If you feel that your furry friend is not as active as they should be, it might be completely normal behaviour based on the cold weather, a big walk the day before or it also might be a red flag of an underlying serious disease.
Why is my dog suddenly lethargic?
Being lethargic means to remain or continue in a state of unresponsiveness or inactivity. It is totally normal for your pet dog to remain silent or look tired for a day after vigorous activity. But if there have been no previous activities in their life recently and your furry friend is still acting sick or looking very tired, you must immediately contact your vet for a check up.
Reasons why my dog could be looking very tired:
- Parvovirus: Younger dogs can catch Parvovirus from infected dogs or faeces in the park or beach. This virus is called Canine Parvovirus type 2 (CPV-2). Symptoms can include vomiting, tiredness, fever and diarrhoea.
- Kennel cough: is a respiratory disease. Signs of Kennel cough are a runny nose and a cough as well as tiredness.
- Leptospirosis: spreads from the urine of an infected animal. Symptoms include fever, shivering, stiffness of the muscles, frequent urination from your pet resulting in dehydration and lethargy.
- Distemper: Both cats and dogs get infected with distemper through infected blood. This disease affects the various parts of the body including respiratory and the gastrointestinal tract. Symptoms include nasal discharge, runny nose, vomiting and dehydration. A dog may have long-lasting signs throughout its life after this disease. Other damage to the skin, teeth and gums can occur as well. Some cases also experience a degeneration of the pets nervous system.
- Heartworm disease: This disease spreads through the bite of a mosquito. It is caused by a parasitic worm called Dirofilaria Immitis.
- Liver disease: Dogs with liver disease will show signs of vomiting, abdominal pain, loss of weight, seizures, blood in their urine as some of the symptoms. Several viral, bacterial infections can cause damage to their liver as well. If treated in time, your pet can recover from liver dysfunction and remain healthy.
- Heart Disease: Signs include tiredness, abdominal pain or bulge, coughing, difficulty breathing, weakness and unconsciousness. Heart disease in dogs can be treated with medication and special diets to control the negative effects of the disease on the your dog’s heart.
- Pain or trauma: If you feel that your dog is in pain or is looking sick due to a recent trauma, please consult your vet as soon as possible.
- Pet Poisoning: There are certain food items and medicines that your pet can be allergic to or that are bad for dogs generally. It is very important that as a responsible pet parent you take enough care to avoid your pet coming into contact with any obvious poisonous food for dogs, such as chocolate, etc. Pet poisoning affects your dog’s respiratory system which can result in cardiac arrest or coma. So it is very important that you take the utmost care with all foods and liquids given to your dog and that you take your dog to your vet immediately if you suspect pet poisoning.
- Low blood sugar: When the glucose level drops in a dog, they will be tired. If your pet is diabetic, you need to take special care to maintain their blood sugar level everyday.
Is my dog lethargic or just tired?
A tired dog will be back to normal as soon as they can get some rest whereas lethargy in dogs pointing to illness is usually accompanied by other symptoms such as shortness of breath or your pet behaving out of character. Please consult a vet in this instance to be on the safe side.
What does it mean when your dog is lethargic and not eating?
Loss of appetite or skipping a few meals will lead to lethargy in dogs but not eating or not having the feeling to have food might also be due to the fact that your dog is trying to fight some infection or they could be in pain. As a pet parent, please keep an eye on your pet and monitor what they are eating and drinking or note it if they refuse to eat at all.
How can I help my dog with lethargy?
As discussed earlier, your dog might choose to remain inactive for a few hours or a day if they are very tired after exercise which is perfectly ok. Just try to make them comfortable and warm and don’t force them to do anything unless they are ready to.
Why is my dog lethargic and shivering?
Shivering or trembling along with lethargy, vomiting or diarrhoea needs immediate medical attention.
When should I take my dog to the vet?
Lethargy can be due to different reasons. It might be the aftereffect of activity, trauma, infection or as serious as a heart or kidney disease. The utmost care needs to be taken if you notice that your furry friend is tired. Any signs of lethargy accompanied by excessive panting, fever, nausea, frequent urination, muscle stiffness, diarrhoea and unconsciousness need to be addressed by your vet as soon as possible as we have identified above.
Vets2Home, Peaceful Pet Goodbyes based in Sussex, UK are trained to take care of sick pet once they get to the time that they need final peace and to cross over the Rainbow Bridge. We are a team of trained vets with expertise in palliative and end of life care services. We offer end-of-life mobile vet services to look after your pets in the comfort of your home.