Question:
My Cocker Spaniel, Cody, is almost 8 months old. I have noticed in the past month that his sleeping and eating habits are changing. When younger, he would want out of his cage early in the morning and be ready to eat right away. Now, my husband opens the cage when he gets up, usually around 6AM, and Cody just comes out of his cage and goes to lie down somewhere else. He sleeps until about 9 or 10 (he was put to bed about 10PM), and has no interest in eating until mid day. Is this just because he is getting older? This seemed to start about the time we had him neutered...could this have anything to do with the changes? I'm a first time dog owner, so I'm never quite sure what is "normal".
Many thanks for your input.

Answer:
This doesn't sound normal to me, that a growing puppy wouldn't be hungry after such a long fast. Is everything else normal? The lying around would worry me too; he should be bouncing off the walls at that age, no?

Answer:
I don't know if it's normal or not, but my 9 mth old puppy is the same. Before neutering, and even for a month after, he was bouncing off the walls! After that he slowed a little (thank goodness!) When he gets up in the morning, goes out out to do his business, then comes in and jumps up on the couch for a nap! He was always a picky eater, and often will not eat until lunch. I think that it's because he is waiting to see if he'll get anything better, because we have gotten into the habit of feeding him some people food. I don't think it's abnormal, as long as he is still his puppy self at other times. Sometimes neutering does slow a puppy down a little, sometimes it doesn't. If he's fine for the rest of the day, then more than likely he's fine. Just keep an eye on him.

Nikki

Answer: