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My dog is lethargic, not eating, and falling asleep standing. Why?

Updated On September 23rd, 2025

Pet's info: Dog | Mixed Breed Small (up to 22lb) | Male | neutered | 1 year and 1 month old | 18 lbs

My buddy woke up fine yesterday he ate drank peed and pooped as usual. He had his treats when snack time. All of the sudden like at 8pm we started noticing him slowing down. Didn't want to walk eat play and literally falling asleep standing or sitting. I became concerned and took him to the emergency room. Where the did a thorough check up gave him IV and did blood work which came back great. He was sent home basically with nothing wrong but today he is the same no eating no playing just letharg

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1 Answer

Most Helpful Answer

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Answered By Dr. Dayna, DVM, CVA

Veterinarian, Certified Veterinary Acupuncturist

Published on February 25th, 2018

I’m sorry Buddy isn’t feeling well. The good news is that his blood work looked good! Sometimes with real nebulous Symptoms such as what Buddy is displaying it can be difficult to pin point the cause. When he is sleeping standing or sitting it makes me suspect that laying down is uncomfortable. This makes me wonder is his belly or his back is uncomfortable . Young dogs certainly have a reputation for eating things they shouldn’t and an intestinal foreign body would be high on my list of concerns. Also I see a lot of back pain in these types of cases as well. Sometimes serial examinations are helpful because you find things on a repeat examination that maybe wasn’t as evident the day before. If he doesnt seem to improve then I would encourage you to have a follow up appointment soon. An x-Ray of his abdomen may be recommended. Best of luck and I hope he improves soon. Thank you for using Pet Coach.

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