Why is My Puppy Lazy? (Causes and Solutions)

Is your little furry friend lazy? If your puppy is usually bubbly and playful but suddenly lazy, you might be concerned. Well, there are many reasons why your puppy may be lazy, some of which might need you to seek vets’ attention. 

Your puppy is lazy because it is bored, especially if there is nothing to do. An unnoticeable illness, stress, or sudden weather changes are some of the potential causes. But generally, puppies are known to lounge for hours, which is part of their healthy growth process. 

In this article, you will learn why your puppy is lazy generally, what could be causing the sudden laziness, things to look out for if lazy, and what to do to avoid this. 

Reasons Why Your Puppy is Lazy

Boredom

Your puppy might just be bored from spending time alone or retracting to lounge. This is normal and should not be cause for alarm. If your little furry friend is not active, they will naturally steer to laziness, as nothing is occupying their time. 

Boredom arises from the puppy not getting enough physical activity. And when this happens regularly, your puppy will develop behavioral issues such as chewing on shoes, biting on blankets, scratching surfaces, etc. 

Research shows that your bored dog will display increasing drowsiness. They will fall in and out of sleep, yawn endlessly, and lie aimlessly. 

Wrong Diet

Your puppy can resort to laziness if the food it eats does not provide essential nutrients to keep the dog active. A poor diet without your puppy’s energy needs in mind will not do much to support the dogs increasing energy levels. 

That said, your puppy needs the correct balance of nutrients in the diet. This will contribute to its energy levels and support the dog’s health, which is essential for optimal growth. And since finding the right dog food can be challenging, talk to your vet for recommendations. 

Generally, the best choice of puppy food should have proteins to support growth, carbohydrates to meet their energy levels, and vitamins and minerals to support the immune system. A balanced diet should prevent weight gain and support an active lifestyle.

The best indicators of a healthy diet for your dog are healthy skin, a shiny coat, healthy weight, firm stool, and energy appropriate for their age. If these are a problem, you first need to get your puppy checked and the diet revised. 

Stress or Depression

Dogs are prone to stress and depression, especially if they do not get adequate mental stimulation. Your dog’s laziness could indicate an underlying mental issue with your pup, and this would need immediate intervention to solve. 

Some signs your dog could be stressed or depressed are nervousness, lethargy, oversleeping, loss of weight, lack of appetite, and loss of interest in activities that excite them. Additionally, if your dog suddenly worries about ordinary events, it could be stress or depression.

Canine depression can be detrimental and requires immediate action. If mental stimulation at home does not work, make a point of visiting the vet. 

Sickness

If your puppy is not feeling well, it will be lazy and bored. Like humans, dogs react to illness by lazying around, resulting in irritability, pain, or loss of energetic moods. Your sick pup will not want to play or move around. 

Laziness can be from simple flu to severe health conditions that affect your dog’s energy levels. The most common signs of sickness are loss of appetite, lost interest in playing, or refusal to engage with you.

If you are sure your dog has health issues, seek medical attention as soon as possible. Infections in puppies can develop quickly, and any minute you have to save your little pup is impactful. 

Sudden Changes in Weather

When it suddenly gets too hot or too cold, your pup might be challenged adapting to the weather changes. Some dogs cannot cope with high temperatures and will generally go low on energy in such instances. 

Others will want to lounge all day when it is freezing to keep warm. If your pup is a short-haired dog that gets too cold, it might want to lazy around and lounge all day. On the same note, if your dog is long-haired and it gets extremely hot, the dog might just laze around. 

Puppies Sleep More

If you just brought your puppy home and wondering why it is lazy, it is expected that it will sleep more, lounge, and not want to do anything. Like babies, puppies need a lot of sleep, which is part of their developmental processes. 

Puppies sleep an average of 20 hours a day, which means your pup will be in and out of sleep with longer naps and short wake times. Surprisingly, puppies can sleep in the middle of playtime; they seem to shut down quickly, regardless of what happens. 

