Odd Behavior - Older Dog
Wednesday October 5, 2005
Like humans, dogs and cats can exhibit signs of senior dementia. Vocalizing (barking, growling, howling) for no reason or at all hours, appearing to get "lost" in familiar surroundings, and other personality changes may suggest dementia. It is always important to have your pet evaluated by your veterinarian to rule out any medical causes first, as some diseases may cause similar signs or add to dementia behaviors. Please see the AniprylŪ - Help for Senior Pets? for more information about dementia behaviors in pets and learn about AniprylŪ, a drug used for some cases of dementia.
BARRYRUB asks: "My 14 year old mixed cairn terrier is exhibiting odd behavior. He'll stand and stare at nothing for 10-15 minutes at a time. He then wanders aimlessly from room to room before finally settling down for the night. He does appear to be sleeping all night. He also drinks incessantly; bowel and urine seem normal, although he does pee every 15 minutes or so before going to bed. He's done that for years. He eats well, doesn't play much any more. Looked up dog dementia and he does have many, but not all of the symptoms. Any similar situations?"
Comments
My dog is 18 (border collie X golden retriever). He is a wonderful companion but he is suddenly following me from room to room, but other than that, he is still eating, active (believe it or not!) and eliminiting as usual. I have had him at the Vet’s office to make sure that there is nothing medically wrong, and she said he was amazing for his age, but i still have some weird feelings about his new behavior. I know that I have to accept that he will not be around for ever, but we will miss him dearly when he goes.
My dog is 18 (border collie X golden retriever). He is a wonderful companion but he is suddenly following me from room to room, but other than that, he is still eating, active (believe it or not!) and eliminiting as usual. I have had him at the Vet’s office to make sure that there is nothing medically wrong, and she said he was amazing for his age, but i still have some weird feelings about his new behavior. I know that I have to accept that he will not be around for ever, but we will miss him dearly when he goes.
I have a 17 year old Shih Tzu that definitely has dementia. She has suffered many ailments in her life so far, such as seizures, cushing disease, and the latest, lymphoma cancer when the odds were against her. She still has a ravenous appetite (probably from the cushings) and likes to go for walks, which tells my that she still has some sort of quality of life.
Her latest behaviour gives us concern, and I’m wondering if anyone else is experiencing this.
She is wide awake every morning at 5:45am, and if we don’t let her outside immediately, she messes. I have tried giving her food at a different time, walking her before bedtime, and nothing is working. I can here her stiring in the middle of the night as well. Someone suggested giving some turkey to relax her, but it didn’t seem to work. Does anyone have any suggestions? I don’t want to put her on anymore prescribed meds, since she is already taking phenobarb and bromide for the seizures.
My dog Misty is a Bishon frize she is 13 years old. Her behaivor is changing alot. She started hiding behind furniture usually near an electric outlets (weird) we thought. Wants to be alone lately. She still follows me around from room to room when she can. I just do not understand why she is facing the walls alot. Anyone else experience this behavior?? Help I worry Doreen
Hi, I have a dog named Sheba. She’s about 9 years old and she’s really healthy. She’ll play intensely if we just start doing so. There’s no question about whether or not she’s healthy, but she has started doing something kind of strange lately. Sometimes when it’s quiet she’ll come into the room or stop at a certain place and just start staring at nothing. It looks like she’s thinking deeply about something, but I don’t think that’s the case. I know she’s not a puppy any more, but it looks like she’s totally not there until someone moves or something gets her attention. It’s probably nothing, but it seems strange to watch her stare at nothing and not even notice someone watching her.
I have a 13 year old Portuguese Water Dog who has always been healthy except for some minor allergies. In the past month or so, his back legs have started giving out on him regularly, he stares into space, paces and circles for long periods of time at night (30 minutes or more), walks into walls, doesn’t greet me at the door, and doesn’t seem to remember how to get in the house when I open the screen door. We tried treating for hypothyroidism as his T4 was a little low. On Monday, we’ll see a neurologist for an opinion on Cognitive Dysfuntion. His decline has been drastic and extremely sad.
my 17 year old peak a poo has lost her sight due to cataracts. up until now she has been perfectly hearlthy. suddenly she is pacing in circles. the vet has told me it’s dog dimentia. has anyone heard of this, or have any suggestions for treating it. i’m not ready to lose her and will do what i can. thanks.
