senior dog getting grumpy - need serious help

[iggi]

Please help as I am at my wits end. My toy poodle age 11.5 years is getting very grumpy. Some background is that she has a thyroid problem (thyro-tabs), diabetes (blind from cataracts and on insulin) and Cushings (taking Anipryl). She does not let us know when she needs to go outside to pee so we let her out every hour because otherwise she pees in her sleep. (At night she wears a diaper but also sleeps through dry!). The problem is that she growls when we get her up to go out. We try to wake her gently and tell her what is happening. Her growling is getting worse and is including teeth baring and snapping. I don't know how to rid her of the bad habit. From what I have read she may also have doggy alzheimers but the treatment for that is Anipryl which she is already on. She bit my dad the other day and I fear that if I cannot get the situation to change we have to put her down. We rely on our neighbours to let her out during the day. So far she is ok in daytime but I worry this will carry over and I don't want something to happen. Any suggestions? PS she is very good when it comes to administering all her medicines.

[k9Karen]

A couple of suggestions:

First, check with your vet to see if any of the symptoms you've mentioned could be side effects of her already diagnosed diseases, her medications, or possibly due to a new physical ailment. For example, urinating in her sleep might be caused by the diabetes, but could also be due to a urinary tract infection.

Second, consider that she is in pain. Arthritis would be likely in a dog her age, but there could be something else that could be making her grumpy.

Third, is it possible she is now deaf, or becoming deaf? What you perceive as a change in her personality could be due to her no longer hearing you approach her, and, therefore, you are startling her when you wake her. Stomping your feet as you walk up will cause a vibration that may cause her to wake without being startled. I noticed a similar change in Mickey's behavior when he lost his hearing.

If you have not already done so, I would suggest getting her a good check-up from your vet to rule out any problems with her medications as well as any other illness or infection.

[Traci]

Agree with Karen, get her re-evaluated by your vet immediately, you need to rule out potential pain as a result of one or more of her conditions. Get her bloodwork rechecked, and include urinalysis and thyroid level test, you want to be sure the levels are normal, or that medications may need to be adjusted.

As Karen noted, she may be suffering hearing loss as well, your vet can perform simple tests to determine if or what extent the hearing loss may be. Also, the cataracts could be causing her pain, you need to address that with your vet. If she is clinically blind and/or deaf, she may also be fearful of your approaches if they are sudden and without warning. Stomping your feet nearby is a good tip, but you can also gently blow on her fur to warn her you are approaching. I'd strongly suggest you pass the tips on to your neighbor so that she isn't fearful of the neighbor's approach as well. Assuming you trust your neighbor, is there something unusual occuring when the neighbor comes over to let her out?

Don't change anything in her environment, such as rearranging furniture, etc, and keep stress reduced to the barest minimum, including your own. Your dog is suffering some common senior illnesses and deserves to be pampered as best as you can provide for her. The most important thing is getting her checked by your vet (and bloodwork) to ensure the medications are dosed appropriately, and to rule out painful conditions and to address them so that she is ultimately comfortable and relaxed and feeling secure in her environment.

[iggi]

Thank you for your replies. I really do appreciate the posts. I do not think she is being startled because often I call her name softly and she starts to growl right away. I have thought about whether or not she is in pain and I don't really think that she is. We are in a very tough position right now. Her medicines are already costing over $150 a month. I really don't know if we want to go over that or have the vet bills climbing. I guess this comes back to an earlier post of Davet's when deciding if the time is right. I just wanted to give one last try to modifying behavior although I know that this may not be possible, at least not without more tests, etc. It's trying to decide if enough is enough. She does not pee in bed all night but I put the diaper on to bee sure. This way she can still sleep in big bed. She is with my husband alot in the evening, on his lap or on a chair by his in the computer room. She wants the presence. She does not growl in the morning or early afternoon. I will warn my neighbour but she has early alzheimer's herself so I worry she will forget. Are there any traing tips I can try as a last resort?

[E's]

One can understand the anquish you and your husband are feeling - in fact, I once had a beautiful young Dalmatian put down because he had developed unpredictable outbursts of aggression, which vets said was due to a congenital brain disorder and pro trainers said could not be cured by retraining... I felt guilty about this and grieved terribly for a long time. But there was no internet then and, realistically, the bottom line STILL, as it was 26 years ago, MUST be the safety of humans and the legal ramifications thereof.

Even though your dog is a toy breed, it can cause serious physical and emotional damage to anyone it bites, especially if such a victim is already impaired in any way. I strongly advise you to immediately cease allowing the neighbor and other non-family members (other than DVMs and their assistants) contact with the dog.

