WHY IS MY DOG QUIET ALL OF A SUDDEN?
Your energetic bubbly pooch has suddenly become quiet and this has left you worried. This is even more worrisome when you notice that all the things that used to excite them before are not getting their attention that much, he or she is not excited when you bring that favorite toy that used to get them excited, she is not excited when you bring her favorite treat, she is not even excited when you call her for your daily walk or outdoor activity. So you ask yourself “Why is my dog quiet all of a sudden?”
Here are some of the things that can make your dog keep quiet all of a sudden.
Body changes as they age.
Flea Treatment
Infectious disease
Food Poisoning
Parasites
Hypothyroidism
Heart disease
Emotional issues
Injury
Excess Exercise
Obedience Training
Boredom
Your dog is in heat
Hot Weather
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Body changes as they age.
One way or the other as time passes, our dogs get old. You may have adopted him or her as a little puppy but time will do its thing on her and even us as humans. The signs of our dog growing old show in both physical and mental capacities.
One of the ways in which age tells on a dog is that they will become quieter and sleep a lot.
“My dog is lethargic but eating and drinking” you may say. Well, it is just a sign that he or she is still ok and just prefers to take things easier than they would when they were younger. You see dogs age differently from us, and this aging is also dependent on their breed, size, feeding, exercise routine, and more. For example, a great Dane that is around six years may be considered to be an old dog while a chihuahua of the same age may still be functioning at its prime level.
The great Dane in this instance would be quiet and prone to sleeping a lot. So, in summary, if your dog is quiet all of a sudden, do consider his age and find out from your vet how to make him or her more comfortable at that stage of their life.
Flea Treatment
If your dog suddenly becomes quiet and calm after receiving a flea treatment, then this quietness can be as a result of the new flea treatment. You see most flea treatments for dogs are made from insecticides, pyrethrin, and pyrethroid to be exact. High concentrations of these medications on your dog will make your dog feel weak, which will inadvertently make them quiet for the time being.
Infectious disease.
Infectious diseases can lead to your dog being quiet all of a sudden, and not only that, these diseases can make your dog feel weak and very sick. Some examples of infectious diseases that can affect your dog in this way are:
Canine parvovirus: This is an infectious DNA virus that affects dog cells and worsens the conditions of their bone marrow and intestinal tracts causing severe pain and illness in most situations. Dogs that are young and unvaccinated are usually prone to this virus.
Kennel cough: An infection that affects the respiratory system in dogs making them weak, and tired and causing them to cough constantly.
Bacterial pneumonia: also called Infectious pneumonia is also another infectious disease, it affects our dog’s respiratory system but instead of coughing, the dog would find it hard to breathe.
These are a few infectious diseases that make our dogs weak, tired and quiet all of a sudden.
Food Poisoning
This situation is actually more common than most dog parents would admit, signs of food poisoning range from gastrointestinal upset to vomiting. This situation usually occurs when your dog consumes something he or she is not supposed to. Many of the things that we consume, enjoy and are even healthy for us have the effect of poisoning our dogs and can lead to more fatal circumstances if not properly handled.
Some symptoms of food poisoning include Vomiting, Diarrhea, Lethargy, Weakness, Sluggishness, Breathing problems, Depression, and being quiet all of a sudden.
Parasites
All parasites whether external or internal when they attack your dog aims to feed off their blood. Whether they come from fleas, ticks, hookworms, etc. Their end game is to survive feeding off your dog’s blood cells. When they do this, it leads to a situation where your dog becomes anemic.
An anemic dog will not have the stamina to do anything simply because it will not have enough red blood cells to carry oxygen around its body’s cells and tissues. This in turn will lead to a dog being quiet all of a sudden and feeling very weak.
Hypothyroidism
This is another common disease that makes dogs go quiet all of a sudden. This disease occurs when there is a decrease in the production and secretion of the thyroid hormone. Some other symptoms a dog shows apart from going quiet when they have this disease are anemia, excessive shedding, cold intolerance, slower heartbeat, and weight gain.
Heart disease
A weak heart is a major health problem for any dog. Heart muscles not functioning and firing sequentially as they should lead to our dogs getting tired quickly and easily. There is less tolerance to stress, meaning your dog cannot even exercise properly even if he or she wanted to leading to other health conditions.
Other symptoms of heart disease in dogs are coughing, pot belly, elevated respiratory rate, tiredness, and fainting.
Emotional issues
The loss of someone in the family, bad life experiences, sudden change in the environment, etc. These things can lead to your dog developing emotional issues and most dogs with emotional issues deal with it by looking for a quiet place where they can grieve on their own. If you have a strong bond with your dog, he or she would probably communicate with you that they are having emotional issues.
Apart from going quiet all of a sudden, other signs of emotional issues in dogs are loss of appetite, no interest in playing, whining and howling, etc.
Injury
A broken bone, a wound, a sprained ankle, etc, any type of injury can make your dog really quiet, sad, and sleepy. Injured dogs are likely to cry, limp around, or continue nursing the particular spot of the injury. The challenge with realizing or finding out whether your dog is injured is that dogs generally are very good at hiding physical pain and that includes when they are injured.
