I don’t know if it was the weather (muggy and overcast) or lack of rest (waking at 2:00 a.m. and not going back to sleep), but over the weekend I was useless. I couldn’t move myself to do the simplest task. Anything requiring actual thought was out of the question.
Then yesterday morning it was as if somebody hit a switch. I zipped, roared, zoomed, and accomplished stuff all day.
So much for energetic days, though.
Last night Robbie woke me at 12:15. And 1:15. And again at 2:45 — panting loudly in my ear and with his front feet on the bed next to my pillow, asking to be lifted onto the mattress. And stubborn boy, he wouldn’t budge when I told him, “NO!” and “Go to bed.” The first two times I got up, gave him a chance to go outside (which he didn’t want to do), then led him back to his own blankets. After the third, I put him outside for the rest of the night.
Today I’m a slug again, though I’m forcing myself to at least attempt productivity.
—–
Those Robbie interludes were worrisome. Unless he’s suffering digestive disturbances (which he wasn’t), Robbie has always been a champion sleeper. Very sedentary boy. Being king of the house, he has the privilege of sleeping on the couch — though these days he needs me to lift him there — and has always considered that his domain.
About a week and a half ago, that abruptly changed. Suddenly, he wants nothing to do with the couch. He’ll lie on a blanket at the foot of the couch, but if I boost him up, he’ll jump right off.
I’ve also awakened three times to find him sleeping on the hard, cold kitchen floor. Trying to keep cool, perhaps? But he’s also trembling. And no matter the weather, I’ve never, ever known luxury-loving Robbie to choose a hard floor over something soft.
Both the floor-sleeping and the attempts to get in bed with me in the middle of the night look like fear. I’ve seen him behave like that only when someone’s shooting off fireworks or guns nearby.
But there’s not a sound or a threat anywhere.
Time to pull his crate out of storage and let him spend his nights in that, it seems. But the behavior’s still disturbingly mysterious. I see a consultation with furrydoc in the near future.
—–
Robbie turned 13 this summer. In the last year he’s gone almost entirely deaf. His thick body and short legs have never exactly made him Mr. Speedy, but now, with bad knees, he has to be boosted into the car for his rides and (more recently) he struggles with stairs and sometimes appears to cross his hind legs as he walks. On woods walks, he trails 50 yards back most of the time. But he seems content to mosey, so I just turn occasionally to check on him. As often as not he’s stopping to smell the flowers.
Or pee on them.
He’s gotten more lovable as he’s aged. He always adored people (especially strange men), but for most of his life his attitude toward other dogs was bully first and ask questions later. Now, he’s filled with goodwill toward all creatures.
He’s still hungry for any food he can get his mouth on and seems well and happy. But the recent changes — especially the suddenness of several of them — are heartbreaking. And there are some tentative signs that even if he’s physically okay, but for the ears and the knees, he’s losing his marbles. And he didn’t have that many to lose in the first place. (An intellectual giant of dogdom he was not, even at his best.)
Hope my baby boy still has a couple of good years in him. But I worry. I do.
Oh, Claire… I’ve been through that so many times. I hope he has a few more good years too…
Don’t know if you ever saw this, but a friend sent it to me when Rascal died.
“A 6 year old’s explanation for why dogs don’t live as long as people.
People are born so they can learn how to live a good life, like loving everybody and being nice, right? Well, dogs already know how to do that, so they don’t have to stay as long.
This is the part of pet ownership that is the saddest, the ending. And for the many I have loved and had to lose over the years, not to mention the dreaded guilt of having to step in and do the right thing, I never ever got the hang of the endings. But lately I’m older, and it has given me a whole new perspective on the situation – I can relate to the loss of our younger selves and the sudden WTH? moments when bodies age. He may be afraid, he may just be confused at things working differently, he may just be pissed off too. That about sums it up for people and animals, the total WTH? part of getting old.
As for Robbie, he couldn’t have gotten a better Mom. He won the jackpot.
He’s restless… old people get that way, too, at night. Or confusion may mix up his day and night, when he first awakens at odd hours, he doesn’t know why you’re not up.
If you put him in the crate, put the crate next to your bed. (Or let him on your bed at least one night, to see how he acts.) He may need to be close to you to sort out his loss of senses (mental and hearing) and tell him what to do.
It is heartbreaking to watch our beloved furbabies age, decline and leave us, always much too soon. Having lost 3 in the first half of this year, I share your fears and tears, and add to the hopes that Robbie has more good years.
As you, Pat and naturegirl noted, it may well be the early signs of a dementia which usually does begin with fears and confusion and is more noticeable at night, like sundowner’s syndrome.
