My elderly dog has suddenly become anxious. Help!

Scottie_dog

Hi everyone
I'm having a few problems with my Scottish terrier. My darling boy is now 13. He suddenly became very anxious or scared of something 5 days ago.
So far he has only been behaving strangely at night, after 7pm. He is the type of dog who certainly lets you know if something is not right or he's not happy. He has been running to the corners of the room, refuses to go in his bed (sometimes it's hard to get him out of it!) and keeps running up the stairs and hiding under the bed. As a general rule, he isn't allowed upstairs, he tends to run up and hide under the bed if it's thunder and lightning, I allow this if there is a storm as he feels safe there.
He is also whining a lot and has even been trembling a couple of times. I had him to the vet yesterday, vet took a long time looking over him and doesn't think there is anything physically wrong with him. He has decent hearing for his age, no sign of cataracts.
Does anyone have any ideas what could be upsetting my boy?
I must stress that in general, he is a well behaved dog and not much phases him. He is only anxious when he is in the house.
Thanks for reading.

lindze

Maybe it could be a bit of dementia as he is getting on a bit. Their confusion can be distressing for them and in turn can make them anxious, strangely esp at night.

If the vet says it is nothing physical then it you could try something like pet rescue remedy, it may be worth a go.

They do a plug-in version I think...def works with cats but maybe look it up for effectiveness with dogs.

Hope he starts to feel better soon.

Scottie_dog

Thanks for your reply Lindze.
The vet has given me a herbal remedy but it hasn't made any difference. He does seem to be confused, he doesn't seem to know what to do with himself.
He seems fine when we are out for our daily walk, we walk for an hour each night where he is off the lead and he still likes to play with his ball. He is getting a bit slower now but is still a fit dog, I would say.
I will certainly mention your suggestion of dementia to the vet, he didn't mention that it could be a possibility but it seems like it could be.
I just wish he could tell me what's wrong:(

Hedgehog99

Anything changed at home? Are you worried about something (other than him) & he's picked up on that?
Have you been doing anything you might do before something he dislikes, e.g. if you put him in kennels for your holiday and, say you prepare for your holiday with certain tasks, have you done some of those tasks and he now thinks you're going away?
Has he been looked after by someone different recently?
Hope he settles down soon. Our dog got more sensitive as he got older, but we just kept his routine calm, but interesting.

lindze

Bless him, it must be upsetting not knowing what's wrong.

If the vet hasn't yet done any tests i would get a full blood work up and urine sample. If he has an infection somewhere, i.e. urine/bladder, then maybe it's like elderly humans where infection brings on confusion?

Scottie_dog

Hedgehog99 wrote: »

Anything changed at home? Are you worried about something (other than him) & he's picked up on that?
Have you been doing anything you might do before something he dislikes, e.g. if you put him in kennels for your holiday and, say you prepare for your holiday with certain tasks, have you done some of those tasks and he now thinks you're going away?
Has he been looked after by someone different recently?
Hope he settles down soon. Our dog got more sensitive as he got older, but we just kept his routine calm, but interesting.

Hi, thanks for your reply.
No, nothing has changed at home. We haven't been on holiday recently or anything like that. He is certainly a dog who thrives on routine so he gets fed at the same time, walked at the same time etc.
He hasn't been looked after by anyone else either.
We are back at the vet next Tuesday so hopefully they can help him.

krlyr

If it is canine dementia, there are a few medications that increase bloodflow to the brain and can help alleviate (temporarily, I'm afraid) the symptoms

Scottie_dog

krlyr wrote: »

If it is canine dementia, there are a few medications that increase bloodflow to the brain and can help alleviate (temporarily, I'm afraid) the symptoms

Thanks for taking the time to reply.
I will discuss all options with my vet and take it from there. I'm not sure how they would diagnose dementia in dogs?
He seems to be a lot calmer tonight, the symptoms I previously described are still there but not as bad, he doesn't seem completely bewildered tonight like he has the previous few nights.
I'm still hopeful he will be ok but I know in my heart he is not right.

Better_Days

Our 10 year old lurcher has become a lot more neurotic since our old dog passed away at the beginning of June. Whining and pacing. Asking to go out, then just standing in the garden barking. Asking to come in, standing in the house and barking, asking to go out again, very wearing. He's very bonded to Mr BD and cried and whined and barked if DH went into the garden even when I was in the house, so the dog wasn't alone.

He's definitely better on nutracalm which we got from the vets http://www.nutravet.co.uk/nutracalm
He's not as he was before our old dog passed away, but his neurotic behaviour has lessened. We are also using a Pet Remendy plug in diffuser.

Scottie_dog

Better_Days wrote: »

Our 10 year old lurcher has become a lot more neurotic since our old dog passed away at the beginning of June. Whining and pacing. Asking to go out, then just standing in the garden barking. Asking to come in, standing in the house and barking, asking to go out again, very wearing. He's very bonded to Mr BD and cried and whined and barked if DH went into the garden even when I was in the house, so the dog wasn't alone.

He's definitely better on nutracalm which we got from the vets http://www.nutravet.co.uk/nutracalm
He's not as he was before our old dog passed away, but his neurotic behaviour has lessened. We are also using a Pet Remendy plug in diffuser.

Thank you for your post. I will talk to my vet about nutracalm, anything is worth a try. My boy had almost no symptoms last night but tonight he is not having a good night. Very anxious, won't sit still, looking around at the ceiling etc.
I'm so worried about him:(

krlyr

Scottie_dog wrote: »

Thanks for taking the time to reply.
I will discuss all options with my vet and take it from there. I'm not sure how they would diagnose dementia in dogs?
He seems to be a lot calmer tonight, the symptoms I previously described are still there but not as bad, he doesn't seem completely bewildered tonight like he has the previous few nights.
I'm still hopeful he will be ok but I know in my heart he is not right.

I think with canine dementia, it's a case of ruling out anything else, checking if the symptoms tally up, and then seeing if the medication has a positive effect.

I believe disorientation at night is one of the first symptoms of canine dementia. f course, it could be something else, but a good vet should be able to narrow down the diagnosis.

http://www.petmd.com/dog/conditions/neurological/c_dg_cognitive_dysfunction_syndrome