If panting and pacing are caused by anxiety, dogs may also have other symptoms, including trembling, whining, barking, increased drooling and, in extreme cases, loss of bladder control. Anxious dogs can also be clingy, looking to their owners for extra comfort and attention.
Dogs with injuries or painful conditions such as arthritis are also prone to panting and restlessness: The struggle to find a comfortable position to rest leads to pacing and the pain causes panting. In older dogs, King also cites cognitive issues as a key reason that dogs exhibit symptoms like panting and restlessness.
The incidence of Canine Cognitive Disorder increases with age. One study found that dogs over 16 years old experienced the highest rates of this dementia-like disease but symptoms started in dogs as young as 10 years old. Your house is also quieter at night, making it easier for your dog to tune into sounds in the environment that could trigger anxious behaviors like panting and restlessness.
Determining the cause can help your veterinarian come up with the best treatment. Common treatments range from anxiety-reducing wraps and behavior modification exercises to supplements and prescription medications. Simple, huh? Swaddling or using a pressure shirt like the Thundershirt has helped some dogs feel less anxious. Is your restless dog a puppy or senior dog? Puppies can be a little anxious at night, missing their pack of puppies or mother or be a little anxious about a new place or just have to go potty.
Tampa is a small dog, 11 going on 12, so he is a senior dog. Our veterinarian said our restless dog problem might be related to age — a little doggie dementia. I have gotten more disciplined about taking Tampa on three walks a day, where I give him plenty of sniffing time to keep his mind and senses active. We also give Tampa new experiences like going camping and to other non-taxing events to keep him alert and stave off boredom. Our veterinarian also gave us a supplement that supports overall mind and body wellness.
We give this to Tampa with his dinner. Tampa sleeps in bed with us. We started shutting the door to our bedroom at night. This prevented Tampa from walking around the house pacing all night. For some senior dogs and cats, keeping them in a smaller area helps them from becoming confused about where they are.
I had lost several magazines and some new books to his nighttime chewing. Tampa has arthritis in his legs and back. Arthritis is another possible answer to why you have a restless dog. This condition causes physical discomfort, which can also make your dog not want to lie down. Both dogs are also on a supplement for joints. This can go two ways. Tampa is losing his hearing and it definitely makes him a little more anxious and more hyper alert and watchful to compensate.
This is a big one for us. Tampa is constantly hungry — which is a problem. He paces about every hour wanting food. This is not uncommon. A restless dog might be hungry due to a health issue, not getting enough food or not getting the right kind of food.
Again, we went to the vet to rule out a medical condition and we are still going through the testing process. We already have an appointment with a specialist and will be doing an ultrasound. Regarding diet, we did change Tampa to a special prescription diet because of concerns about his liver, which definitely made his hunger worse. We finally decided because we were feeding him so much less than the recommended amount that we would increase his food intake by giving him three small meals throughout the day, now feeding him right before bedtime.
This extra feeding has helped his food anxiety. We also have tried giving him some pumpkin before bed, hoping the high fiber might fill up his stomach a little more without packing on the pounds. We plan on talking to a dog nutritionist next to discuss his weight gain and hunger issues, and to adjust his diet to one that appeases his hunger more.
Tampa was definitely experiencing increased thirst. Again, this is a restless dog issue caused by a medical condition. However, it turns out he had a urinary infection.
If your dog has increased thirst, make sure this is the first thing you rule out with your veterinarian. Having to go to the bathroom at night happens to puppies, senior dogs and even adult dogs — hey, even us humans. In our case, Tampa is a senior dog and sometimes 8 hours is too long for him to go without the potty.
Getting up once to let him out is fine. We love him, and it gives us a chance for a potty break, too. Both puppies and senior dogs, small and short-haired breeds, plus brachycephalic breeds smoosh-faced dogs , are affected by heat and cold.
If you have a restless dog, he could be either too hot or too cold. Tampa is a senior dog, and we definitely noticed he went from being like a camel — not affected by heat at all — to being sensitive to it. At night, sometimes he would pant and get up to drink water. I started making the room a little cooler at night, which definitely has stopped the panting. Dogster reader Lyn Holmes tells Dogster that she uses a hot water bottle in the bed for her Chihuahua, who sleeps with her.
He has a bowl of water and a bowl of kibble down, and he will occasionally have a midnight snack, I get woken up by his crunching. Cover with a blanket or invest in a house coat. It gets cold at night, still. Like a human, a restless dog might not get enough exercise during the day to run off his excess energy. Keeping your dog busy and active during the day is key to good physical and mental health.
Unfortunately, getting on in years can change the way all dogs behave at night - especially if they're also suffering from 'doggy dementia', known as cognitive dysfunction syndrome CDS. Dogs feel more vulnerable as they age, and they often need their owners in order to feel emotionally secure. Rosie points out that your pet may also find it harder to navigate the house, and may feel physically insecure - perhaps the laminate floor feels slippery now that he's arthritic?
To combat this, why not adapt your home in some practical ways? If these tips fail, though, letting your dog sleep in your bedroom can help him feel physically safe and could lead to a better night's sleep all round. As well as howling, elderly dogs with CDS can also become very restless at night. So Rosie recommends plenty of daytime stimulation to tire your pet out. Try using puzzle toys, easy training routines or food games to keep his mind active - it can be as simple as scattering food in the garden for your dog to sniff out, or providing activity balls.
0コメント