If your dog has become unusually tired, is losing weight, moving differently, behaving differently, or no longer doing things normally, do not assume it is a training problem. A meaningful change from the dog’s normal baseline may need veterinary evaluation before a training plan makes sense.
A dog that suddenly or progressively becomes less active, loses weight or muscle, stops doing things it previously did easily, or shows a substantial change in behavior should not automatically be treated as having a training problem. My first question is not, “How do we make the dog do it?” My first question is, “What changed, and is this dog presently in a condition to do what we are asking?”
As a dog trainer, I can observe changes, compare behavior across situations, document what an owner is seeing, and recognize when veterinary evaluation should come before or accompany training. I cannot diagnose why a dog has changed, interpret a blood panel as a medical diagnosis, or prescribe treatment for a medical condition. Those are veterinary questions.
My dog has become lethargic or is losing weight. Is that a behavior problem?
Not necessarily, and I would not start by treating it as one.
Consider a dog that had historically been active and muscular but becomes noticeably lethargic over several weeks and then begins losing weight. Perhaps the dog is still eating normally. Those observations tell us something important has changed, but they do not tell us why. That distinction matters.
Observed: the dog is less active than before, has lost weight, and is reportedly still eating.
Inferred: there may be a physical, medical, nutritional, behavioral, environmental, or other explanation for the change.
Unknown: the cause.
The mistake is jumping from the observation to an explanation. “She is getting old,” “he is depressed,” “she needs more exercise,” “he is being lazy,” and “she just needs motivation” may all sound plausible. None is established merely because the dog has become less active.
Veterinary guidance supports taking changes such as progressive lethargy, behavior changes, weight loss and mobility changes seriously as clinical information, particularly as dogs age. The American Animal Hospital Association specifically discusses these types of changes as part of the history and evaluation of an unhealthy senior animal. AAHA
Why does a change from my dog’s normal behavior matter?
A change from an individual dog’s baseline can be more informative than whether the behavior looks unusual in isolation.
Suppose one dog has always been quiet, sleeps much of the afternoon and dislikes long walks. That history is very different from a dog that eagerly walked several miles every day and now repeatedly stops after a few minutes. The second dog has given us comparative information. Something changed.
This is one reason I ask owners what the dog was doing before the problem began. I want to know whether the dog can still do the activity somewhere else, whether endurance has changed, whether the problem appeared gradually or suddenly, and whether other parts of the dog’s daily routine changed at about the same time.
A baseline does not diagnose the dog. It gives us something against which the present dog can be compared.
Can pain or illness look like a dog-training problem?
Yes. Physical conditions can alter behavior, which is why a trainer should not assume every behavioral change requires a behavioral solution. Veterinary pain guidelines emphasize that changes in behavior can be important indicators of pain. Reduced activity, reluctance to move, altered interaction, changes in posture and newly appearing behavior can all be relevant observations. AAHA Research in clinical animal behavior also describes relationships between painful conditions and problems presented as behavioral complaints. Mills and colleagues have specifically cautioned veterinarians and non-veterinary behavior professionals against overlooking possible pain when evaluating problem behavior. PMC
That does not mean a trainer should look at a reluctant dog and announce, “Your dog is in pain.” The behavior does not establish that conclusion. It means pain or another medical condition may remain among the possibilities until appropriately evaluated.
There is a substantial difference between saying, “Your dog is refusing to jump because he has arthritis,” and saying, “Your dog used to jump into the vehicle readily and now repeatedly refuses. Before I design a training program to overcome that refusal, I want your veterinarian to know about the change.” The first statement diagnoses. The second reports an observation and respects an important professional boundary.
What can a dog trainer legitimately do when a dog has changed?
A trainer can help define the problem accurately without pretending to know its medical cause. If you tell me your dog “doesn’t want to exercise anymore,” I may want to know what that means in observable terms. Does the dog hesitate when leaving the house? Walk normally for ten minutes and then slow down? Refuse stairs? Still chase a ball but no longer jump into the car? Play normally in the morning but not later in the day? Those differences matter.
