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Dog Waking Each Night
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21-01-2014 1:10pm#1Guys,
Just have a quick question for you.
My nearly 9 year old cocker, who is in really good health, for the last two weeks every night between 2am-4am call me to let him out to the toilet.
Now he only goes for a wee (sometimes a long one), but up until now he never asked to go out.
Another point ot note for the last 7 weeks his routine has been thrown out of kilter, my hubby was home from work ill, so the dog had compnay all the time... now the routine has gone back to normal.... its probably due to this.
But any suggestons on how i can get him out of the habit?
without restcining his food and water (as id never do that)
he is walked / jogging 6km each eveing, fed on taste of the wild etc.
Now after he goes he gets straight back into bed to bother happy as larry...
I cant do a dog flap / door as the whole back to the house is glass.
Any suggestions would be great!
Thanks
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If there's nowt wrong, then you're looking at going back to basics for a few weeks, and setting your alarm to pre-empt him waking up, get him out for a pee, then gradually make it a little later each night.
I'm guessing there's an underlying issue here.
Be aware that if there's anything causing him discomfort, say for example the 6km run is making him tired or even sore, that he may not be as inclined to try to go to the toilet until it's really urgent. So perhaps his routine is knocked out a bit?
No harm to get the vet to make sure there are no sore or stiff spots, and whilst you're there, talk to him/her about cognitive dementia in ageing dogs, just to establish a baseline for future reference. If your dog is starting to slip a bit in the cognitive department, early intervention is very effective, much more so than for humans!
Thanks Much apprecited, Ive called the vet and he's going in tomorrow morning to get full bloods and the full once over. (Now im worried there may be actually something wrong with him
)..
He loves the running, infact i cant leave the house without him or he gets very upset, now we dont run every night.... maybe 3 out of 6.... he's on arthuraid chews two a day, plus salmon oil etc.
Fingers crossed he's ok and just back to basic training etc XX0 -
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Our 14 year old cocker wakes about 5 am every night. You can nearly set your watch by him for the last 5 years since he started staying indoors at night.
Our guy has always slept indoors, and usually not a peep out of him. this is just a recent thing.
Well he's booked in for tomorrow, full bloods, Liver, kidney function, urine, electrolytes (spelling?), heamoglobin, UTI and cognative testing...she's gonna check his lungs and full body also... he'll be in the vets the whole day... poor guy wont be happy with me... will have results tomorrow night, fingers crossed he's ok. 
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Well he's booked in for tomorrow, full bloods, Liver, kidney function, urine, electrolytes (spelling?), heamoglobin, UTI and cognative testing...she's gonna check his lungs and full body also... he'll be in the vets the whole day... poor guy wont be happy with me... will have results tomorrow night, fingers crossed he's ok.
Blimey, that's pretty extensive, leaving nothing to chance!
Hope he's ok hun, try not to worry xx0 -
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Certainly a cause for a change in toilet behaviour, but the extremely impressive range of tests that cocker5 has booked her lad in for will certainly tip the vet off to Cushing's, but my money wouldn't be on it being the condition.
@cocker5, you don't hang around or do things by half, do you? :-D nope he's my pride and joy... even the thought of anything happening to him or him ever dying makes me reach for the sedatives (for myself)... Ill know the results tomorrow night, hopefully its justa bad habit 0 -
Tranceypoo wrote: »Blimey, that's pretty extensive, leaving nothing to chance!
Hope he's ok hun, try not to worry xx
Thanks XX
I know im probably being totally over the top but while he's in there I want her to check everything just in case theres anything underlying...
although he wont be happy with me tomorrow night, BUT my husband will be dropping him in... ill be collecting him so hopefully he'll blame my husband
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nope he's my pride and joy... even the thought of anything happening to him or him ever dying makes me reach for the sedatives (for myself)... Ill know the results tomorrow night, hopefully its justa bad habit
It's no harm at all given his age, that you'll now have a baseline against which to measure the inevitable changes that'll happen in the years to come. Once a dog hits 8ish years old, an annual thorough check-up, preferably with a quick check-up in between, is a really good idea, particularly because so many age-related problems can be fixed, or at least managed, if caught early enough.
