Maturity or Sickness

[capthunterdude]

My GSP puppy just turned 6 months old yesterday. My wife has been saying that he has been acting very different from his usual self during the day and I have kind of noticed a difference in him. According to her he has been very, incredibly well behaved and likes to lay around alot more. This is very different from his usual self. I come home from work today and he greats me excitedly, we play a little fetch indoors with his bumpers, then he just lays down for a nap. He is also not eating much food. He used to eat some in the morning and then again in the evening. Now he just eating in the afternoon and it is not a very large amount. If I take him to the field he is great. Lots of energy, bird chasing, swimming for bumpers, no problem. I also noticed he is getting much faster with compliance to commands. It also seems as if his interest in birds is growing tremendously.

Wanted your opinions, is he maturing and leaving some of his puppiness behind or should I take him to the vet.

[ecater2218]

Check for worms

[ACooper]

How old is the dog? How is his coat? Are you free feeding or do you just feed twice a day?

[capthunterdude]

I do not free feed him. He has food put down once in the morning and then once in the evening. He has never been a food crazy dog. I almost have to stand there for him to eat. I will check his poo. I checked it yesterday and it looked pretty good. Nothing strange except maybe a little grass. He has been playing pretty hard since I have been home. My wife says he is just a bit more relaxed and calm during the day these past couple days with a load of napping. He will eat other things but just wants to nibble on his food. I have an appointment for the vet soon for a heartworm test.

His coat looks fine and he just turned 6 months.

BTW: He typically won't touch his food until training in the morning or being in the field in the afternoon.

[daniel77]

May well just be a growth spurt that is taking a lot out of him. I'd hope you have him on a regular worming program already, but that could be a culprit. From what you're describing, it sounds like he's just maturing a bit, albeit somewhat early.