My Buddy Seems Different
 

My Yorkie Ipo (e-poe) is 13 this year and very active and friendly. In the last several days he has not greeted me with he same enthusiasm, running, playing catch and general antics when I come home like he has displayed for most of his life. He just in the last two days will not engage in playing ball and running like he has been normally. The last week or so he will whine quietly and and for no apparent reason. Otherwise he is clean, coat shiny, a health weight, eating and drinking regularly and acting otherwise normally.

So, am I just hypersensitive, or am I missing something?

He could be maturing but the crying is what worries me...lets see what the experts here say but I'd definitely consult a vet if there is crying involved with this big of a behavior change

Buddy
 

Perhaps he has pain in his knees or legs and it hurts to play as he once did? He is older and could have developed arthritis. Hope you find out what ails him and that he is better soon.

Something is amiss with him....it can be something as unbelievably simple as a little something caught in his hair between his toes, to something more involved and serious.

He is getting to be a stately elder, and things will start to "snag up" in his health profile....changes in what he feels in his aging joints, changes in his eye sight, changes in his hearing....all these are confusing to him and worrisome to him because he is incapable of understanding what is happening to him.....bless his little heart.

Is he close to having his annual checkup? If he is, I would spend the time until his appointment, going over his entire body with a fine tooth comb....handling every joint in his body, from his toes to his spine...see if he has any soreness in bones or muscles.....of course, failing hearing/eye sight will not be evident to you during the exam, but just through his minute changes in his patterned behaviors.....I see you are in Fl.so frigid temps are not an issue with him!....my little senior stud, Bouncer, is really feeling the cold in his little joints this year.....I got heating pads for dogs for each of the beds for them, and they are ALL really enjoying all the heated beds! A tiny dose of pain med, and the heating pads is working wonders for my tough little Major, and he is back to making sure everyone else is towing the line and behaving themselves!

I think at your little man's age, he is feeling aging changes and he is confused by them....if he is soon to be seen for his annual, then just watch him closely for any further deterioration/changes, and get him in sooner if need be.

Thank you everyone for your advice and support. His annual is coming up soon. I'll check him closely for aches and pains. God Bless-

If he is acting odd and is whining too - something is wrong....and I'd get him to a vet pretty quickly, especially at his age...

We lost our golden retriever this summer to a stroke. He started having seizurs a few months before and some of them were as you described. I take him to the vet and make sure it's not seizures. There is treatments available if you catch problems early. Hope he is back to himself soon.