However long he has left, he’s had a wonderful life of love and adventure and that’s all any of us can ask for in this life.
Due entirely to our rival dog gangs – full disclosure for your readers: My smallest dog once beat the tar out of Robbie – Robbie was never my big buddy when we were neighbors but still he was dear to you and so at least somewhat dear to me. It comes to all dog lovers as I know it has come to you numerous times but I’d spare my friend Claire the experience if I could. Here’s hoping it passes or settles into a new normal and he has healthy years go to.
Oh, you guys … I don’t know what to say except feeble thanks. I’m not sure I deserve you (or Robbie).
I had never heard of Sundowners Syndrome, but definitely that could be what’s going on. I’ve left him out of the crate tonight and if he wants on the bed again I’ll let him and see if he settles down. Thank you for the education and advice.
Joel, you had a small dog? (Okay, I know; only relatively speaking.) LOL, I’d forgotten Robbie trying to throw his weight around with your and Landlady’s packs. When Magnus was around, he put a grand stop to such goings on. But Robbie always was one for picking fights he couldn’t win — then sulking for days as he nursed his poor, pathetic, well-deserved booboos.
Well, same thing happened last night. 🙁 Midnight. Robbie panting in my ear, front feet on the bed.
This time, following Pat’s suggestion, I boosted him into bed with me to see what would happen. He didn’t settle down, but remained awake, agitated, and trembling for about an hour. Though I placed him at the foot of the bed, he kept moving upward until at one point he was attempting to lie on my head. I took that as a sign of fear. Nothing I did could calm him.
Eventually he fell asleep, but I think not until after I finally did. Then he stayed asleep nicely the rest of the night.
Definitely troubling. I’ll try him in his crate tonight. He’s always felt secure in a crate, so if he’s still agitated, I’ll know it’s time for a consult with furrydoc. Maybe anti-anxiety meds or some change of habits will help.
I’m sorry to say this, but it may be he knows his end is near. (I don’t know how, but animals do sense death coming.)
And it may be his dreams are nightmarish in his night-time confusion.
Claire, in his doggy reality you’re the only good thing that ever happened to him. You’ve given him a good and happy life, and his desire to be close to you is his reaching for comfort, as a puppy would. The crate may work; if not, I hope furrydoc can help him ― and you ― cope with his problem.
Darling Mr. Licks…please give him a bellyrub for me…
My first intuition was the same as Pat’s: he might have the sense that his time with you is soon to end, and he seeks all the comfort and togetherness he can get.
But…Is his sight okay? With diminished hearing already, and if he’s experiencing some dimmed eyesight once you turn out the lights at night, that might explain why he’s seeking you out for nighttime reassurance?
I’m sure hoping Robbie’s still got a long life ahead and that this is just something we’ll adjust to and go on. He seems healthy … but, yeah, things are happening suddenly right now.
Beth, very good questions about his eyesight. I know he can still see because lately our main communications have been though visual signals (e.g. I wave my arm when it’s time to feed him). But how much sight he has, and how much weaker it may be at night, I don’t know. That’s something I should try to look into.
Whatever else, Robbie will for sure get all the snuggles and snackies he needs as long as he’s capable of enjoying them.
Given both the symptoms and the suddenness of them, my first instinct would be to check for uninvited guests in the sofa. If he’s getting bit by earwigs or something, it would certainly explain his reactions. And if he couldn’t tell what it was that was biting him, that could trigger the fear.
We did have one heck of a storm last night maybe that had him spooked. I some other possible explanations.
1) Age related sleeping disorders are fairly common in dogs. Sometimes melanin can fix that. Call the office and I can look up the dose for him.
2) pain is another common cause of sleep disturbance, in dogs and people. Just can’t seem to get comfortable. From what you are describing about his hind legs crossing and such he could have some neurologic impairment causing the pain. Tramadol in combination with gabapentin just might do the trick.
3) He’s losing it…and just needs a tranquilizer to get to sleep, Kinda like Micheal Jackson. I have some ideas to treat that too, but OTC benadryl may just do the trick.
This makes me wonder if you have any new things around that shake/vibrate or give off unusual feelings only animals have a sense of. A sump pump, or a water heater making more sensations than usual, or an air conditioner. Or a neighbor up all nite pounding on something? Maybe you guys are working up to an earthquake? If he can’t hear, it’s not a sound, if his eyesight is questionable then it’s not be something he sees. Although I think there’s possibly something to the bug bites, ya never know – but there would be marks left if something was chewing on him.
