Health
You pick up the lead and nobody comes. He sleeps, leaves food in the bowl, ignores the ball. An off day or the first sign of illness; what comes with it decides.
Caution. A flat dog with pale or yellowish gums, dark urine, fever, a swollen belly with retching, heavy breathing, or one who will not get up: call today, even in the evening. Lethargy that runs past two days needs a vet visit anyway.
Do not look for the answer in a Facebook group, on TikTok or on a forum. Look for someone trained for this: your dog's own veterinarian, the only person who can examine, investigate and treat them.
Use this page to know what to observe, what to note and what to ask at the appointment, not to treat at home. If you still have doubts after a consultation, ask another vet or a specialist (dermatologist, internist) for a second opinion, not a group. And if you do not have a regular vet yet, find one now, while your dog is healthy: how to choose a veterinary clinic.
You take the lead off the hook and wait for the scrabble of claws on the floor. Nothing. The dog has opened one eye, thumped his tail twice and stayed in his bed. Yesterday he left half his dinner; today he looked at the bowl and walked off. Or it is not one day at all: for a week now he has slept more, the ball lies where it landed, and when you come home he wanders over late, like an old dog, though he is four. Two explanations fight in your head. Either something has upset him, or he is ill. This page helps you pull those apart and bring your vet exactly what they need to know.
First, how much a perfectly healthy dog sleeps. A lot. An adult sleeps about half the day, sometimes a bit more, in stretches, with one eye on you in between. Puppies and old dogs can manage 18 hours out of 24. A 40-kilo shepherd sleeps more than a two-year-old terrier, and a dog who ran three trails in the woods on Saturday sleeps all of Sunday, which is exactly as it should be. The number of hours tells you very little. The change from the dog you had last week tells you almost everything.
Lethargy on its own can mean anything from a tiring day to an illness that kills within hours. That is why you look at what comes with it. Call today, even if it is evening, if a flat dog also has any of these:
With none of those signs, you have a window of a day, two at most. If the lethargy runs past 24 to 48 hours, if he eats far less, if you can see him losing weight or he hides and no longer wants to be touched, call and book.
Vets work with facts. "He's a bit flat" is not a fact; "he drank 400 ml instead of 800 and he's at 39.6" is. All of it takes five minutes a day.
Energy, as a number. Each evening, give him a mark from 0 to 5. Five is your dog on a good day, zero is a dog who will not get up. After three or four evenings you can see whether it is an off day or a slope.
Temperature. A digital thermometer, in the rectum, tip greased. Normal is roughly 38 to 39.2 °C. Take it when he is calm; after a run every dog reads higher.
Gums. Lift the lip and look at the colour. Then press with a finger: the spot goes white, and in a healthy dog the pink is back within two seconds.
Food and water. How much of his usual portion he leaves. For water, put down a measured amount in the morning and see what is left at night.
Wee and poo. Colour, amount, how often. Is he straining? Any blood? Diarrhoea?
Pain. Dogs hide it, especially those who ever lived on the street. The small signs give it away: he no longer jumps on the sofa, takes the stairs with pauses, gets up in two stages, pants without having run, licks the same spot, trembles, stands hunched, growls when you touch one particular place.
What has changed around him. A move, someone leaving home, a new dog, a new routine, a new medicine, a vaccine a few days ago, a heatwave.
| What else you see | What your vet may be thinking of | How fast |
|---|---|---|
| Fever, pale gums, dark urine, tick season | Babesiosis or another tick-borne disease | Today |
| Swollen belly, retching, big dog | Twisted stomach | At once |
| Drinks and wees a lot, losing weight | Diabetes, kidneys, other hormonal disease | Within days |
| Gaining weight, thin coat, seeks warmth, slow | A sluggish thyroid | Within days |
| Lame, slow to rise, older dog | Joints or back | Within days |
| Breathes fast, coughs, tires on exercise | Heart | Today or tomorrow |
| After a move, a loss, a big change | Stress, grief | Once the vet has ruled out the rest |
| Flat for a day after a vaccine | A common reaction | Watch; call if it does not pass |
The table has one job: to show you how many explanations come before "he's just sad".
Only if everything comes back clean do you talk about boredom, stress or sadness. That conversation is a serious one. A dog who has shut down after a big change needs a day he can predict, exercise, things he enjoys, and sometimes a behaviourist.
Dogs notice when the household changes. A move, a child off to university, the death of the other dog, a new job that leaves them alone for ten hours. Some go quiet for a few days or a few weeks, eat less, sleep more. Once the vet has ruled out illness, what helps is a predictable day, walks where he may sniff as long as he likes, short games with food hidden around the house, and time with you, without smothering him.
In training we often watch a flat, withdrawn dog switch on the moment he is handed a job for his nose. If even that does not move him, nor the game he used to love most, you have one more reason to go back to the vet.
What dog owners search for most often on the internet about this problem, with the short answer. The answers are a guide only: the decision belongs to your dog's own vet, after an examination.
A healthy adult sleeps about half the day, sometimes a little more, in stretches. Puppies and old dogs manage 18 hours out of 24. Large breeds sleep more, and so does a dog who worked hard the day before. Do not look at the number of hours; look at how much it has changed from how he slept last week.
Yes. A move, someone leaving home, losing the other dog or a routine that leaves him alone for hours can shut him down: he goes quieter, eats less, sleeps more. Still see your vet before you put it all down to sadness, because pain and plenty of illnesses look exactly the same.
When it comes with pale or yellowish gums, dark urine, a fever above 39.5 °C, a swollen belly with retching, heavy breathing, fits, or a dog who will not get up. In puppies, very old dogs and in tick season you do not wait at all. With no other signs, see the vet if it lasts beyond a day or two.
With a digital thermometer, in the rectum, the tip greased with a little petroleum jelly, two or three centimetres in, while someone holds him calmly. Normal is roughly 38 to 39.2 °C. A warm or dry nose means nothing. If he struggles hard, stop and tell your vet you could not get a reading.
The information on this page is educational and does not replace an examination. For full details and a diagnosis, consult your dog's own veterinarian.
They often come together: the same causes, plans that complement each other.
Hot ears, a warm dry nose, a dog who will not get up for his walk. The nose tells you nothing. A thermometer tells you everything in under a minute.
Ten days ago he was in long grass. Today he will not get up or eat, and his urine is the colour of strong tea. Babesiosis does not wait for morning, and neither should you.
He sniffed the bowl and walked off, twice running, yet he's drinking and wagging. With a bright adult you can wait a day. With a puppy or an old dog, you can't.
Sleeping more, gaining weight without eating more, glued to the radiator, thinning flanks. It may be the thyroid, or something else that looks very like it.
We work with your dog's behaviour, not its health. For any sign described here, book an appointment with your own vet; the related services page explains how to choose a clinic.