Hi there,

I have a supper JRT X who until now has been an example of a happy, secure and extremely obedient dog. In the last few days however she has started to seem rather depressed in the house, sleeping in corners, mainly on items of my clothing that she can find and is not interested in food. She only seems to eat her food if our elderly labrador takes an interest in her bowl. She is bright when I walk her, and is happy with me when we are out and about, but as soon as we return to the house she sulks of somewhere private.

Initially I thought it was a phantom pregnancy ( she is due to be spayed in the next month ) but there are no signs of her 'nesting' or pseudo lactating. It is all very strange.

We lost a very beloved lurcher about 6 weeks ago, and my labrador is 12 years old and 100% blind. Pip ( the JRT ) is normally devoted to the lab, sleeping in her bed etc, but the last few days she has been less close to her.

Has anyone else experienced anything like this? I would be most grateful for any advice. My next port of call is obviously the vet, but she is not entirely displaying anorexia as she eats a little bit and I feel this is more of a behavioural issue.

Thanks!

I was going to suggest a season due or phantom, could be pining for the lost one though.

I'd check the vets for signs of Pyometra if she had been in season in the last two months.

Has anything else changed in the house? my pomx has refused to come into the lounge since we got a new sofa 2/3 months ago. Previously she was always asleep in the lounge on the old sofa or playing with the other two she now spends most of her time upstairs unless its food time or walk time then she comes down stairs. If you bring into the lounge she bolts out again and if you sit down with her she sits on your lap stiffly until you take your hands off her and then off she goes.

I'd also go with the possibility of a Pyo which can happen soon after a season.   With the open sort, it will be obvious from the nasty foul smelling discharge, but sometimes the Pyo can be a 'closed one' which has no visible discharge going on ( much as the stomach can be rather swollen).   The bitch will be lethargic, perhaps drink more and generally unwell.   I'd not rule this out.

Even if she's not actively nesting, she could be going through a false pregnancy so I'd not rule that out either, and if this is going on, chances are she may do this after every season she's allowed to have.   So get her spayed as soon as you can - and in case this is a Pyometra, please have your vet examine her asap.

ps   The loss of another pet in the household can affect those left behind, depending on how close they were.

Thanks for the help, I actually took her to the vet after my inital post and they said that she was very fit, and it could be a number of things; she might be affected by the weather and therefore be suffering from headaches! ( who knew? ) which is common in dogs when there is a high amount of air pressure. She also said she might be showing the first signs of a phantom, although she was not displaying all the usual indicators...

She gave her an anti inflammatory which seemed to pick her up a bit, and she certainly seems more jolly. She is still not eating with the same vigour as she normally does and is only picking at her food - usually after our elderly lab has finished....

I really appreciate the comments, and hope she perks up even more!

Earlier this week I thought my bitch was coming down with something. She looked really fed up, slept a lot and went off her food. She also got runny eyes.
After talking to some other dog walkers around me, it seems a lot of dogs were suffering with the heat and perhaps a bit of hay fever.
Last 2 days she has been back to normal.
Hope it is nothing with yours too.

That's weird. I've been wondering why my bitch seems off her food and perhaps not quite as lively as normal. It seems to come and go over the last few weeks. Other then that she seems absolutely fine apart from an attack last night, of what I call 'the swallows' where she starts frantically swallowing in big gulping motions. I've always assumed its a bit of an upset stomach, perhaps acid reflux or something, does anyone know what this is? I've often wondered if a indigestion tablet would help!