My Cocker Spaniel Puppy is Always Sleeping!

by Louise C.
(Winnipeg, MB, Canada)

This is my lovely Cocker Spaniel puppy. Her name is Yumi (which means "Yu" = Friend, "Mi" = beautiful), and we just got her last Thursday.

She's only been with us for three days, and we already love her so much.

She'll be turning eight weeks soon. I can't really say I know much about her yet, but it worries me that she seems like she's a little "lazy" and doesn't seem to want to play as much as other puppies I've had before.

Usually, she'll chew on her toy while slumped on her bed or any carpet (she loves carpets, haha!).

She doesn't eat much either. We feed her about three times a day, and she doesn't really get to finish everything even though the amount we give her is a small portion. I think only about 1/4 cup of puppy food (that's what I believe she consumes every meal) is what she gets to eat.

She loves to snuggle so much, though. Whoever sits beside her, she will try to climb up one's thigh or push herself close to me whenever we sit together.

She also loves her chew toy a friend of ours gave her, and the toy's just about her size.

She's very cuddly, and whenever she gets carried, she'll just lay her head on one's shoulder or tuck in close - all our friends and relatives loved her readily.

Whenever we take her outside to do her business, I've noticed she's more energetic and runs around a lot. I think because she remembers her old home. See, they were raised in a kind of barn setting. And on the first time I took her to our yard, she cried and whined (I cried too) because it feels like she was calling for her siblings to come out and play with her.

We've taken her out with us in the car too. She seemed not to like it at first, but the second time, she whined whenever the car stopped! It worries me, though, because I feel like giving her a ride makes her drowsy. She breathes heavily too, but not so much, especially when we open many car windows. After a ride, she'll slump on a carpet and sleep again.

This is the first time we've had a puppy in ages. The last time I had one was about ten years ago, and I had a Dalmatian - I think I compare my dear Yumi to my super full-of-energy Dalmatian puppy before.

It just worries me that she seems like she's not having much fun here in her new home with us. My sisters and I play with her a lot, but after playing with us for a few minutes, she'll just lay down again and sleep. My dad joked that we got a very lazy puppy.

Oh, and I think her eyes are a bit reddish-looking than most of what I've seen. Although, before we got her, she was taken to the vet the day before, and the vet said she was perfectly fine. We constantly clean her tears stains, a job which isn't so hard because she behaves well.

It seems like she's having difficulty getting to know her name. But I know it's going to take time.

We'd love to hear some tips on how to get dear Yumi to be playful and energetic. We appreciate her being less work than my previous dogs, but I wish she could be more at ease and active.