A very quiet maltese

[Elmo]

Hi everyone, I'm new to this formu and I'm really excited to join.

I have a 14 months male maltese, his name is Elmo.
Elmo is a cute little boy that likes to be with us and play with us.
We need to go to work during the day, so I have left him in his large exercise pen and I gave him some toys, treat toys and pork ear and I also left the radio on for him.
We tried to give him groom him after dinner and we walk him 2 x 30 min each day.
Before Elmo turned one year old; he used to play with his toys and he is crazy with the pork ear and treat toys.

After he turned one year old, all the toys, treat toys and pork ear doesn't seem to interest him at all.
All the toys are left in the exercise pen un-touch during the day, so we suspected Elmo has sleeps :asleep: the whole day.

He's a lot quieter and he sleeps :asleep: alot after he turned one years too. He doesn't run around the house, doesn't play with the toys (We tried to play with him, but he only interested to play for few minutes and then he lay down on the carpet/floor).
He lay on the floor / sleep on his bed :asleep: most of the time when we are busy (ie cooking / having dinner).
We have took him to the vet, but everything came back normal.
We have spoke with the dog trainer too, she said that might be his normal nature and/or the heat (weather is between 20 ~ 24 degrees).
We not sure is he too borded with the toys so he refused to play.
Do anyone here have the same issue?

We are thinking whatever we should get Elmo a dog companion next year.
But we might be moving house / having baby next year.

Are there any suggestion what we should do?

Thanks:blush:

[JiJi's Mom]

Welcome to MT first of all :D

I think your one of the lucky owners who have a quiet dog. My girl barks non-stop when I'm not here. Tears things up and runs wild (still love her to death). But that behavior will come in handy.
None of mine play with toys anymore unless I throw them so I think that's normal.

[sdkath]

Hi and welcome! Can you make sure that your vet ran thyroid blood tests? It sounds like what my dog had at age 2. She was diagnosed with hypothyroidism and got thyroid pills. She's been fine ever since.

Also, before we did the blood test, we talked to our breeder who also suggested that dogs can get "depressed" at times. We got her new toys and made her scenery at home a bit more exciting. I think that helped quite a bit too.

Good luck! Katherine

[CinttisLuke]

HELLO AND :mtwelcome:


If you took him to the vet already and told you he is fine! Probably that's his personality!! My baby Lucas it's 14 months old too! And he plays a lot!! he has a lot of energy to play!! But we have a coocker spaniel mix with poodle and he is really quiet and calm! hubby says he never liked to play!:confused::confused:

[Morkie4]

HI AND WELCOME TO MALTESE TALK!!!!!

Elmo sounds like a perfect little boy!!! I have a 5 and 6 year old maltese and they LOVE to play with toys. Kallie is 8 years old and has never been much of a toy player; she would rather lay around and sleep her days away.

Since you have taken him to the vet to be checked out and everything came back fine.......I would think it is just his personality and "contentment" of being in a good home and being loved. I agree with Jessica, take advantage and count your blessings that he is such a quiet sweetie pie. He may become a little more active if you add another fluff and then again maybe not. I just know that all mine (except Kallie) became more active when we added more fluffs!!!

Again wecome to Maltese Talk and thanks for taking the time to introduce youself and Elmo!!! :)

[ilovemysnow]

Hi and welcome to MT!! Please post pictures of Elmo when you have a chance! Would love to see this cute quiet boy! :hearter: :o

If the vet says he's fine, he should be OK. Unless you want to take him to a different vet and get a second opinion? It's better safe than sorry! If it will put your heart at ease. Is he eating regularly though? Usually if they have a loss of appetite it's a sure sign something is wrong (I'm sure your vet already told you!).

Maybe he's bored with his old toys & need new ones? Try having a different toy in his pen everyday?? Have you tried giving him different treats? Does he have a kong toy you could put peanut butter inside to keep him occupied? Have you tried letting him run around the house and chasing him or playing hide and seek? I'm asking cause I didn't know Snow liked playing chase & hide and go seek until i hid behind the door one time to see if he would come looking for me.. And sure enough when he found me he was all of a sudden very playful and started running around waiting for me to chase him!

Annnnddd like mentioned, if you've tried it all and he would rather just sleep still, then it is definitely part of his personality! Some fluffs are happy to just sleep. I know Snow sleeps like 12 hours a day, and he also naps on my lap whenever we're out and about, or just watching TV.

Good luck!! Please update us on Elmo's progress!

[JesBred]

We have took him to the vet, but everything came back normal.
We have spoke with the dog trainer too, she said that might be his normal nature and/or the heat (weather is between 20 ~ 24 degrees).



I think your one of the lucky owners who have a quiet dog. My girl barks non-stop when I'm not here. Tears things up and runs wild (still love her to death). But that behavior will come in handy.


WELCOME TO MALTESE TALK!!

Totally agree with Jessica, your lucky to have a quiet dog!! If only.. LOL

If its been colder lately than normal I would say that's why he has been so sleepy :asleep: We just moved to a colder climate and now that its been cold the last few weeks (10-30 degrees) my babies sleep almost all day and all night. They get hyper spurts but they don't last to long :tongue: If the vet says he is fine and healthy I wouldn't worry about it to much. Dogs sleep alot during the day to begin with and the cold is just making him more sleepy I bet ;) Who doesn't love to curl up and nap on a cold winter's day?? :tongue:

[Elmo]

Thanks everyone for your comment, I guess that is Elmo's personality of being that quiet.
Elmo loves to play chasing & hide and seek, but he doesn't like to play fetch. I guess this is the only game we could play.
I have tried to put the peanut butter into the kong toys, but it doesn't seem to interest him too, he only loves the chew treat, Ie beef jerky stick.
Elmo didn't lose any food appetite, he's actually over weight now (10 pounds), I remember when he's young we have trouble getting Elmo to eat his dinner, he can easily skip 3-5meals in a row, but now when he started to eat, he's over weight:blush:
I will try to upload some photos later:)

Thanks everyone

[Elmo]

Hi

I managed to upload some photos of Elmo.

Please click on the link
http://www.maltesetalk.com/forums/showthread.php?p=198310#post198310

Enjoy