My old dog has always slept in the kitchen-diner, but since last year he is showing signs of stress in the night. Does anyone know of a safe natural remedy I could give him to settle him?
Have you seen those plug in destress difusiers. Not sure of the name but available online or PAH. Meant to be v good but take a day or two to work. Heard you can buy a collar which works straight away. I will google name and pop back.
Thanks. Did you find it worked?
I actually have the plug-in for a Feliway diffuser which I had for the cats a few years back, so I imagine the Adaptil refill would fit that. Could get at the vets, or probably cheaper through Amazon. I'll give it a try.
I have not used one but know of numerous dog walker friends who have for various reasons and everyone says they work. I was planning to get a plug in for last firework night but was told it should have been plugged in a few days before so I was to late to use it.
I'd want to know why he's showing distress in the night after so long. What is he doing? an older dog might need to go out and it's possible he could be getting senile which tends to start with things like then being noisy and confused in the night.
I think a check up from the vet would be a good idea if he hasn't had one already. Hope he's ok.
It started when our other dog died, so we put it down to grieving at first, but it has just carried on. It manifests as destructive behaviour and soiIing. I'm aware that at his age he might need to go out during the night so if one of us is up we let him out, but he will still exhibit the destructive behaviour after being shut up for the night again.
Sometimes after I have let him out, if it's after 5 in the morning, I have let him sleep
in the lounge afterwards and he's been quite happy with that. So I know it isn't missing us that's the problem, it's just being locked up. But I am reluctant to let him sleep in the lounge from the time we go to bed because of the soiling. Poor old boy, we never tell him off, no matter what damage he has done, because he is genuinely distressed.
I have got a DAP now and we'll see if that helps, but if not then yes, it will be a trip to the vet.
Did he sleep with the other dog? I know you said that missing you isn't the problem but it could be that without his companion he is bewildered and can't settle. Being close to you might help.
Is it worth a try putting him in your room? I know some people think a dog in a bedroom is a heinous crime but mine even sleeps on the bed.
Just lately with her health problems she has had problems jumping up on it so I constructed a ramp using a rug covered pasting table!
She is very sweet and waits for me to get into bed and give her permission to come up.
If it is something like doggy dementia you can get meds to help
I was just going to post the same, could he sleep upstairs near you? my 4 all sleep upstairs with us so I always know if they need to go out and they like to be near us. Do you have a landing that you could safely put his bed on?
He might feel closer to you sleeping in the lounge. Could you try giving him the run of downstairs and see what happens? Is it possible that you could leave all the doors open and try a baby gate to stop him actually getting him upstairs if you don't want him there? that way you could hopefully hear him if he gets distressed or needs to go out.
I always feel for older dogs as I know from experience that they do often find it difficult to go through the night without needing to go out and most really don't like doing it inside. I'm wondering if the loss of your other dog set this off but whether it could've been coming anyway with his age?
Is he ok if you leave him alone in the day? and where do you leave him? It's horrible when you know they're distressed isn't it.
Thanks for all your suggestions.
Ten days in to the Adaptil diffuser there is little change. There has been no soiling since I put it in, but he is still wetting some nights. The destructive behaviour continues, doing his best to pull the PC off its table, and almost succeeding, is his favourite at the moment.
I would love to be able to leave him on the sofa for the night, but the wetting is the problem with that. He's one of those dogs who likes to scratch up and rearrange his bed and I can see him dragging the throw off the sofa onto the wet floor/rug. I can't give him the run of the downstairs as if I didn't lock the cats in the kitchen they would be sitting at the bedroom doors yowling all night! We don't allow the animals in the bedrooms, and as he is quite wobbly on his legs now it wouldn't be safe to allow him access to the stairs without supervision.
In answer to one posters question, we leave him in the lounge if he is left alone in the day, (although we always used to put him in the kitchen) and to be fair that isn't very often, there is usually someone here. On these occasions there is never any destructive behaviour.
I know not everyone likes it but we have found over the years all our dogs settle and sleep better when in with us, from pups they have always asked to wee in the night just a little whine and I get them up and onto the pads or outside, but they never wet the bed. Only time we have had accidents is with very elderly dribbly od lady dogs who just can't help it as they don't even wake up.
But they seem to feel safer and we have no destruction at night, much better quality sleep as we are not listening for the crash because they are snoring gently on the bed next to us.
