My 6 year old girl has been very distant this last few days. She has plopped herself on the livingroom floor (odd place for her, since everyone is usually downstairs) and will only get up to eat or potty. She eats just goes potty just fine and eats perfectly normal. She doesn't seem in pain or discomfort. She is just not herself. She's not very active anyway, but this is unusual.

Is this typical husky behavior? I have only had her for about 6 months. Of course, if this continues into the week she will be going to the vet to make sure everything is fine. I was just curious if huskies tend to retreat for a bit?

Needing some alone time is pretty normal. After six months I would think she would be settled in by now. What kind of exercise is she getting? What kind of exercise was she getting before. Huskies are active dogs but can become sedentary if their people are. If her first people didn't do much with her and now she is getting proper exercise it will take some time to condition to it.

She goes for long, daily walks as well as lots of play time in the yard. She is still on a diet because when we was rescued she was 80lb and and is currently now about 55lb with about 10lb to go (she didn't lose all the weight in the time she has been with us, she was fostered prior) so the walks are important. She has walked just fine lately. She never plays with toys, even though she has everything under the sun, so she has literally just laid there for several days.

She's an oddball so I am always surprised at what she's doing and thought this might be one of those times. I hope she's just taking some alone time and will perk up soon.

Thank you for the reply!

Considering that you had one die a few months back from cancer, I can appreciate your concern ... but I'm going to sound like I'm harping - knowing where you are, in this case, can be a lot of help.

If you're in the northern hemisphere, then some dogs just slow down naturally during the winter ... conversely, if you're in the southern then some will slow down when it gets too hot.

Also, as Jenn noted - if it's too cold for you to get out then she may just be lazing back; I have to admit that part of Sasha's girth comes because I'm much more apt to be on the computer than I getting out - and she needs more exercise (yeh, and so do I!).

So tell us a few things and then we'll see what we have to say .....

We are in Nebraska. We just had 6" of snow fall on us yesterday and will still go for a short walk if she is willing. Before then we had beautiful weather and she was still a lazy bum on the floor.

I suppose I'm a little more watchful considering my lost in April that happened quite suddenly. They are around me all the time so I just know when there is something a little off.

She usually just lays there, but in the same room with one of us. I have bought her every toy under the sun to make sure she isn't bored, but she won't touch them. She chews her antlers and that's about it.

Do you have her on any joint supplements? Being as overweight as she was can do a lot of joint damage that might not make her limp but just make her sore in general. At first just losing the weight will make her feel like a new dog but as she nears the proper weight and her body adjusts to her new size any damage done will start to show.

I habe her on glucosamine, mostly as a preventative since she was so heavy, but I've never thought she's been sore. Maybe the cold weather could be bothering her, but she started this when it was in the 50's here. She's doing her silly stuff like normal, eating normal, playing normal, ect. Nothing at all has changed in her life and we treat her like a queen so I ca. Understand why she is suddenly so distant

Changes in weather, whether cold or warm, has the ability to affect joints and cause flair ups. I use a combination supplement called Flexadin Plus for my dog with hip dysplasia. It contains glucosamine, omega 3, MSM, and vitamin C and other things that has made a huge difference in him. I also give him a spritz of colloidal silver on his food.

Dogs can suffer depression as well. I don't know much about what can cause it or trigger it. That would be something to discuss with a vet. When did you plan to take her to the vet? I would take in fecal samples and they should check her for a uti as well. A uti could really crum up her day also.

This sounds like my boy, Dakota, before we discovered he has early onset arthritis. He too would just lay down all the time, only got up (reluctantly) to go out to the bathroom and then came right back in and laid down again. He didn't want to move unless necessary, refused to climb the stairs, wasn't interested in playing. The only thing that seemed normal was his appetite and drinking. I knew something was wrong with him but didn't know what as he didn't show signs of being in pain. Not too long later he started having a hard time getting up from a laying down position and was very stiff even after he got up. Turned out he had arthritis and was just hiding it so very well. Since we started treating it with supplements he acts like a puppy again and you'd never know he has arthritis.

It may be something completely different with your case, just sharing what turned up when our boy started behaving similarly.