Response to Donna—my Shih Tzu, Jack, is almost completely blind and is now suffering from dementia. He paces in the evening until he is totally fatiqued. He too will loop through rooms in the house, over and over again. We tried Anipryl and if I were you, I’d give it a whirl. If you check the Pfizer Animal Health site you can get a coupon for a 30 day trial. For Jack, his pacing became much worse but from what I read, that’s not the case for most pets and most see a big improvement. Otherwise, I’ve seen studies recommending antioxidants and vitamin B supplement called CholodinR. I’m going to start this today.
Best of luck to you–I understand your feelings. I love my dogs and would do anything for them.
10 Yr old Blk Lab. Started walking around at night, won’t sleep in our room anymore wants to be alone at night. He also has been banging the screen door to get out, doesn’t have to void, just wants to be out. During the day, his regular vibrant self. Vet checked him out, he’s great. Advised me to give him some Melatonin (I use Natrol 3 or 5m) she said ok to give him 3-5 dose to see if relaxes him at night. Just starting that now. I wish dogs lived as long as we do..
I have a nearly 11 year old Queensland Heeler/Australian Shepherd mix and every once in a while she acts a little odd and I wonder if it’s dementia. Usually at night - she’ll want to go outside (there’s a dog door but I close it at night) and when I let her out - she sometimes just has one goal in mind - to dig and then sometimes she’ll lay down in the mini hole she has dug for herself. This is not the “normal” thing at night - when the dogs (I have a 9 year old Golden Retriever Mix as well) have to go out - I let them out and wait for them and then they know to come back in. I’m hoping that it’s just a mild form of dementia. When I call to her when she’s in her “digging or laying down in her hole trance” she really doesn’t seem to hear me at all - like she’s off in her own little world. I’m familiar with her “selective” hearing and this behavior is completely different - she’s really zoned out. During the day she is her old self. She does have hip dysplasia (she’s been on Metacam for about 4 years), spondylosis, and allergies to many different things - but those things aren’t holding her back at all. I’m hoping she sticks around for another several years.
I have a black lab German shepherd mix. She is turning 8 soon. Very healthy and active. She has always had a fear of thunder or loud noises, but lately she will wake in the middle of the night and she sits leaning against the wall just staring at me. I thought I was just nuts or maybe she needed to go out but she did it to my boyfriend the other night. She also just stops in the center of out living room and stares at nothing. She even attached out other dog the other day. I am very concerned, I thought 8 was too young for her to be loosing her mind.
To Tierney -
I would strongly recommend having your dog checked out. She would be one the young side for Canine Cognitive Dysfunction (dementia). Your vet will want to rule out medical problems such as an inner ear infection, seizure disorder, or possible a mass somewhere causing the odd behavior before diagnosing dementia. Caution is advised — unprovoked attacks on other pets or people may occur (as you have seen) and could potentially be a very dangerous situation.
My dog has a lot of the symptoms that Paula’s comment listed. She said that she took her dog to a neurologist? What was the diagnosis? I really want to help my German Shepherd mix who is 10 years old. If we let him, he walks and pages around the perimeter of the house until he collapses. He isn’t eating and we have to hand feed him anything. We have gone to the vet and they thought he just had a UTI. We used the medicine and he didn’t improve. We think that visiting a new vet might help, but is there anything else besides the Anipryl that could help him?
My dog is a 13 yr old schnauzer. He wants to drink water all the time. If I don’t give him water, he barks to go outside then licks any puddles. He occasionally (about 1/wk.) pees in the house - usually right in front of me. A lot of times, he just stands still. Vet said he does not have anything physical wrong.
Hello Donna-
Has your vet done any bloodwork on your dog? Schnauzers are prone to Diabetes Mellitus, something that can be checked with bloodwork and a urinalysis (checking for excess glucose). Other diseases that may cause excess thirst and urination include Cushing’s Disease and kidney or liver problems. A urinary infection should also be ruled out.