I know it's more expense and may sound silly but there's a CD that's meant to be really effective for calming dogs. I got it off Ebay or Amazon, after reading positive recommendations, for about a tenner. It really works for my mums dogs who have separation anxiety.
And I've found the thundershirt is great at taking the edge off my basket case terrier with her ishoos. (I swear i'm not on commission for thundershirt!). But again, more expense.
Oh, sorry, the CD I got was called Through a Dogs Ears (:-o yes, you heard me right. It did really work in our case though).
Although I think you could try some tunes on YouTube for free first though, but have to say, it didn't have the same impact as the CD for some reason.
Btw, the thundershirt is based on the Tellington Touch concept in case you wanted to look into that but tbh I don't know if it's hokum or not. Might be worth a nosy, and I know we'd be lost without the thundershirt. :-o
Just an update for all those kind people who showed an interest in my problem.
Last night I bit the bullet and left him in the lounge for the night, having taken up the rugs. He took up his usual spot on the sofa, and I had to wake him to let him out in thevery early morning, then I went back to bed. Result- no soiling, no wetting, no destrucive behaviour, one contented dog.
I just hope it continues this way, and wish I could get back the £25 I wasted on the Adaptil!
Many thanks for all your comments and interest.
Oh dear, spoke too soon.
My husband had been putting him to bed in the kitchen as normal, then letting him out at about 3, after which he let him sleep in the lounge, and this was working nicely with no problems between the first and second bedtimes. Now however the perisher has decided that's not good enough, and is doing the same soiling and destructive behaviour as before, but sooner, i.e. as soon as he's put in the kitchen. Husband is having to do the clearing up as I'm fast asleep by 1 and he's always still awake then, and there is talk of euthanasia, as this has been going on so long. We have been very tolerant- the dog who diedl last summer was doubly incontinent for the last few months of her life for medical reasons- so we have done our share of clearing up, and husband is coming to the end of his tether with it.
Think I might risk putting him straight in the lounge at bedtime next, but if that fails I really don't know what else to try. Anybody used skullcap & valerian tablets?
What about having the dog in the bedroom ? Or getting a companion dog as it breaks my heart thinking because this dog is grieving you would consider PTS
Sorry you're still having a hard time. Sorry if I've misunderstood, but is it only when he's in the kitchen? If so is there any reason why he can't sleep all night in the living room if he's ok in there?
Don't know much about skullcap & valerian but if I were you I'd definitely speak to my vet to see what they think.
I'm not sure how effective it would be in itself but if you wanted to try the thunder shirt I mentioned to see if it worked before buying I could send one of ours on loan for a bit (if it fits of course...what size/breed?) if you thought it was worth a try.
Edit: sorry re read your post and see you're going to try him in the lounge.
If it were me I'd go with lounge and try make it as positive, but low key, as possible ie. Get the music on, get the thundershirt on, stick the adaptil in - cover all bases lol.
Failing that speak to vet (if you haven't already) and maybe behaviourist if you're really at a loss.
Best of luck to you. I'm guessing from your last post you're at your wits end but don't give up just yet!
Thanks for the offer of the Thundershirt, WeeTinkers. That's so kind of you.
As you suggested, I have let him sleep in the lounge all night for the last 2 nights, despite husband's fears that there would be an awful mess. Absolutely no problem so far, he sleeps peacefully all night, and doesn't even stir if I get up to check on him.
In answer to another poster, we did get another dog, thinking loneliness might be the problem. (I hasten to add we wanted another dog because we are used to having 2. she wasn't just acquired to fix his problem) There is no problem between them and she has settled in beautifully (she is an older dog too) but he doesn't seem to be bothered if she's there or not. It looks like the real issue was being locked up in the kitchen. We have never allowed dogs on the furniture before, but he's an old boy, I can't deny him a bit of comfort in his old age, so he has claimed one of the sofas as his own.
Fingers crossed (again!) that things carry on like this. Thanks for all your kind interest and helpful suggestions, and hopefully I won't need to ask on here again, but I will update if there is any change.
That's great - fingers crossed. Hopefully it was just a case of a wee taste of the lounge spoilt him and he was sticking two fingers up at the kitchen.
