Not his normal happy self...

For all of last week, and now 2 days so far this week, my dog has not been his normal happy playful self.
I am with him all the time, and I am quite sure it isn't something he ate. He seems tired and sort of depressed.
We go for 1.5 hour walks every day, and yesterday he was too beat to even jump back up into his side of the truck.
I live in up-upstate NY, Adirondacks, and I know we have ticks around, but I brush him off after every walk. I have not found any ticks on him... He HAS had a tick a time or two before, but it never made him act so listless. Do you have any idea what might be the matter with him????  Thank you so much for your help.

[AireScottie]

It could be so many things.  Take him to the vet!  It could be a tick hiding in the underarm or that's already burrowed in and given him Lyme disease.  It could be a thyroid problem.  It could be a bit of rotten something that he snuck out on a walk (I had a Scottie who did that with rotten beach fish all the time!)  He also could have something embedded in his paw, a toenail that split way up, a sprain, strain, torn ligament...well, you get the picture.

[ginger899]

Yes I second that. His symptoms could be caused by any number of things.

If it IS Lyme disease, then it will show up on a blood test, so take him to the vet.

I don't know if it's  the same in the Adirondacks concerning ticks as it is here in the UK (we have a bad deer tick problem, and a lot of Lyme disease too) -but many of the ticks that are causing disease are not necessarily the small, black (about the size of a tiny spider) ones, easily visible, but the even smaller versions, known as "NYMPHS", which are black, and about the same size as a poppy-seed!
Now with my dog, who is short-haired and blonde....they are easy to see and get off immediately. But if you have a dog who has dark hair, plus long hair....well, there IS a problem getting them off. The only answer to this is for him to wear an insecticidal collar which also kills ticks.

[The thing I have heard about ticks and Lyme disease, in both humans and animals, is they have to have been feeding for quite a few hours before they are likely to transmit the disease. So always after a walk if any ticks are removed immediately, you can more or less count yourself safe.]

[wingit]

Hi you guys... Thank you for your answers. We are going to see the vet this morning, and with any luck she can figure it out. My Cedar dog is 7 and he usually acts like he's 2. Everyone is always surprised when I tell them he's 7. When I have an answer as to what it is that's wrong, I will post it.  Thanks again for your help.

[ginger899]

I hope your dog is ok. Yes, do please post back and let us know.

I also have a dog who is in a time-warp. She is 11 and acts like she's 4. I am sure her hearty outdoor life and regular good exercise (which suits her temperament) has a lot to do with it.