As you yourself have mentioned, I would continue to study the pet loss articles on this and other boards.

In the meantime: IMO the growling, snapping etc. definitely indicates some sort of discomfort, whether actual pain or psychological distress such as fear or resentment to being startled out of sleep... It seems to me the best thing you and your husband can do is begin trying to adjust caretaking procedures to a pattern of only trying to keep the dog as comfortable as possible at all times. Continue gently soothing and comforting her when it is absolutely necessary to medicate her or shift her position - but otherwise just let her rest and go forward on her own terms, thus "letting nature take its course" as long she seems not to be in pain or distress...

...This can perhaps give you a longer time for coming to terms with the situation, and may lessen somewhat the unavoidable guilt feelings which are part of the process.

I wish all of you the best - you will be in my thoughts.

[Traci]

Please don't take this wrong, but it sounds like you want to implement behavioral modification rather than address the most obvious issue, that being her health may quite possibly be why she is snapping, growling, baring teeth. Do you see how "behavioral modification" really is redundant here? Your dog has multiple health conditions, may be clinically blind and/or deaf,may be painful for various reasons, so it would be counter-productive to try behavioral modification when the most appropriate measure is addressing her health and finding out the "causes" to her snapping/growling/baring teeth. Pain is the number one aspect to address, and unfortunately, only your vet can advise you because he knows your dog's health history and medication history. This involves testing, and monitoring the medications' effects and response, talk to your vet and discuss the options. If you are not comfortable with your vet or his approaches, for whatever reason, then seek a second opinion.

Arthritis is also a consideration, since it can progress into a painful condition if left untreated. If she tends to sleep alot, has little activity, then it is obvious she may be in pain. When you said she growls when you attempt to wake her, she may in fact be arthritic. There are various treatment options to make her more comfortable and worth discussing with your vet.

Our senior pets deserve the best we can give them....they've given us a lifetime of love and companionship, we need to return the favor by finding the options in which to give them comfort, security, and be aware of their needs. You might be surprised to learn from your vet there are options available at minimal cost to help alleviate some of the symptoms, but you have to discuss the options with your vet and be sure you've ruled out progressive problems with bloodwork and other diagnostics in order to provide her the best care.

On another note, I'd be concerned about the neighbor, if she has alzheimer's, how can you completely rely on her or your dog's safety? Can you find someone else who can be trusted and is responsible?

[Marty]

I agree with what everyone has been saying. Winnie has been on a trial of Deramaxx for arthritis, and I am now seeing a little more spunk in her...not a whole lot, but it is noticable.

Another thing, there are medications to address the incontinence issue (they tighten up the muscles for control)...maybe that might help...so you don't have to keep waking her up to go outside. I understand the expense of meds, but if it makes her more comfortable...

[k9Karen]

iggi - I understand your concern about costs. Senior dogs can become quite expensive. You are obviously concerned about her and care about her very much. I know I would want to know exactly what was going on with one of my dogs before I made 'The Decision'. Small poodles can live to be 14 to 16, or even longer, so, I wouldn't want to give up until I was sure there was nothing I could do.

I really do think she is in pain. Dogs are incredibly good at hiding their pain, but everything you have said about her shows classic symptoms of the pain she is feeling and trying to hide from you. Please try to find the cause, and if it is something that can't be fixed, then it is 'The Time'. But, it may be managable, and you can have a few more good years together.

Good luck.

[iggi]

Thank you all for your posts. I spoke to the vet and we are going to try metacam. Unfortunately her first evening did not go well. Tia has never done well to changes in diet (we had to give up putting her on high fibre senior food) so she puked quite soon after the medicine. Tonight I will give her half a dose and hope it goes better and then will increase her drops by 1 more drop each day until she is on a full dose. I'm keeping my fingers crossed!

[Traci]

Iggi, please don't take it upon yourself to adjust her dose, that needs to be your vet's decision. It's usually prescribed in small doses, for only a few days at a time, and it may not have been the medication that made her vomit, but perhaps the stress of administering it. Try giving her a small amount of food about 20-30 miinutes before her medication, so she is less likely to be nauseated.

The metacam is only going to be a temporary fix....your vet needs to address Tia's conditions, individually, and get to the source of the pain in order to treat or more importantly, manage it. If there is a conditon that is worsening (i.e., the cataracts), the pain is only going to progress, your vet MUST re-evaluate her and attend to the individual symptoms and find/treat the source of the pain. If he isn't doing that, then it's in Tia's best interest that you see a new vet promptly.