Expert advice will of course be sought but we love our mutts on here so just asking for general experience and advice.

Our pampered spaniel (7) is becoming a bit withdrawn. We lost our old lakeland terrier a few months ago and at the time our spaniel (let’s call him Monty (cos that’s his name)) seemed fine. He is absolutely adored and fussed over, has the run of local countryside and golf courses and spends far too much time lying on our bed.

He just seems well a little sad. He seems healthy and goes running a few times a week for a few miles with Mrs Surfer and appears to have lost a little weight, not much just seems a bit trimmer which I am not too concerned about and his appetite is very good. His feeding habits are good and we never feed him titbits or when we are eating etc he has his 2 meals plus occasional tiny recall treats when we are out. The only exception is BBQ rules where if we BBQ he gets a sausage or 2….

Thoughts? Could he be missing his old grumpy housemate

Here is a picture of the little rascal last year on our way for a long day in the hills 🙂

7 years is well into middle age for a dog, could it just be a natural slow down?

Thoughts? Could he be missing his old grumpy housemate

Can just be a bit of a dynamic of a two-dog household – theres always a bit of friendly rivalry between two dogs. When one goes some of that stimulation goes with it and you’ll perhaps see less ‘energy’ often less appetite (when theres not a race to eat your dinner before the other gets it)

Its not necessarily that the remaining dog is either ‘ill’ or ‘sad’ – this is maybe the character your dog would always have had if there wasn’t another in the house . The motivation the other dog creates isn’t there – a young dog won’t let an old dog rest -even when that ‘young’ dog is themselves quite old.

Our lurcher fitted these symptoms recently and it coincided with a case of fox lungworm. Easily treated once we knew as we have a stool sample tested every two months but I doubt it would have been picked up otherwise until symptoms became more serious.

However, that’s a sample size of one.

Thanks. We are looking at getting a second spaniel sometime this year.

Interesting ref the Lungwork Onzadog although we dont live in the countryside as such (Wirral) we are always in the countryside as oppose to walking him on roads etc always take the opportunity for him to be off the lead so its possible he has picked something up, he does pick up quite a few ticks.

Thanks Maccruiskeen thats food for thought. The Lakeland was very chilled and more cat like in that she wasnt bothered about attention etc but there will be a “dynamic” due to the fact that there are 2 of them. There is quite a gap between her death and his behaviour change though.

Interesting to see what bringing another into the house will do.

Intresting you say that Martymac, at his checkup a few months ago (he was fully fit) the vet refered to him as geriatric, we were a bit suprised. Physically he seems fine and he enjoys the short jogs he does and loves to go out, he guards the door if he thinks there is the slightest chance of a walk 🙂

All our Dalmatians slowed somewhat at 7 or suffered if they didn’t think (!) slowing was necessary.

To be fair, he looks a grumpy sod in the photo.

Like all things in life, I’m sure this can be solved with an addition of puppies.

It is a tad warm of late, our old girl always got the same when the temps crept up.

Could it be a lockdown thing?

My little dog has been a bit the same but it’s because her normal routine is totally up in the air with everyone being at home.

She normally goes to my MIL three days a week and she’s missing that and she’s also missing the daily excitement of people coming home who’ve been out at work / school.

I used the exact phrase ‘middle aged’ because I went to visit my uncle a few years ago, it had been 5 years since my previous visit and the 2yo ‘pup’ was now 7yo and my uncle referred to him that way.
I’d never thought of that phrase with regards to an animal before.

I am not a vet but from what you described there doesn’t seem to be anything wrong with him? Good appetite, keen to exercise, largely unaffected by the loss of the other dog and not lacking in fuss! Possibly you seeing an issue that isn’t there? He is a fine looking chap by the way….

Animals do absolutely mourn for friends that leave. We had a cat that would spend all day outside playing with next door’s cat. When they moved away he would sit on the bottom step of the stairs with his face flat on the floor for hours a day. It was heartbreaking. 😔 Introduction of a rescue ‘friend’ was astonishing, within a couple of days he was a different animal.

I’m a miserable old git not inclined to hyperbole and I wouldn’t have believed it. They’re social mammals just like us so it’s not that surprising really.

Spaniel is probably missing his buddy. Sound like he has a better life than me though, TWO sausages! 😎

Could it be linked to your dog getting a little older and the warmer weather? My 9 year old (very active) dog changes his behaviour a bit with the onset of the warmer weather.

My little dog has been a bit the same but it’s because her normal routine is totally up in the air with everyone being at home.

Possibly you seeing an issue that isn’t there?