Ours sleeps in the living room with no bother but she had to come up with us after she was spayed so we could keep an eye while the wound healed. She kicked up an almighty stink when she went back to living room. She'd had a taste of the good stuff and the living room didn't cut the mustard anymore! We just persevered because dogs upstairs is a no-no in our house and she eventually got the message (not saying you should have persevered btw - our situation wasn't as bad as yours). The only similarity is they may have an element of give em an inch, they'll take a mile.
LOL! They are like children aren't they, little blighters!
He has never been allowed to sleep in the lounge at night before, and in fact the dogs were always put in the kitchen when we went out too. When I think about it, this all started when he began chewing the stairgate that we put across the door between the kitchen & hall on these occasions. When his companion became poorly (and incontinent) the last few months of her life we asssumed it was always her making the mess, but now I wonder if it wasn't him as well? We will never know, but it was after she died that we noticed lots of stressed behaviour which we had never seen in him before. We don't let the animals in bedrooms either. For one thing there isn't room, and for another you do need to be able to relax at night without wet noses in your face.! Growing up, animals were not allowed upstairs at all ever, and our new dog has obviously been used to this too, because she never tries to go upstairs.
As our old boy has claimed what used to be my sofa, I am relegated to a (very comfy)fireside chair. Am I stupid, do you think, or just happy to have a quiet life with a contented dog?
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Hope link works. Just got new tablet and still getting to grips with it.
I actually have the plug-in for a Feliway diffuser which I had for the cats a few years back, so I imagine the Adaptil refill would fit that. Could get at the vets, or probably cheaper through Amazon. I'll give it a try.
I will be getting one for this year.
I think a check up from the vet would be a good idea if he hasn't had one already. Hope he's ok.
Sometimes after I have let him out, if it's after 5 in the morning, I have let him sleep
in the lounge afterwards and he's been quite happy with that. So I know it isn't missing us that's the problem, it's just being locked up. But I am reluctant to let him sleep in the lounge from the time we go to bed because of the soiling. Poor old boy, we never tell him off, no matter what damage he has done, because he is genuinely distressed.
I have got a DAP now and we'll see if that helps, but if not then yes, it will be a trip to the vet.
Is it worth a try putting him in your room? I know some people think a dog in a bedroom is a heinous crime but mine even sleeps on the bed.
Just lately with her health problems she has had problems jumping up on it so I constructed a ramp using a rug covered pasting table!
She is very sweet and waits for me to get into bed and give her permission to come up.
If it is something like doggy dementia you can get meds to help
He might feel closer to you sleeping in the lounge. Could you try giving him the run of downstairs and see what happens? Is it possible that you could leave all the doors open and try a baby gate to stop him actually getting him upstairs if you don't want him there? that way you could hopefully hear him if he gets distressed or needs to go out.
I always feel for older dogs as I know from experience that they do often find it difficult to go through the night without needing to go out and most really don't like doing it inside. I'm wondering if the loss of your other dog set this off but whether it could've been coming anyway with his age?
Is he ok if you leave him alone in the day? and where do you leave him? It's horrible when you know they're distressed isn't it.
Ten days in to the Adaptil diffuser there is little change. There has been no soiling since I put it in, but he is still wetting some nights. The destructive behaviour continues, doing his best to pull the PC off its table, and almost succeeding, is his favourite at the moment.
I would love to be able to leave him on the sofa for the night, but the wetting is the problem with that. He's one of those dogs who likes to scratch up and rearrange his bed and I can see him dragging the throw off the sofa onto the wet floor/rug. I can't give him the run of the downstairs as if I didn't lock the cats in the kitchen they would be sitting at the bedroom doors yowling all night! We don't allow the animals in the bedrooms, and as he is quite wobbly on his legs now it wouldn't be safe to allow him access to the stairs without supervision.
In answer to one posters question, we leave him in the lounge if he is left alone in the day, (although we always used to put him in the kitchen) and to be fair that isn't very often, there is usually someone here. On these occasions there is never any destructive behaviour.
But they seem to feel safer and we have no destruction at night, much better quality sleep as we are not listening for the crash because they are snoring gently on the bed next to us.
I know it's more expense and may sound silly but there's a CD that's meant to be really effective for calming dogs. I got it off Ebay or Amazon, after reading positive recommendations, for about a tenner. It really works for my mums dogs who have separation anxiety.
And I've found the thundershirt is great at taking the edge off my basket case terrier with her ishoos. (I swear i'm not on commission for thundershirt!). But again, more expense.
Good luck.