So if you notice your pup sleeping all the time, do not worry. It is growing and needs more sleep to fuel all the body’s developing systems. 

A lazy Breed

Some breeds are lazier than others, and if your puppy is a lazy dog breed, it might want to do nothing and lounge all the time. Lazy dog breeds are happiest when doing nothing and appreciate the downtime. 

Common lazy breeds are Boxer, Shih Tzu, Chow Chow, Newfoundland, French Bulldog, English Bulldog, Boston Terrier, Pekingese, Basset Hound, and Tibetan Spaniel. Your lap puppy might want to sit and cuddle, which is okay. 

Tiredness

The reason your puppy may be lazy is simply that it is tired. When puppies expend all their energy, all they want to do is sleep and not do anything else. 15-minutes of exercise is enough to send your little pup to bed, so you should not be worried if they do this regularly. 

Your puppy needs physical exercise, and it is essential to keep up with that. But, you can easily overtire the dog, leading to a more severe problem. And since puppies do not know when to take a rest, it is your responsibility to ensure your puppy rests when needed. 

Signs of normal fatigue include biting, excessive barking, uncontrollable panting, thirst, and lip-licking.

Lack of Interaction

Most puppies are playful and will want to engage with you. If you do not make an effort and interact with your pup, it will simply be lazy. Since they are learning and are in their early stages of life, puppies do not know how to interact with you unless you show them. 

Get toys for your pup and show it how to play with them. Play a game of tug of war, fetch or frisbee at the dog park or take a stroll on the beach. By engaging with it and showing enthusiasm, the puppy will follow your lead and beat laziness. 

Things to Consider

It can be challenging to figure out why your puppy is lazy; there are a few factors to remember when trying to find out why. 

If your puppy is always lazy

If your pup has always been lazy, it could be from a more natural cause than any sign of serious illness or a new environment. But, it is essential not to disregard other reasons your puppy is lazy, such as boredom, tiredness, or depression. 

That said, it could help if you evaluated its behavior and compare it with other times, whether it is generally lazy or not. That way, you can pinpoint the exact cause and solve it on time. 

When your puppy becomes lazy

This is another vital consideration as it would help you evaluate the possible reasons for laziness. If the puppy becomes lazy at specific times of the day, you can figure out why that is the case and see what you can do to change that. 

Maybe the weather is hotter, you changed their food, or the puppy is tired at a specific time of the day. 

Essential Tips to Prevent your Puppy’s Laziness

You can do much to keep your little pup active, happy, and interactive. Here are some top tips that you can implement: 

• Evaluate the puppy’s diet to ensure it meets its needs. 

• Schedule interactive playtime to kill boredom. 

• Ensure the puppy gets daily walks every day. 

• Keep your puppy in a cool area when it gets hot. 

• Give your puppy enough downtime to rest and recover after exercise. 

• Introduce interactive and stimulating toys for active playtime. 

• Keep up with health checks and vaccines. 

How to Train a Lazy Puppy

A lazy pup can be challenging to train, especially if you are trying to socialize it after bringing it home. A puppy with no interest in training can discourage you from training them, resulting in destructive behaviors. 

All is not lost; you can still train your lazy pup and instill good behavior. But you will need to be patient and consistent to get it to learn cues, tricks, and commands. And if this does not work, you can seem professional help.

Here are a few helpful tips: 

• Find a favorite treat to use as reinforcement during training exercises. 

• Keep the training sessions short and interactive. 

• Train the puppy when hungry to use food as a reward after training. 

• Teach one command or cue at a time. 

• Repeat new tricks or commands as often as possible until the puppy learns. 

• Incorporate playtime with interactive toys and puzzle games during training to keep the puppy engaged. 

• Pick a time when the puppy is more alert. 

Final Thoughts

There are different reasons your puppy is lazy, and it is vital to understand what could be causing this. The most important thing is to rule out a medical condition and find ways to help them escape their laziness. Interactive playtime, the proper diet, enough exercise, and adequate rest are top of the list to help prevent your puppy’s laziness.