re: Elderly dog barking at night, pacing, and seeming restless - any pet owners with advice?

frick, what a depressing thread...

Sorry to hear about you poor dog, dude. Our beagle is getting up there too. Don't look forward to all this.

I think animals can also have stokes that change their personalities.

A feral cat who lived sort of with us for twelve years, handled mouse problems, demanded food but would not let us pet her even though she trusted us enough to bring her kittens on our enclosed porch for their safety, developed a large goiter. After a year, one day she came inside and became the most loving lap cat we had. That lasted six days, then she disappeared completely. We looked for her and we saw no buzzards.

We think the goiter may have been tied to a throat cancer, which led to a personality changing stroke. And a subsequent stroke ended her.

Why wouldn't other mammals have strokes in their older ages?

How much longer did your dog make it after the surgery to remove spleen? Just curious as we had one with a similar diagnosis

Vet gave us some pills for our older ones anxiety. She was doing the same thing yours did. 1/2 in the morning, 1/2 30 minutes before bed with food. She sleeps like a baby through the night.

You might have a critter in your house that becomes active at night. Any odd noises, scratching, thumps in the ceiling or walls?

My German Shepherd's radar system (ears/eyes/nose) don't ever seem to shut down. He is always on surveillance 24/7.

Make sure you don't have a raccoon, groundhog, mouse, snake or something else in the house or even in close proximity to the house outside. Critter looking for cover if its getting cold out.

Based on our experience with elderly dogs, dogs get more needy, and anxious, as they get older. They want someone near them all the time for comfort. They sleep more often, and their schedule gets disrupted. They want to eat or drink at all hours. We're working with our vet to manage things with our current old girl (18 yrs old) as best we can, so long as she isn't suffering, and still enjoys life. Antibiotics, Pepcid, and anti-inflammatories are keeping her comfortable for now. Your vet might need to check for anything that might be amiss, besides just the age, and what might help. Good luck.

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Sorry to tell you this but it’s probably dementia. Your pup is having anxiety.

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This. Put their bed next to yours and when you hear them breathing heavily put your hand on them so they know you are there.

Put a sweater on the dog. That helps keep them calm and deal with anxiety.

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He has had so many pee accidents in the last 6 weeks. No UTI, blood work ok. Just can't hold it overnight anymore I guess. His hearing is going and he limps sometimes and has joint issues. Just like an old man. Its sad to see man.

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Similar to my pug. Except it’s like he has lost the ability to hold it when he has to poop. He will just walk and poop and it’s like he didn’t even realize he did it.

Back legs seem to be weaker as well. It’s so sad seeing them age. Otherwise his quality of life is fine so I just do what I can to spoil him rotten the remaining time he is here. Senior dogs need more love and affection from us.

Yep. K9 dementia. I went through the same thing a couple years back with my little buddy. Painful to watch .