1 yr old Maltese - lethargic and urinating/defecating in bed

I have a one year old Maltese male. He's been house trained for months now but recently, he's been acting strange. He sleeps all the time, shakes quite a bit, and has started to poop and pee in the bed. He sleeps with me in bed and I know he's aware that that's his sleeping spot. It has been months since he's done anything like this, mostly when I was first potty training him.

I possibly think that he might be depressed but I'm not sure why. We go on daily walks, he gets a lot of attention from me, and used to play a lot around the house. But ever since coming back from the groomer, he just sleeps all day and doesn't seem to want to play.

he simply acting out or could there possibly be a problem? The vet says there's nothing wrong with him.







Hi
If your vet has given him a full examination and pronounced him healthy, then whatever is causing the problems is most likely emotional rather than physical.

You mention that he had been to the groomers recently... if that was his first visit, or if something happened to scare him enough, it could be what's triggered this behavior.

Puppies are like children, and if something upset your little guy enough he could well be feeling upset and anxious now. I'd suggest that you be as upbeat and cheerful as possible around him to try and lift his mood. He does need lots of love and attention, but don't 'baby' him more than usual.

Keep socializing him and get him out and about around other people/dogs so that he can rebuild his self-confidence, but don't push him into situations that make him very anxious as that will only make things worse.

If he doesn't show signs of improvement over the next few weeks, I'd recommend taking him back to your vet for a second check-up to make sure nothing was missed first time around. Hopefully he will soon be feeling more like himself. Best of luck.