A trainer can also notice patterns that may not be obvious during a veterinary appointment because the veterinarian usually sees only a small sample of the dog’s life. The owner and trainer may have observations from the home, walks, play, training and normal daily activities.
Those observations can be useful to the veterinarian. They still are not a substitute for veterinary examination and diagnosis. My job is not to turn observations into veterinary conclusions. My job is to make the observations better.
What information should I record for my veterinarian?
Record what is actually happening rather than trying to solve the case yourself. Useful information can include the approximate date the change was first noticed; previous and current body weights if known; changes in normal activity or endurance; how much food the dog is actually receiving and whether appetite changed; changes in drinking, urination or bowel movements; changes in sleep; reluctance to climb, jump, sit, lie down or get up; changes in play or social interaction; current medications and supplements; and short videos showing activities that have changed.
Videos can be particularly useful because the veterinarian may not see the same movement or behavior during an office visit. AAHA's senior-care guidance specifically recognizes owner observations, pictures and videos as useful ways of documenting changes over time. AAHA
The purpose is not to assemble evidence for your own diagnosis. It is to provide better evidence to the professional responsible for making the medical assessment.
Can I interpret my dog’s bloodwork myself or ask people online what it means?
A laboratory report is one piece of a veterinary assessment, not a diagnosis by itself. It is tempting to photograph a blood panel, post it online and ask strangers what is wrong with the dog. Individual numbers may appear normal, high or low, but interpreting their significance requires the rest of the clinical picture.
AAHA's senior-care guidelines make this point explicitly: diagnostic interpretation and clinical diagnosis are considered together with the animal's clinical presentation, laboratory findings and, when appropriate, other diagnostic information. AAHA
That is why I would not interpret an owner's blood panel as a dog trainer. I can look at the history and say, “There has been a meaningful change from this dog's previous condition.” I can help the owner organize observations and questions. I can suggest that the owner discuss those changes and the test results with the veterinarian who examined the dog. I cannot legitimately turn laboratory numbers into a veterinary diagnosis.
What does “state before skill” mean in dog training?
It means I want to know whether the dog is in an appropriate physical and behavioral state to participate before deciding that failure to perform is a training failure.
Suppose a dog that normally sits readily begins avoiding the sit. I could increase reinforcement, practice more repetitions or try to make the dog comply. But I have skipped an important question: Why did a previously easy behavior become difficult?
The same principle applies when a dog suddenly walks more slowly, stops jumping, becomes irritable when handled, sleeps differently, has house-training accidents, withdraws from interaction or loses enthusiasm for activities it previously enjoyed.
These observations do not prove a medical cause. They tell us that simply increasing training pressure may be the wrong first response. Training should follow assessment. It should not be used to erase evidence that the dog has changed.
What if the change is aggression, fear or another obvious behavior problem?
A new behavior problem can still justify asking whether something else changed at the same time.
A dog that begins growling when touched, suddenly avoids stairs, becomes less tolerant of handling or develops a new reluctance to participate in normal activities presents a different assessment problem from a dog that has displayed the same pattern for years.
Again, that does not mean “aggression equals pain” or “fear equals illness.” Those would be unjustified conclusions. It means the dog's physical condition belongs in the assessment rather than being excluded merely because the owner's complaint sounds behavioral. Research on pain and behavior has repeatedly emphasized that pain may produce, contribute to or exacerbate behavioral changes. PMC
When should I involve a veterinarian, a trainer, or both?
When a dog has a significant unexplained change in physical condition, activity, weight, mobility or normal behavior, veterinary assessment may need to come before treating the problem as primarily a training issue. After that, the veterinarian and trainer may have different but complementary jobs.
The veterinarian determines whether there is a medical problem, what treatment is appropriate, and whether there are restrictions or considerations that affect activity. The trainer can then design training around the dog's actual abilities, environment and behavior rather than around an assumed explanation.
