looking after anxious old dog

littleg_2

My parents have a 15 year old Jack, (He was ours, but is deaf and became snappy with our toddler, so they kindly adopted him a couple of years ago and adore him) He comes to stay with us when they go away for a night or two but over the past 6 months has become increasingly anxious at theirs and ours. On the last two occassions, he hurled himself at the kitchen door all night in anxiety.

He is due to come to us for 3 months in January, so we bought a crate and they have got him used to sleeping in that. He came to us for the night last night. He spent the night throwing himself at the crate. When I came down at 5am I found him, the crate and bedding covered in vomit.

I cleaned it up, he drank a huge amount of water (can't have a bowl in the crate as he upsets it - he is drinking huge quantities on a daily basis). He then vomited all over the sofa, hall and kitchen.

I have a disabled daughter who crawls and a toddler. Apart from the hygiene aspect and stress, I really don't feel it is fair for the dog to be living with this level of stress - I think it will be much worse when they go away.

We obviously adore him, but I am thinking it would be kinder for him to be put to sleep before they go away as his anxiety is going to go through the roof and I can't deal with this on a daily basis. He is already on anxiety tablets....

bugslet

Amongst the other suggestions that I'm sure you will get, when one of mine had a dodgy digestive system that went on for weeks, we got a DAP collar for him and the results were fantastic. In 48 hours he went from having the runs to leaving neat little parcels. They produce pheromones that lactating b!tches produce, IIRC, and it calms the dog down. Mine was about 11 years old at the time.

Hope that helps.

rising_from_the_ashes

He must have access to water 24 / 7 for starters - he probably threw up again due to the large amount he'd drunk in one go. You can get bowls that attach to the sides of crates so they can't be knocked over.

Does he throw himself against the crate at your parents house?

TBH personally I feel that asking a 15 yo dog to suddenly start sleeping in a crate - if it's never done it before in it's life - is really unfair ...... he won't understand why he's suddenly being shut in.

I'd suggest a full health check by your parents vets in the first instance to rule out any underlying issues.

krlyr

Dogs can suffer from dementia so if he is elderly and has been distressed in his own home I think a vet trip may certainly be worthwhile. There are medications (e.g. Aktivait) that can help with the symptoms - not a cure but they can slow down progression and help with the current ones. Might be worth trialing for a few weeks before making such a final decision on the little guy.
http://www.drsfostersmith.com/pic/article.cfm?aid=1346
http://vetmedicine.about.com/od/dogdiseasesconditions/tp/canine-dementia.htm

It could also be worth some investigations health-wise such as manipulation of all his joints to rule out arthritis or anything else aggravating him - he may be in pain when laying down at night, especially confined to a crate where he can't stretch his legs, or he could have a medical condition causing the anxiety and making the tablets ineffective. E.g. my dog suffered separation anxiety this year and turns out she was suffering hypothyroidism, on medication she's a whole lot better