right now we are working on boundaries with new people/dogs. With walking, I read a post that suggested picking your dog up and starting the walk at a different area. I cannot do this because Finn is way too big, so I teased him with a stick until we got away from the immediate perimeter of our apartment. From there he walked like normal. So I am assuming something around our house has him spooked but I have no idea what is can be or how to get him used to it! He is definitely better at night so I am assuming Florida heat and humidity is also getting to him. He still gets his nightly zooms and plays the same inside when the mood strikes him. With eating, he loves treats and of course is the ultimate begger for human food. If I hand feed him his food like treats, he is all for it. When we adopted him, we were given a free bag of the food he was already on but had to switch it because it wasn't available in karge bags locally and we're having issues getting it online. We slowly started switching to the recommended brand that was not grain free and he immediately started having diarrhea, so the vet suggested sticking to a grain free diet. We started buying small bags of taste of the wild and he seemed to enjoy it, but when we invested in a larger bag he decided he did not like it. We added in wet food and he was good for awhile, but again after a week or so slowed down to a meal a day. We recently started reading the articles about grain free food and the possible issues associated with it and got a little worried, so I thought maybe he was just telling us it was bad for him. So within the last month been slowly switched him back to regular dog food (Iams puppy). No issues with bowels and for the first week loved it. Now he is back to nibbling on it. He isn't disinterested in food, just the food that is meant for him. It is frustrating, but I guess as long as he is staying healthy and not eating it too fast we should be considered lucky! We are going to see a new vet the first Monday of August just to get a check up and be sure his behavior is normal! Thank you so much everyone! Side note: when we got him from our local they had already neutered him despite only being 3 months. My family has always waited atleast a year before doing anything. They said it was normal and so did the vet on site but I wonder if this could be causing any of the issues? Just a thought!
I think our dogs are related Johnny is disinterested in *just* kibble. He's been on Nutro salmon kibble for a year but we mix in canned salmon, mackerel, tuna, boiled chicken, or cottage cheese. Now and then he shows us he's sick of something - usually what we just got on sale, but we try to offer variety and he seems OK. Once my OH got Nutro lamb by mistake and Johnny's coat turned to rubbish almost immediately and then he got the runs. I'm sure he would eat plain kibble if he got hungry enough but I'm a sucker because it bugs me when I think he doesn't enjoy his food. Your vet will hopefully help with food suggestions. Johnny goes out around 7:30 AM and then comes up to my office and takes a nap for two hours. Johnny threw tantrums too. He would circle me while growling, jumping up, barking, butting me with his head, and my personal favorite, nipping my right arm. I lost shirts, a winter jacket, and and two down vests before we found our wonderful trainer. Neutering: anecdote of one - Johnny was neutered at 16 weeks. Our local SPCA requires cats and dogs to be neutered or spayed before you can take them home. The youngest animals I've seen for adoption are 3 months old so it's normal here too. I think Johnny would be his quirky self even if he were neutered later in life.