Sometimes the veterinarian finds an important medical problem. Sometimes the medical evaluation does not identify an explanation for the behavior. Either outcome is useful because it changes what we reasonably know about the case. For behavior that depends strongly on what happens at home, during walks or in ordinary family routines, an in-home training assessment can then be particularly useful because those are the conditions in which the relevant behavior actually occurs.
Why I Do Not Diagnose Medical Problems as a Dog Trainer
Veterinary medicine is a licensed profession throughout the United States, although the exact wording of veterinary practice laws and their exceptions varies from state to state. State veterinary boards regulate who may practice veterinary medicine, and diagnosis and medical treatment are core activities generally reserved to licensed veterinary professionals. The American Association of Veterinary State Boards represents regulatory bodies in all 50 states, and its model Veterinary Practice Act defines veterinary practice broadly to include diagnosing an animal's condition, determining health or soundness, and recommending or providing medical treatment. AAVSB For that reason, as a dog trainer I can report that a dog has lost weight, become less active, changed the way it moves, stopped performing behaviors it previously performed, or otherwise departed from its normal baseline. I can also recommend that the owner take those observations to a veterinarian. What I should not do is convert those observations into a medical diagnosis, interpret laboratory results as establishing a disease, prescribe medical treatment, or tell an owner that a particular medical condition is causing the behavior. That boundary is not simply about avoiding liability. It protects the dog by making sure medical questions are answered by the professional qualified and legally authorized to answer them.
The important question is not “How do I make my dog do it?”
The better first question is often, “Why has something my dog normally did become different?” A change in behavior is evidence. It is not automatically a diagnosis, and it is not automatically a training problem.
Observe the change carefully. Establish what is different from the dog's previous baseline. Let the veterinarian handle medical interpretation. Then build the training plan from what is actually known about the dog. That is state before skill.
If your dog is having a similar behavioral problem and you are not sure what is changing between the situations where the behavior succeeds and fails, an in-home assessment can help identify the relevant variables and determine an appropriate training starting point.
You can learn more about working with me at SamTheDogTrainer.com.
Glossary
Baseline: The dog's usual pattern of activity, behavior, physical ability or other measurable characteristics before the current change.
Clinical sign: An observable feature that may be relevant to an animal's health. A clinical sign does not by itself establish a diagnosis.
Observation: Something actually seen, measured or reliably reported, such as a dog walking less distance than previously.
Inference: A possible explanation drawn from observations. An inference should not be presented as an established fact without adequate evidence.
Veterinary diagnosis: The professional determination of an animal's medical condition based on appropriate clinical information and veterinary judgment.
Veterinary referral: Directing an owner to a veterinarian when information relevant to the dog's health falls outside the trainer's professional role or requires medical assessment.
Bibliography
- Dhaliwal, R., Boynton, E., Carrera-Justiz, S., Cruise, N., Gardner, M., Huntingford, J., Lobprise, H., & Rozanski, E. (2023). 2023 AAHA Senior Care Guidelines for Dogs and Cats. Journal of the American Animal Hospital Association, 59(1), 1-21. https://doi.org/10.5326/JAAHA-MS-7343. PubMed
- Gruen, M. E., Lascelles, B. D. X., Colleran, E., Gottlieb, A., Johnson, J., Lotsikas, P., Marcellin-Little, D., & Wright, B. (2022). 2022 AAHA Pain Management Guidelines for Dogs and Cats. Journal of the American Animal Hospital Association, 58(2), 55-76. https://doi.org/10.5326/JAAHA-MS-7292. PubMed
- Mills, D. S., Demontigny-Bédard, I., Gruen, M., Klinck, M. P., McPeake, K. J., Barcelos, A. M., Hewison, L., Van Haevermaet, H., Denenberg, S., Hauser, H., Koch, C., Ballantyne, K., Wilson, C., Mathkari, C. V., Pounder, J., Garcia, E., Darder, P., Fatjó, J., & Levine, E. (2020). Pain and problem behavior in cats and dogs. Animals, 10(2), 318. https://doi.org/10.3390/ani10020318. MDPI
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