Anxious snr dog at night

dashoonage

Morning all

So my Duskie is getting on a bit. 13.5 yrs now but thankfully living life to the max. TPLO is over a year ago now and she is getting her monies worth out of it :P walks every day, brain games, running and barking and general muppetery

We have developed a little problem though, shes started to get restless at night, walking around, panting, whining. Its not every night, maybe 2-3 times a month, but definitely an increase in a sound sleeper.

She was at the vet for the liberla injection last week and had a chat with the vet and said to just keep and eye on it as she is fine otherwise and it could just be her age.

So is there anything I can do to help her be more comfortable at night.

She is 100% otherwise. Sleeps fine in the evening in the sitting room etc, eats like a horse. She's not in pain. She doesnt want to go to the toilet when we get up at night.

I'll bring her back to the vet if it gets more frequent, and will discuss again at her next injection as well.

Any thoughts ?

tk123

Restlessness like you describe is a common side affect of Librela.

DBB

Delighted to hear she's doing so well, it's been a big year for a lady of her years 😊

Night-time restlessness is a common symptom of age-related cognitive decline. Have you noticed anything else that might suggest she's developing other signs? Clinginess, anxiety, restlessness, confusion, depression can all suggest there's an issue.

Night-time restlessness can happen in older dogs because they're spending more time sleeping during the day, and are generally less active... could this be what's going on? If so, it can help to give her gentle things to do that'll keep her awake more during the day... such as feeding her from Kong Toys/licky mats/snuffle mats etc. Also perhaps several short walks instead of one long one. Re-training and refreshing her obedience training. Play sessions and just acting silly with her.

If none of these work, it's possible to get a very mild anti-histamine from the vet that'll just make her a bit more drowsy to sleep through the night, just in the short-term, as night-time restlessness can often resolve once they get back into a good sleep pattern, but I'd hope that by taking a few measures such as above, it might be enough!

If you're not already, now would be a great time to really dive into adding some things to her diet that help not only stop, but in dogs can actually reverse the effects of ageing on the brain... oily fish, fish oils, and also a great over-the-counter supplement called Aktivait... your vet should be able to source it but you can also buy it online.

No harm too to try some lavender oil near her bed, and some owners also find using an Adaptil collar, or spray, or plug-in near the bed can help too.

dashoonage

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119788485#Comment_119788485

Thanks tk, I wasnt aware of that, she is on Librela since August 2021 now at this stage and the restlessness is only a new behavior with her, i wonder could it be from long term use.

@DBB as always a fantastic post

So cognitive decline was something myself and the vet discussed, she has zero other signs ( yet) in fact shes nearly too clever! No depression not clingy, im at home all day WFH with her so id notice. She is also 100% interested in life etc.

So she gets a kong/snuffle blanket twice a day , she has several different variants so it mixes it up. I also go outside with her at lunch and we visit my mum for 20 min in the evening because mums garden has new smells!

I'm going to try a walk at night, her only walk is at 6am and she does snooze all day, so ill try a later short walk again this evening to see if it changes things.

I left a nightlight on last night in the kitchen and she wasnt as restless so will continue with that.

DBB

Duh... as I signed off on my last post, I knew I'd forgotten to add something, and that is to try her with a night light, as it can help them to orientate themselves when their eyesight may not be as good as it used to be... so good catch by you there!

It's great that she has such a great quality of life with plenty of needs being met. Definitely try a gentle later walk, and look into the Aktivait supplement too, it and/or dietary intervention to increase various things in the diet is one step that owners of all senior dogs should give serious thought to.

tk123

Tbh I didn’t want to scaremonger .. but it also has a CCD link too..

I find pet remedy great for Bailey if he’s uneasy and spray onto his bib and bedding - the other fella licks it off 🤨. I’ve also used Kalm tablets too lol which are just valerian.

Something you mightn’t have thought about but we have a buggy for Bailey… now it wasn’t something I was planning on getting for him - my friend put the idea into my head because she wanted one for when her girl (who sadly died suddenly in the last few months at 10) ‘got older’… we had just lost Lucy at 6 and I decided we never know what’s around the corner so what am I waiting for? I didn’t really know about them at the time but it would have been fantastic for Lucy as she had back pain from her kidneys and would get tired and lag behind. So after a few months delay thanks to covid the chariot arrived. Initially we used it on our longer weekend walk to give him a break… then lockdown and wfh happened (i still wfh) and I started using it at lunchtime to take him up the hill to long treelined (for great sniffing!) road we used to walk up to all the time but he wasn’t able for it anymore.. fast forward and we’ve been using it daily for 18 months. It allows us to go on longer walks together with Rory (1) and he can pop in and out as needed if I think he needs a break. He sits taking everything in so while he’s not having a long walk like before he has all the stimulation and loves it. Before the buggy he’d be a bit meh about a walk at lunchtime and would have been asleep - now he gets impatient waiting for me to take a break so he can get out for his sniff and drive around the neighbourhood lol 😆

dashoonage

Thanks again both, going to talk to the vet about Aktivait DBB, where online can i get it if you dont mind ? I dont mind getting/paying for supplements if it benifits her in any way.

I have the same problem with pet remedy tk :) licked off in a second flat

I'd seen the buggys pop up on hollys arms facebook groups etc , i dont think were there yet but they are on my radar if needed.

It's also not helping the nights are dark and wet now :(

dashoonage

@tk123 is it specific kalm tablets for dogs you use ?

tk123

Sorry - Kalms. I think there’s a few different types but I used these ones before - https://www.pharmacyanseo.ie/product/kalms-night-1-a-day-tablets/

DBB

If you Google Aktivait, you'll find a number of online outlets for it. Your vet should be able to get it in for you, but check prices, as there can be a fair range of prices across different outlets.

tk123

I got in on Amazon.de and miscota before. But be careful with Amazon.de as stuff can go out stock for a while so always have some extra in. I get a supplement for Bailey (Geridex) and get the huge tub to allow for stock levels

dashoonage

So....

installed night light

left fan on in kitchen for some noise ( bedroom is across the hall from the kitchen and she has access to both)

introduced small walk around 7pm

result: 8 straight nights of sound sleep so far! she slept from 9:45pm last night until 6:15am this morning :)

will still bring it all up with the vet when she is up for her injection, and i will get her the supplements once vet is ok with it.

edit: thanks for all the advice!