seld Posted February 6, 2013 Share Posted February 6, 2013 Hello, My dog is pushing a decade now and I'm wondering whether his behaviour is within the range of normal. 3 months ago he started to pee on the floor occasionally. The vet diagnosed a mild UTI, and we thought nothing of it. Soon afterwards he developed a habit of staring at the wall in different places quite closely. Sometimes it would go on for 5 minutes. We put it down to ageing and just distracted him whenever he did it; however, now he has begun to growl as he does it, added to the fact that today he had quite a go at a delivery man, it has us mightily concerned (especially with a child in the house) He has never ever shown the slightest bit of aggression before, and usually loves it when people come to the door. Physically, the only changes are his activity levels as he gets older, and he is on 2x50g Tramadol a day for arthritis. I don't know whether to be more worried that it is CCD type thing, or purely behavioural which seems unlikely as he has always been incredibly well trained and behaved. Off to the vets tomorrow to see what they say, I was just hoping someone on here might have some insight. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
persephone Posted February 6, 2013 Share Posted February 6, 2013 What breed ? 10 is hardly old for a lot of dogs ... has his vision been tested /eyes checked? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
seld Posted February 6, 2013 Author Share Posted February 6, 2013 According to gt labs he's bullmastiff x rottweiler. We thought it could be his eyes too, I'll get his vet to check tomorrow. They aren't cloudy or anything, but I certainly wouldn't know how to check them. Its the sudden onset of aggression that has us really concerned. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
persephone Posted February 6, 2013 Share Posted February 6, 2013 Its the sudden onset of aggression that has us really concerned. Ok..so yes, 10 is getting on for a large dog .... there could be a dementia, or some brain injury , or who knows. It is a worry for you. Can you keep children away from him without a big disruption ? make sure the vet does a thorough blood workup ... and I wish you all the best . It is always sad when these things happen .... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
*kirty* Posted February 6, 2013 Share Posted February 6, 2013 My girl developed canine dementia at about that age too, and she is only a medium dog. She is on vivitonin and omega 3 supplements. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kayla1 Posted February 6, 2013 Share Posted February 6, 2013 Agree with the others but just wanted to add, I haven't had any problems giving tramadol before but there are a couple of people on here who have said it changed their dogs' behaviour. So if the behaviour started when you commenced the tramadol then it's another possibility. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
seld Posted February 7, 2013 Author Share Posted February 7, 2013 Hopefully the aggression is just from the Tramadol. He only started taking that a fortnight ago. We've been giving him omega 3 for a while now, but the arthritis has become too bad, poor boy was crying and limping for the first half hour after waking up until his joints got warm. I've got that terrible sinking feeling that there may be no way back from this now he has had a go at someone and it doesnt seem to be behavioural. Even my big lump of a husband had tears in his eyes talking about him getting old and a bit crazy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
persephone Posted February 7, 2013 Share Posted February 7, 2013 It is scary when you get to the stage of weighing up behaviours, quality of life and pain stuff.... ...poor old boy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
*kirty* Posted February 7, 2013 Share Posted February 7, 2013 I don't mean to scare you, but I would also consider something more sinister like a brain tumour. Our old clinic dog started displaying some odd behaviour which escalated to aggression. An MRI revealed a massive brain tumour. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
seld Posted February 7, 2013 Author Share Posted February 7, 2013 I don't mean to scare you, but I would also consider something more sinister like a brain tumour. Our old clinic dog started displaying some odd behaviour which escalated to aggression. An MRI revealed a massive brain tumour. I am beginning to think down that road. I couldnt take him to the vet today as my husband is away until tomorrow and I need him to lift him in the car, however, i spoke to a trainer today at the rspca who suggested that some of his blank moments staring at the wall could be seziures. I'll just have to see what the vet says. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Staffyluv Posted February 7, 2013 Share Posted February 7, 2013 My old stafford was about 12 or so before he started to exhibit staring at nothing, growling at 'nothing' most of the time.. He used to get lost and I found him in the bottom of the wardrobe a couple of times.. I think they become a little confused when they can't see and hear as well as they could - I think most of it is defensive to protect themselves. I just made sure that everyone knew not to just go up and pat him from behind or when he was sleeping, so it didn't startle him. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kayla1 Posted February 8, 2013 Share Posted February 8, 2013 How did your boy go at the vet? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sheena Posted February 8, 2013 Share Posted February 8, 2013 My last border collie got dementia. Within six months she went blind, deaf & got alzheimers & dementia...it all seemed to happen so quick. Sad part about it, was that she no longer recognised me & would put her tail between her legs & run away scared if I approached her. Biggest fear was that she would go swimming in the dam & not be able to find her way out. She also lost control of her bladder. The day we organised for the vet to come to our farm & give her her wings, she disappeared & was missing for two weeks. She was 13. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BC Crazy Posted February 10, 2013 Share Posted February 10, 2013 (edited) My last Border got Dementia at 13. He was a magnificent red boy whom I rescued at 18 months old. He used to get 'stuck' in the corners of the loungeroom till I came & turned him around. He would keep drinking water if I didn't take it away. I always supervised him. He would get very frustrated with himself & growl at me sometimes. He never once growled at me previously, even after being abused beyond belief in the 'care' of his previous owners he too lost control of his water works, much to his embarrassment as he was always a very clean boy. The thing that upset me the most though was the very lost look that had taken over his once very loving eye's Edited February 10, 2013 by BC Crazy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