Diabetes Mellitus:
http://www.veterinarypartner.com/Content.plx?P=A&S=0&C=0&A=504
Cushing’s Disease:
http://www.peteducation.com/article.cfm?articleid=416
I would recommend a re-check with your vet or perhaps seek another opinion at a different vet to see what is causing these signs in your dog and to start a treatment plan.
My 10 year old shih tzu suddenly started pacing and turning in circles. Whats wrong?
my 17.5 year old jack russell has been showing signs, now that i have read these. she will stare at the bedroom door from the hall while i have gone the other direction into the office. she also in the evenings, while we are watching tv and the younger dogs are with us - she will stay on the main level on her bed and then come down every 10 min or so and want to be let out and then immediately come back in. lots of water drinking - just started today..
I have a 14 year old mut. We got him from the pound and never figured out what all he has in him. Lately he has been searching the house like he is hungry and looking for food. We have had to start shutting all the doors in the house, otherwise he will get into the trash or eat anything eatable that he can find in the room. In a span of four days he ate a whole box of cookies, a bag of chocolate kisses, a bag of chocolate stars and other random pieces of candy that he has been able to get to. He will roam the house until he gets a chance to sneak into a room and grab something. If you call for him he will ignore you and continue to look for food. The strange thing is we feed him dog food everyday. The same amount we have always fed him and he hardly touches it. It seems like he might be losing some weight as well. This has been going on for about five months now. He also needs to go out side a lot more often sometimes he will want to go out five or ten minuets after he just got back inside. This could be cause by the amount of bad food he keeps getting into.
Hi, my parents have a nine year old cocker spaniel who has changed her behaviour within the last year. She has always been friendly however she became fearful whenever my sister (who’s is 36yrs old) used to pop in to see my parents. Now the dog is like it whenever anyone pops in to see my parents.
She will sit by my mum mainly and will keep jumping up at her or pawing her. She seems quite scared, which nobody can understand. Everyone has always been very friendly to her. She has also been panting for quite a while too. She seems very stressed by people being in the house. Please help with any advice. Thanks.
My dog, Oliver, a Lakeland Terrier weighing about 18 lbs. is almost 18 years old. He has been sleeping a lot lately and when he wakes up he needs to go to the bathroom immediately, or he pees right on his bed. Once that is over, he is good to go for a little while. He wants to eat and drink water and then he will just stand there doing nothing and not even walking around. When I start feeling uneasy about this, I simply wrap him up in a towel like a baby and lay him down on his clean bed on his side and he generally goes right back to sleep. Right now, because there is snow on the ground outside, he can’t go wandering around so if he makes it through to the spring he will be able to roam around the back yard again. His appetite is great and I had his heart checked and his kidney functions are great, so, we’ll just keep putting him back to bed so he doesn’t keep standing there in the middle of the room staring into space.
Hi, i have an 18.5 year old Pomeranian and Papllion mix called Heidi, she weighs 2.2 kilo’s, is about 30 cm’s tall and is tiny adorable and totally black. She’s had a few problems over the years because when i found her (around age 4) she had previously fractured her hip and whoever her owners were they didnt take care of it too well. So she has always had a funny walk…and as she gets older its a bit more intense but in my opinion and according to my vet, she is not in any pain. My question is about something else - around 1.5 months ago, she began to change her behavior - its a bit weird…ONLY FROM AROUND 7PM. she begins to bark consistently and i mean non-stop until I either pick her up, take her with me to the sofa or something of the sort. Also she needs to go out from that hour every hour or so. It is weird because from the moment she wakes up she’s her usual funny, playful self…she sleeps and eats just a bit more than before but thats about it…and come 7pm. its like the “Witching Hour”….she barks and barks and barks….looking straight at me wherever I am, then I take her out…we come back and 10 minutes later she begins barking again. I ADORE HER but its driving me NUTS!! She is fine healthwise apart from her hip/leg and a little manageable problem in her liver, my vet has no answer and I after having about 20 dogs throughout my life and i’m a primate keeper in the zoo here in Israel have NEVER seen this type of behavior. I thought of dementia but this doenst go on all day ONLY at night…I thought maybe she’s going blind…but there is enough light in the house and its like daylight and she looks straight at me and finds my eyes…HELP!!! How can I help Heidi and myself to get through whatever she’s going through???
