I've was sick last week and the dogs suffered from it. I've never realized how much Vito depends on a daily level of mental stimulation and exercise until he no longer got it. For 2 full days he didn't leave the house at all and add an extra half day before that and half day after that and you got a recipe for a neurotic Toller. Puzzle toys and brief play sessions couldn't cut it.
Vito would wake up eyes dilated and panting and stayed that way for a full week.
Apparently Vito is not a dog who can just stay at home and be ok with it. I think it had less to do with physical exercise and more to do with going places. My dogs go with me everywhere. It started as necessity due to Vito's separation anxiety and now is habit plus necessity due to all the dog crap I do in the evenings and weekends. I have noticed this to a degree on weekends where we don't have a trial, run through, or any other activity planned. A panting Toller will suddenly appear and the need for a walk suddenly becomes imminent. But the duration of those episodes were short as long as we got out of the house. It's amazing how much stress can keep building until it bubbles over and then needs time to simmer back down.
Do you think it's the lack of stimulation or the change in routine that he finds upsetting?
I'm not sure why he's stressed. He certainly shouldn't be stressed just being at home, right?! Most of the time Vito is a complete couch potato at home. But then he has occasional mornings where he just wakes up neurotic looking. Car rides on those mornings are rarely good, but once he gets someplace he knows (or a "type" of place he knows) he's usually fine. Unscheduled weekends are usually fine on sat but not on sunday. He puzzles me.
You might try a treadmill to get those endorphins going.... [Or throwing the toy *up* the stairs for Doggy Stairmaster fetch.]