seld Posted February 18, 2013 Author Share Posted February 18, 2013 How did your boy go at the vet? She said that his arthritis was worse than we thought, especially in one particular leg, and we've taken him off the tramadol and put him on some NSAIDS (and a diet!). Nothing showed up on any blood tests and he is back to his normal mellow self. Seems like he was just having a really bad day and hates the delivery man. We're going to take him to hydrotherapy as he loves swimming and crys after long walks now. Its sad how quick his aging is hitting him, but so cute watching my 5 year old sitting down with him reading stories to him to make him feel better. He's going to see his retirement in on a nice new bed and a lot of tummy rubs. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Her Majesty Dogmad Posted February 18, 2013 Share Posted February 18, 2013 Sorry to hear of your worries. Firstly, it is safer never to expose your dogs to a delivery person - you just never know and you have to remember that not everyone likes dogs. I always put mine away if I'm having things brought into the house - they are the friendliest dogs in the world but I know that some people don't like dogs. I've had a number of dogs with dementia and currently have 2, both with different symptoms. My vet thinks with one it may not be dementia but a pituitary tumour. He's just tested positive to Cushings but he's about 14 and has a bad heart so I'm not going to do anything further. Unfortunately he's gone downhill rapidly in the behaviour area, he does odd things but the very worst thing is that at night he won't go outside to wee any more. I've tried buying nightlights and leaving lights on but it's not making any difference. He's producing huge amounts of dilute wee, due to the Cushings and I have to have the right light to see it on the white tiles I have when I get up in the morning. This only started a couple of weeks ago, I'm not sure how much longer I can keep going - I've tried putting him outside to sleep in the laundry or in the dog run inside and he goes crazy - one night he got stuck under the trampoline bed .... Can't have him barking his brains out at 1am like the other night. I guess what I'm trying to say is that sometimes you have to make a tough decision and look at their quality of life and your own. I love my boy dearly and am trying to cope as best as I can for as long as I can but it's hard. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sheilaheel02 Posted February 19, 2013 Share Posted February 19, 2013 Hi seld, Just some anectodal feedback from me. I had a beautiful red ACD who lived until she was 17. In her twilight years she had arthritis and was hard of hearing but was mentally sharp until the day she passed. At one stage the vet tried her on Tramal for her arthritis and within days I felt like I had totally lost my dog She would stand and just stare into space, looking confused about who I was and where she was. She was totally 'out of it' while on the drug and I remember going back to the vet and telling her that if this was the only option for my girl, then I'd rather just let her go. A big call for me as Sheila was my 'once in a lifetime' dog. So, we took her off the Tramal and tried some alternative protocols and strategies and she returned to her normal self. I'm sure Tramadol (assuming it's the same drug here) works brilliantly for some dogs, but it turned my girl into a shell of her former self and I couldn't really tell if she had less pain or not because of her state. Good luck with your boy! Sharon Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RubyBlue Posted March 2, 2013 Share Posted March 2, 2013 Hi seld, Just some anectodal feedback from me. I had a beautiful red ACD who lived until she was 17. In her twilight years she had arthritis and was hard of hearing but was mentally sharp until the day she passed. At one stage the vet tried her on Tramal for her arthritis and within days I felt like I had totally lost my dog She would stand and just stare into space, looking confused about who I was and where she was. She was totally 'out of it' while on the drug and I remember going back to the vet and telling her that if this was the only option for my girl, then I'd rather just let her go. A big call for me as Sheila was my 'once in a lifetime' dog. So, we took her off the Tramal and tried some alternative protocols and strategies and she returned to her normal self. I'm sure Tramadol (assuming it's the same drug here) works brilliantly for some dogs, but it turned my girl into a shell of her former self and I couldn't really tell if she had less pain or not because of her state. Good luck with your boy! Sharon This fits my experience. Our old boy was on tramal for arthritis and had very similar symptoms to what you described (staring at the walls, he would also pant and look blankly around). I just assumed it was old age until my other dog had surgery and the vet had said about using the left over tramadol for her. She had exactly the same symptoms except because she was young and the contrast from her normal behaviour was so different I didn't put it down as dementia. I swear she was hallucinating. I have since spoken to people who have been on tramadol who said they found it weird. Personally I will not use it again. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now