See your point and beacuse we are home all the time now (before it was mixed and he often spent several hours most days on his own) then we could be over analysing it but he does seem more subdued mornings and evenings when we would be with him all the time although that could be a spillover from the general “change” due to lockdown etc.

Thanks for your thoughts.

Thanks @pictonroad

but he does seem more subdued mornings and evenings when we would be with him all the time

..but more active in the mid morning / afternoon when he’d normally be home alone, lying sleeping for 4 hours?

Has he got a quiet spot in the house he can go to for a nap?
He’s probably getting half the sleep he’s used to!

Has he got a quiet spot in the house he can go to for a nap?
He’s probably getting half the sleep he’s used to!

but more active in the mid morning / afternoon when he’d normally be home alone, lying sleeping for 4 hours?

He does have several but that is a good point. We are all (3 of us) at home on slightly different schedules so he is definitely getting disturbed more for play and cuddles 🙂 I tend to fuss him around 5:30 to 6 in the morning when I get up. Mrs starts work a bit later so around 8am, when I am working then student daughter wakes around 10 and from then on we are making tea, snacks, avoiding conf calls etc so he doesnt lie down for more than an hour really. After responding above I went back in and started playing with him so you may have hit on the problem (amongst some of the others)

I’m no expert apart from experience of our 7 year old Cocker and he’s had a couple of off days recently that we’ve put down to lockdown.

2 days ago he spent the whole day whining at my wife and not settling at all, but wife was having a bit of an off day too so he probably picked up on that and they spent the day winding each other up.

We’re still out working but around the rest of the time a lot more than usual, his whole routine is changed. When we’re working he usually gets at least 2 hours in the middle of the day when we’re both out, now he’s not even getting that time alone as our shifts have changed slightly at the moment. Would be even worse if you’re WFH and in all the time.

Hamish does get a bit unsettled / barky if he doesn’t get his naps!

Hopefully he / you just need to adjust a bit and it’s nothing else.

My little dog has been a bit the same but it’s because her normal routine is totally up in the air with everyone being at home.

We are finding that with our Cocker/King Charles cross (she’s just turned four). We are all at home all day every day so normally she’d be really happy but she’s having periods of just taking herself off to her crate during the day and even sometimes in the evening when she’d normally be sat in the front room with us watching tv (although this might be her having the huff as we’ve not had the log burner on recently).

We have a 7 year old lab springer x who is finding lockdown pretty tiring I think . She is getting proper walks everyday as we use it as an excuse to make sure the kids get a bit of fresh air and a walk everyday and then we’re in the garden a fair bit where she can’t resist dropping a ball at your feet constantly.

at her last annual check at the vet it was definitely a shift in tone to saying she was getting older and changing a few things to keep her in good nick for a few years yet .

I’m sure yours is fine , probably just adapting to a new routine and a few less naps through the day .

My spaniel is acting similar but I concluded she is knackered. She is getting more exercise than ever but only a fraction of the day time sleep as we are at home. I’ve just botched together a kennel to give her some writer space outside for day time sleeping

I meant quiet space. Not writer space. She is clever but is no author.

my dog went through a phase like that, for a while we thought she was on her last legs. Turns out she needed her teeth cleaned and when she was in the vets they discovered a rotten tooth. No wonder she was miserable.
Tooth was removed and when she came round she was like a brand new puppy, never seemed so happy. Poor bugger must have been in agony

7 years is well into middle age for a dog, could it just be a natural slow down?

7 is still is still a youngster

Archie is 14.5 he enjoys life very much in the slow lane

7 is not old at all for a spaniel, especially one who isn’t a working dog. I wouldn’t be too concerned at the moment as they all have ‘off’ days but I would confirm that they definitely do miss their playmates. Just keep an eye him and get him checked by a vet if you’re still concerned in a few days. My 2 black labs, which I shared with ex partner, were ‘removed’ by the “@×* when she moved to Surrey and my new dog, who had known them for 3 years from being a puppy, definitely went on a downer. Wasn’t even interested in going for a walk.

She went back to her normal self when the new puppy came along. 4 years later they are inseparable.

Pic not working

When our mutt is being weird (also 7, Starlight (name not my choice), cava-poo) its usually because she has a tick somewhere. difficult to find through her fur, often we don’t notice until the minging bastard thing falls off and the dog is suddenly happier again. Odd.

Just a thought, hope Monty is doing OK.

Starlight (most often called ‘Floofs’ for obvious reasons) says: “I think there’s a rabbit over there, let’s go get it Monty!”