Help! Concern about my pup

I've notice this recently my puppy does not pant when he plays rigorously. He just stops playing and keels over on the couch and lays his head down. My dh is very worry as he over the moon in love with this little rascal. He never smiles like all the pups I've seen on here on Cavalier Talk. Is this normal?

He is about nine months old and weighs around 14 lbs.

hi pinkpuppy. i'm not sure what your geographic location is---i'm in atlanta, georgia. until last may, we lived in dublin ireland, so indy spent his entire puppyhood in a much colder climate. i think i only saw indy pant maybe once or twice in dublin. he would run around and play and then flop down for a little nap like you are describing. he didn't really "smile" until we moved here and the weather was hot. it was like seeing another side of indy and we have lots of pictures of his "new" face. someone please correct me if i'm wrong, but i believe that dogs pant either to cool themselves or out of nervousness, so it's possible that your puppy is playing vigorously and wearing himself out without getting hot enough to pant.

i'm not sure what the experiences of the other members are, but that's ours. hope that's helpful!

Hi Pinkpuppy! We have only had Dottie for about 2 weeks, but she gets the zoomies and plays and plays then when she has had enough, either stretches out on the floor or hops on the couch and she is OUT! It has been cool here in Southern California, and I haven't seen her huff and puff or pant after a good jaunt. Certainly keep an eye on your pup to see if anything else is going on out of the ordinary, and if so, be safe and see the vet, otherwise, I wouldn't worry too much.

Lucky doesn't really pant - just if it is really hot in the summer time.

My boys don't pant in the winter either. And, it takes a really long time to get them both to the smiley stage!

I don't think that dogs are smiling with their mouths, even though they appear to be; it's all in the eyes and body language.

I found Jaspar didn't really start panting til he was close to a year old (probably at least 7-8 months, trying to remember). As a puppy, he almost never did. But it is really hard to make a guess as to whether a particular behaviour is normal or not. If it is really different from other dogs you have had, then I would probably want to look into further.

If you are concerned the best thing is to discuss this with your vet on your next visit.

Thank you all for your kind replies. He is technically my very first puppy. Therefore, I have little or no experience with dogs of any kind. My dh is the one who has had dogs of many breeds all his life. I guess this is the first one he could claim as his and loves him to pieces. Naturally he is concern, wants me to monitor him. I will take him to the vet if he starts to worry.

I just thought I ask all the experts here on Cavalier Talk instead.

It's about 12F or -11C here in Maine since January. We have had 75" of snow thus far plus 12" last Tuesday. He does not like wearing his boots so he's allowed only 10 minutes every few hours to do the zoomies in 5' of snow! I can't get him to come in the house!

Everyone is right he does do a lot of body language. Which is why I was not too alarmed. He is very alert, eats well, does his business, and has lots of tail wagging for all he meets.

Thank you everybody! You've been great to listening to my concerns.

PP,

He sounds AOK to me!

Rosewoodsteel said:

PP,

He sounds AOK to me!

Click to expand...

Thank you!:flwr:

Amber didn't start panting until she was 7-8 months, and before then we had to be really careful with her. She loved running on grass, but she would run and run and run and run... she had no concept of when she'd had enough. This was when she was getting to the older puppy stage. Then you'd get her back into the car and she would literally collapse from exhaustion- bonelessly so! It was frightening at first since Holly had never done this, but we found that a gentle walk on a lead for five mins after the running around really helped her to wind down quietly instead of the dramatic collapse lark.