I find it intriguing it happens at nite. But not during the day?
That’s kind of why I was thinking earwigs. They don’t leave a mark, they’re more active at night, and they like close spaces like between cushions or gaps behind decorative trim.
I had an infestation in my bedroom when I was 15. I used to have nightmares that I was being stabbed with a rapier. That’s what an earwig bite feels like.
(Ok, technically it’s not a bite. Earwigs have lobster-like pinchers on their butts that they attack with when they think they’re being threatened.)
Worse last night. The agitation and anxiety started around 9:00 and nothing eases it. I had given Robbie 25mg of benadryl at 8:00 in hopes of getting him to sleep, but either it didn’t work at all or it backfired; not sure which.
I, too, thought “earthquake coming?” when he started acting this way. If so, though, that quake is taking its time and somehow only disturbing him at night. Similarly, while there’s been construction going on next door for months, it’s only been in the daytime and hasn’t bothered him a bit.
Bugs! Earwigs! (Shudder.) Yeah, I can see how that would be memorable, Ellendra. (Shudder.) And I did at first wonder if there was something going on in the couch. But I don’t see or feel anything there. I’ve washed the blankets and pillows and inspected the cushions just in case. I use the couch myself without problems. And the big clue: even though Robbie hasn’t been on the couch in two weeks, his nighttime anxieties are escalating.
I feel so bad for him. But I also feel that if I don’t get some sleep soon I’m going to go bonkers.
Thanks for the ideas. You never know when the right clue will come along.
Furrydoc, thanks for the practical stuff! We’ll be headed to your office early next week for as full a physical workup as you think necessary.
In the beginning, was Robbie settled and asleep before agitation started, but now he starts getting restless as soon as night comes on, even while awake? That sounds like he’s afraid of the dark, or afraid of what night brings (dreams or confusion).
If Benadryl seemed to make it worse, he may have gotten dizziness or tinnitus from it.
Tinnitus (ringing in the ears) is possible from hearing loss (maybe as it worsens), from Meniere’s Disease, ear wax build-up, or water in the ear, as well as from loud noises (like the construction work). During the day as he moves about, water in the inner ear doesn’t settle, but at night it may settle and give him a whirlpool sensation. If it happened a couple of times, he may be afraid to go to sleep. (I know ― it happened to me once; I felt like I was going to be swirled off the bed even as I lay there flat.) Does he shake his head at times, or paw at his ears? You haven’t mentioned that, so I assume not.
Pat — sorry for the delayed reponse. Got caught up in deadlines and house projects.
Yeah, I’ve had an encounter with that “whirlpool” sensation myself. Weird and definitely disorienting. But I don’t think what’s going on has anything to do with his years. As you note, he’s not showing any other signs of ear-related distress, or for that matter balance or orientation issues.
Yes, he’s been settled and sleeping before these panic attacks (for want of a better term) hit him. He sleeps a lot during the day, too, and has no distress.
The one thing I can say with absolute certainty is that the episodes have to do with darkness. Last night I stayed up later than usual with a light on and even though Robbie had a couple of unusually abrupt awakenings, he stayed in place and went right back to sleep. Only after I turned off the light did he go into the pacing, panting, desperation routine.
Maybe it’s time for the age-old solution: Nightlights!
(Also handy for those of us clumsy enough to trip over anything we can’t see, no matter how well we know our way around.)
Great minds, Ellendra.
I tried leaving a night light on in the living room last night so Robbie could see. He panicked, anyhow. 🙁 But when I then moved him to the bathroom (where he seems to calm down most quickly), I left another night light on for him.
Still not much progress, though. I’m up to giving him two kinds of drugs before bedtime & have still seen no change. Definitely headed to furrydoc’s this coming week.
Maybe he can’t see beyond a certain distance, and/or the shadows are scaring him.
You had mentioned that his legs moved in strange configurations. Does any of this seem to relate to the way he walks, particularly at night?
(I guess we should just “wait and see” what the vet diagnoses, but it IS a puzzlement.)
If this is happening only in the dark, I wonder if he is losing his vision. They will lose night vision first. To test him, wait until twilight move some of the furniture around and wait to see how he navigates. The days are getting shorter so the dark is probably lasting longer than his usual night time sleep cycle. It may help to keep him up more during the day and take a walk later in the evening to wear him out. If he gets into a deeper sleep he may not wake up as often. See you next week.
Thanks, furrydoc. That’s probably a good guess.
I’d feel like a jerk if I rearranged the furniture and he went bumping into it! But it would tell us something, I’m sure. Will try that.
Make it something soft.