My 5.5 year old Labrador retriever mix, Wally, is acting funny even though his vet confirms that he is in perfect health. His normal behavior was to joyfully walk where we took him and play with most other dogs whenever he had the chance. Lately, he hasn’t cooperated with walks and doesn’t always want to play with his friends.
Mrs. Charming and Rested (my wife) and I established a very predictable routine for Wally. In the morning, we walk him my wife’s train before work. I walk him home, where he goes to his crate. I give him some treats and say goodbye. Then I leave for work. He isn’t locked in the crate. Nine hours later, my wife or I comes home and starts his nighttime routine. That includes going out for a pee, dinner, and then he goes to puppy playtime. My wife and I generally trade off on going to puppy playtime but sometimes we both go together.
Wally has a group of dog friends who meet for puppy playtime almost every weeknight and most Saturday mornings. There are four regular dogs and a few others who he plays with when their owners can come. He loves all these dogs and he has never had a real fight with any of them. We even informally board the dogs together at each others’ homes when travelling. Half the time, the group meets at the dog park, where of course any other dogs may come. The other half of the time, just his closest dog friends play together at a local tennis court. We drive to the dog park about half the time and walk the rest. We always walk when we go to the tennis court. Puppy playtime seemed like his favorite time of the day and he was always enthusiastic.
Lately, he hasn’t wanted to walk with us and he hasn’t been as excited to play at the tennis court. He is reluctant to walk my wife to the train in the morning even though he used to enjoy the exercise. Secondly, he often refuses to walk to the tennis court or the dog park to play with his friends. If we drive rather than walk to the dog park, he generally seems happy to be there. If I make him walk to the tennis court, he plays might play a trivial amount, just sulk, or try to escape. He seems indifferent to seeing dogs on his walks that he used to greet enthusiastically (although he has often run hot and cold with these casual acquaintances). He also shows one classic sign of separation anxiety – he has started taking Mrs. Charming and Rested’s bras out of the hamper and leaving them in his bed during the day.
Wally experienced a big change in his life when his best friend, Levi, moved away a few months ago. Wally would see Levi almost every day in his playgroup, and they would spend many nights together when we watched Levi or when Levi’s owner watched Wally for us (generally in our house). Since the move, he has only seen Levi twice and not at all in the last month. Wally’s change of behavior came a little after the move but I can’t think of any other changes that would have triggered Wally’s new behavior.
I’m not sure what to do to restore Wally’s happiness. Any ideas?