Although I think you could try some tunes on YouTube for free first though, but have to say, it didn't have the same impact as the CD for some reason.
Btw, the thundershirt is based on the Tellington Touch concept in case you wanted to look into that but tbh I don't know if it's hokum or not. Might be worth a nosy, and I know we'd be lost without the thundershirt. :-o
Last night I bit the bullet and left him in the lounge for the night, having taken up the rugs. He took up his usual spot on the sofa, and I had to wake him to let him out in thevery early morning, then I went back to bed. Result- no soiling, no wetting, no destrucive behaviour, one contented dog.
I just hope it continues this way, and wish I could get back the £25 I wasted on the Adaptil!
Many thanks for all your comments and interest.
My husband had been putting him to bed in the kitchen as normal, then letting him out at about 3, after which he let him sleep in the lounge, and this was working nicely with no problems between the first and second bedtimes. Now however the perisher has decided that's not good enough, and is doing the same soiling and destructive behaviour as before, but sooner, i.e. as soon as he's put in the kitchen. Husband is having to do the clearing up as I'm fast asleep by 1 and he's always still awake then, and there is talk of euthanasia, as this has been going on so long. We have been very tolerant- the dog who diedl last summer was doubly incontinent for the last few months of her life for medical reasons- so we have done our share of clearing up, and husband is coming to the end of his tether with it.
Think I might risk putting him straight in the lounge at bedtime next, but if that fails I really don't know what else to try. Anybody used skullcap & valerian tablets?
Don't know much about skullcap & valerian but if I were you I'd definitely speak to my vet to see what they think.
I'm not sure how effective it would be in itself but if you wanted to try the thunder shirt I mentioned to see if it worked before buying I could send one of ours on loan for a bit (if it fits of course...what size/breed?) if you thought it was worth a try.
Edit: sorry re read your post and see you're going to try him in the lounge.
If it were me I'd go with lounge and try make it as positive, but low key, as possible ie. Get the music on, get the thundershirt on, stick the adaptil in - cover all bases lol.
Failing that speak to vet (if you haven't already) and maybe behaviourist if you're really at a loss.
Best of luck to you. I'm guessing from your last post you're at your wits end but don't give up just yet!
As you suggested, I have let him sleep in the lounge all night for the last 2 nights, despite husband's fears that there would be an awful mess. Absolutely no problem so far, he sleeps peacefully all night, and doesn't even stir if I get up to check on him.
In answer to another poster, we did get another dog, thinking loneliness might be the problem. (I hasten to add we wanted another dog because we are used to having 2. she wasn't just acquired to fix his problem) There is no problem between them and she has settled in beautifully (she is an older dog too) but he doesn't seem to be bothered if she's there or not. It looks like the real issue was being locked up in the kitchen. We have never allowed dogs on the furniture before, but he's an old boy, I can't deny him a bit of comfort in his old age, so he has claimed one of the sofas as his own.
Fingers crossed (again!) that things carry on like this. Thanks for all your kind interest and helpful suggestions, and hopefully I won't need to ask on here again, but I will update if there is any change.
Ours sleeps in the living room with no bother but she had to come up with us after she was spayed so we could keep an eye while the wound healed. She kicked up an almighty stink when she went back to living room. She'd had a taste of the good stuff and the living room didn't cut the mustard anymore! We just persevered because dogs upstairs is a no-no in our house and she eventually got the message (not saying you should have persevered btw - our situation wasn't as bad as yours). The only similarity is they may have an element of give em an inch, they'll take a mile.
He has never been allowed to sleep in the lounge at night before, and in fact the dogs were always put in the kitchen when we went out too. When I think about it, this all started when he began chewing the stairgate that we put across the door between the kitchen & hall on these occasions. When his companion became poorly (and incontinent) the last few months of her life we asssumed it was always her making the mess, but now I wonder if it wasn't him as well? We will never know, but it was after she died that we noticed lots of stressed behaviour which we had never seen in him before. We don't let the animals in bedrooms either. For one thing there isn't room, and for another you do need to be able to relax at night without wet noses in your face.! Growing up, animals were not allowed upstairs at all ever, and our new dog has obviously been used to this too, because she never tries to go upstairs.
As our old boy has claimed what used to be my sofa, I am relegated to a (very comfy)fireside chair. Am I stupid, do you think, or just happy to have a quiet life with a contented dog?