You see, in ancient times, an injured dog would be vulnerable to attacks not just from other predators, they would also be vulnerable to intimidation and bullying from their kind. Centuries of conditioning and today, you have dogs that still go to great lengths to hide their physical pain.
Detecting that your dog is quiet and not himself from an injury would require careful observation of your dog. When did he start being quiet? What kind of activities did he used to engage in before but can’t do now? Is there a change in his movement pattern? etc.
Excess Exercise
The type of exercise you do with your dog can leave your dog so exhausted that your dog becomes quiet all of a sudden. There are exercise strategies geared toward expending a dog’s energy such that he or she would have no other option than to fall asleep immediately after such a session.
If this is your situation, there is nothing to worry about. Your dog would be back to its normal self after a good rest. This strategy is usually advised for those who have dogs that don’t rest or sleep at night, exercising them properly in the evening just before bedtime ensures they sleep well.
If this is not your case, then your dog being quiet all of a sudden would be due to other reasons.
Obedience Training
“My dog is really quiet and sleepy” you may be saying to yourself. Why is this? Well, your method of training may have made your dog this way. Check yourself, what exactly do you reward in your dog? What does he do that makes him or her receive praises and body rubs from you. If he sits down quietly and you reward him for that, chances are they would stay quiet more to receive your praise and attention.
Boredom
Your dog may be quiet and not himself simply because he is bored out of his wits. Mental stimulation is very important for dogs at every stage of their life, even when they are old or senior citizens, they need mental stimulation to keep their mental faculties in check.
When left on their own, they may develop abnormal behavior which would be another problem on its own. Basically, make sure you engage your dog from time to time, best practice is to have a schedule of activities so that your dog can look forward to doing something with you daily in a structured manner.
Your dog is in heat
The reason why your dog is sitting quietly all of a sudden can be that she has come into season or she is in heat.
To be clear, not all dogs express themselves when they are in heat the same way. Some can get very aggressive, others become more attached to their dog parents during this period, and finally, there are the ones we are interested in, the ones that prefer to be left alone and stay in silence for that period.
They tend to go back to their normal selves after the heat period.
It’s worth noting that mature female dogs can go into heat twice a year and this can last for two to three weeks for each heat session.
Hot Weather
The hot weather condition can cause a dog to be quiet all of a sudden especially if this is a dog that is used to cold weather. Some examples are the Siberian Husky, Shiba Inu, and the Saint. Bernard. Brachycephalic breeds or dogs with short snouts like Pugs and Bulldogs are also known to hibernate and be quiet when the weather is hot.
Naturally, these dogs are unable to dissipate heat, and so when you have hot weather, it means the condition around is extreme for them and their system has to work harder to manage the heat hence they’re being quiet in hot weather.
Now that we have answered the question “Why is my dog quiet all of a sudden?” the next question would be what can I do to resolve or manage this problem? What are the “home remedies for dog lethargy“
1. Take your dog to a vet doctor immediately.
This should be the first thing you should do immediately you notice that your dog seems withdrawn and quiet. Get your dog to a vet doctor immediately. They would probably perform some tests on your dog to get to the root of the matter and give appropriate medication and advice on how best to manage the situation.
Even if you are unable to take your dog to a vet hospital, try and get across to a professional as soon as possible. Problems with food poisoning, injuries, or health-related ones need to be addressed immediately as they are life-threatening in a sense.
2. Proper diet and water
A good diet plan for your dog is worth a thousand medications. Proper diet for your dog no matter the stage of life they are at gives their system the ability to perform optimally no matter what. This helps to reduce health and physical-based problems and reduces the chances of your dog being quiet as a result of that.
Water is also good as it not only aids digestion but is also a key factor in the respiratory process in dogs.
3. Engage your dog in mental activities
Engaging your dog in mental activities is a good way of ensuring that they grow up being confident dogs with proper manners. It also prevents your dog from developing behavioral problems which might be detrimental to your relationship with her.
As we said earlier, a lack of mental activities can lead to your dog having issues like boredom and emotional issues.
You can engage your dog mentally by teaching him or her new tricks, engaging them in some family chores, or providing them with interactive toys as they age.
4. Show your dog love.
No matter what your dog is passing through, showing them love and trying to understand the situation will solve a good portion of the problem your dog is facing. This is even more true in the case of your dog becoming quiet all of a sudden.
For us, the problem which our dog is facing might seem irrelevant, but to the dog most times it is a very big issue and might mean everything to them. Showing love and taking it a step further to surround your dog with such is something that will make you look like a hero in your dog’s eyes.
You can schedule play dates between your dog and other friendly dogs, or you can get a friend, relative, or a hired worker to fill in for you in those times that you can’t be with your dog. This will help your dog to heal faster and be happier in the home you provide for him or her.
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Hi, I am Charles Nwankwo Editor-in-Chief, Mydoggything.com. Gleaning from Professional Dog Trainers, behaviorist, Registered Veterinarians, and Breeders. We are passionate about making dog care easy for you. My job is to make sure that you get the best-updated dog care information to understand and take care of your dog or dogs.