Sudden Drop in Energy Levels

[mavendark]

Hello all!

My 11 month old Sheltie, Tybalt, used to be super hyper and energetic. He would have the craziest zoomies, and we used to have to give him 3 walks a day and then some playing and running inside the house to get him tired out. Now, he is reduced to one walk a day, because at the end of a 30 minute walk, he is lagging behind me (and we weren't even running like we did before). He stays at home while we work, and when we come back from work, we used to play a lot to get him tired before bedtime, but now, he just sits by my foot and sometimes falls asleep even after he's been home alone for 9 hours a day (presumably resting).

We also got another new puppy recently, which we could kind of attribute to lowering Tybalt's energy levels, but we keep them separate for a good 9 hours of the day, because I take the new puppy to work. So Tybalt has time to relax at home plenty. Additionally, we thought that it might also be the weather, as it is quite warm here (around 80 degrees Fahrenheit) but we keep Tybalt inside for most of the day (besides early morning walks) where it is nice and cool. We noticed that the drastic drop happened between his 9-11month period.

Tybalt is the first puppy I've had and I know their energy levels are supposed to decrease as they reach adulthood. But I feel like the energy level drop is extremely drastic here. Have any of you guys experienced a sudden drop in energy level as they reached adulthood as well?

 

[Caro]

Two things come to mind. 1) He is too fat - weight on a sheltie makes a huge difference to energy levels. 2) Dysplasia. The lagging behind makes me wonder if his joints are sore. Playing with a new pup may be putting extra stress on the joints so if he already had dysplasia it could be making him more sore. Your vet will need to check this out, it can be hard to diagnose without x-rays though.

Of course he could just be getting more tired with the puppy.

 

[Tagg]

It might also have something to do with you taking new pup with you and leaving him behind. He might just want to stay close to you.

 

[mavendark]

Two things come to mind. 1) He is too fat - weight on a sheltie makes a huge difference to energy levels. 2) Dysplasia. The lagging behind makes me wonder if his joints are sore. Playing with a new pup may be putting extra stress on the joints so if he already had dysplasia it could be making him more sore. Your vet will need to check this out, it can be hard to diagnose without x-rays though.

Of course he could just be getting more tired with the puppy.

Hmm... For sure he is not fat as sometimes he doesn't finish his meals. I will look up information on dysplasia, but from my understanding, doesn't this happen later on in their life more oftentimes?

It might also have something to do with you taking new pup with you and leaving him behind. He might just want to stay close to you.

Possibly...but I have also brought Tybalt to work with me (only him) and he has about the same energy levels...

 

[Tagg]

Then I would speak to the vet and get some blood work done if necessary. Puppies don't normally do such a drastic about change like that. Usually it would be a gradual change from puppy sillies to adult behaviour.

 

[BarbV]

I would get him tested for hypothyroid. It's not uncommon in Shelties. Very treatable once diagnosed.

I'm considering having Indy tested. It doesn't suffer from lethargy, but I can't get him to lose weight!

Most dogs aren't diagnosed with it until they are older until symptoms start to show. But in reality, the blood counts can show up years earlier. Frankly, I'm not one to promote over testing, over vaccinating, or even annual vet visits, etc, but one test I would recommend for any Sheltie over 4 years old is hypothyroid.

 

[Biscuits&barks]

Just chiming in to encourage a vet check. Any sudden change in behavior, without an obvious reason is cause for concern. I would have thought a new puppy would increase the activity of an 11 month old.... in shape or not.

 

[Caro]

I will look up information on dysplasia, but from my understanding, doesn't this happen later on in their life more oftentimes?

Dysplasia is an incongruity of the joints that occurs between birth and 12mths. It occurs equally in large or small dogs but tends to be picked up in large dogs earlier. My male has elbow dysplasia that wasn't picked up until he was over 2yrs old, but the subtle signs were there for probably a year before that. It's just that being a small, fit and active dog the vets didn't pick it up earlier (and I didn't know about it). I mention dysplasia because the signs you mention are the subtle ones I saw in my own dog.