My dog has started acting really wierd. She has a chair to sleep on in my room upstairs and the same chair to sleep on in the hall and she has her own bed in the sitting room. Just around the time when i was 7-9 months pregnant she started acting funny. She would as usual come to bed with us and lie on her chair but she started this strange behaviour she would wait until myself and partner where in bed then leave the room and sleep downstairs in her other chair in the hall. She never done this before. However the new baby is now 9 months old and she is still doinh this she will come to bed wait until the light is out and were in bed then leave the room. So lastnight we kept the light on for a while and sat up on the edge of the bed, she never moved so we both got into bed with the light still on. The minute we were in bed she got up and left the room and slept downstairs. Can anyone tell us what or why she is doing this.During the day she is fine.
To Mandy Morrison,
This is EXACTLY what happened to me with our yellow lab. Actually same time fram as well. I was 7 months pregnant (last Jan) and now our daughter is 9 months old and our 10 yr old lab will come in our room and walk out, usually sleeping downstairs. This makes me feel so sad. I thought about dementia, but he shows no other signs & it happened very suddenly…one night he was sleeping with us & you couldn’t get him off the bed if you wanted to…next night, not with us.
I would love to hear insight into this.
TO Rennee,
I would love to find out why our dogs behave in this way. I love my dog so much and she is very much part of our family. I have asked friends and family but no-one seems to have any explanation to her odd behaviour. However i will keep trying to find an explanation. If you find out anything i would love to know. I will keep checking this page so if you do have any insight to our dogs strange behaviour you can leave a message.
P.S My dog is only seven.
Good luck!
Mandy and Renee: I’ve had dogs all my life; one of them (Belle) used to sleep at my feet - on the bed. All of a sudden, she started sleeping right at my side, between me and hubby; shortly after this behavior started, I found out I was pregnant! She did this again with my second pregnancy!!! She knew I was pregnant before I did!! My suspicion is that your dogs still feel very much a part of your family, but can’t “protect” all of you from your room (assuming the babies sleep in their own rooms), so they have chosen to take up “post” in order to be protective of their entire family. when I bring Belle and my kids to work with me, she stations herself where she can keep an eye on me and my girls…I’m willing to bet money, your four-legged babies are protecting all of you - including their “two-legged” babies!!! I wouldn’t stress too much - just make sure to give them lots of love and praise!!
I found a beagle at my house today. It is hanging out with my fixed female lab. It has hip problems and appears to be very old. I don’t know if anyone dropped him off or not. I fed him but he noses the bowl like he wants to tip it over. It freaks out the dog and cats when he does this. Along with him acting fearful. I am mainly concerned for my pets health. Anyone have any insight on this?
Our 10yr old yellow lab, ‘Jack’ has had seizures since a puppy. He went on pheno at 5 and that controls it. However, he now is completely deaf and has cataracts. About 4 months ago he started wandering the house so much I bought a baby fence to keep him near the patio door because he also want’s out every 10 minutes or so…sometimes he drinks, but mostly he seems to forget why he wanted out the moment he is out. Also, his brother ‘Tucker’ a westie seems to be sad about ‘Jacks’ behavior. I’ve had blood work done and nothing came up. Although he does have some tumorous growths on him.
I have a 17yro dalmatian Pepper. She has a thyroid problem which she is on meds for, has had kidney failure 2 times, and on antibiotics for that,and has bad arthritis in her hind legs and hips and taking Rimadyl, lots of benign tumors in hind legs. She has been having trouble get up and drags her hind paws when she walks.Sometimes falling down. Also when she goes to drink her water, she will just stare at it like she is trying to remember how to do it. My question is should I put or down, and how do I know if she is in a lot of pain. I don’t want my baby to be hurting.
9 year old welsh terrier, crawling on his chest/belly using both hind legs and front paws. This behavior happens throughout the day and evening. He has a history of knee surgery.
hi, i have a 14 year old miniature schnauzer, he is VERY healthy but I have noticed what I think is the first stages of blindness, but I’m not sure. He seems very alert and aware of things outside and in bright light but in the house i’ll set a treat next to him or throw it close to him and he can’t always find it…….. other then that there are no signs but I know my sweet Jake very well and something is not right……. any suggestions???? sniff sniff…..