Still though, I'm seriously impressed with the range of tests you're getting done. Owners who look after their dogs so well just make my day!0 -
It's no harm at all given his age, that you'll now have a baseline against which to measure the inevitable changes that'll happen in the years to come. Once a dog hits 8ish years old, an annual thorough check-up, preferably with a quick check-up in between, is a really good idea, particularly because so many age-related problems can be fixed, or at least managed, if caught early enough.
Still though, I'm seriously impressed with the range of tests you're getting done. Owners who look after their dogs so well just make my day!
Thanks DBB... TBH its the least I can do for him as he's such a good amazing dog to me... to me its sooo important to keep him happy and healthy for as long as i can.... althought its costing me a small fortune (€245 in total), he's is worth every penny. Honestly I'd rather get him 100% checked over now than have to drag him back in for more tests.. he's not a massive fan of the vets...
Ill let you know how he gets on (or more so how i get on chatting with the vet) tomorrow night. 0 -
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Will be interested to see how this goes. I always thought this was just a habit, never crossed my mind that it might have a medical explanation.
It's an interesting one ryan, particularly with older dogs, because for years any of this sort of stuff, like peeing during the night, or waking up at night/restlessness, or confusion, or slowing down generally, were always put down as being just the dog "getting old", and as a consequence, efforts to diagnose problems with older dogs tended not to happen.
However, in the past 10ish years, a fair chunk of research has been done on ageing dogs, and it's been pretty well established now that any changes in behaviour could be due to a medical problem (which goes for all dogs), or in the older dog, due to cognitive dysfunction, a bit like dementia in humans.
Early symptoms of cognitive dysfunction are a bit vague, they include night wakefulness (often needing to pee), lethargy, reduced activity, an increase in anxiety levels which can make them more clingy, but on the other hand, the dog might become a little more withdrawn, and seek more time to himself.
Vague they might be, but an observant owner should notice little changes in their old pal, and it is at this stage they need to take action, because dietary, behavioural, and and drug treatment at this stage can not only halt the process, but reverse it.
That said, many of the symptoms listed above are also associated with physical discomfort common in older dogs ... musculoskeletal pain, or problems with the teeth, or kidneys and liver.
That's why it's really important, if your older dog is doing something out of character, that he gets to the vet for a thorough check-up, as the vet will certainly help to differentiate whether it's physical, mental, or often, a bit of both.
By the same token, regular pre-emptive check-ups for older dogs could find many of these problems even before the dog is symptomatic
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hope all goes well tomorrow with your spaniel. One of mine hates the vets too (hes had a lot of thermometers stuck up his bum at vets in the past 15 years!!!) but they are very good to him, and let him wander around the surgery in between tests etc when he was recovering. Anyway! Just wanted to ask you - is that a 'package' of tests that you are having done on your guy? Let us know how it goes - bring him a special treat for when you collect him, the you will definately be in his good-books.
Thanks guys! Appreciate ur good wishes!
Aonb, no it's not an official package, I called my vet and went through all my concerns with her, I asked her what tests she'd recommend.... Or suggest..
So she said the following:
Full body health check, check his eyes, lungs, check him for lumps, check all his joints , anal glands, prostate , ears, heart and cognitive function €70
Then full bloods €70. Kidney , liver function other stuff in here too I can't remember etc
Heamoglobin €45
Urine €45
Electrolytes €40
Sedation €20
I think there's one more test I'm
Missing... Can't think if it now
She'll check for any underlying infections ie UTI etc
Plus while he's under she's gonna clean his teeth (for free)
That all came to €290 approx... so I asked her if I got them all done together can she do me a better price, I also causally mentioned I was in there on Saturday and spent €100 on arthuraid chews for him... So she said she do everything for € 245, so it better than nothing
She did mention that different things show up in different tests etc., so while he's in there for the day I thought I get him the full once over.. As he's nearly 9 least now I'll have piece of mind ... Hopefully
He had better be as good as new 0 -
ok so my cocker is determined to make a liar out of me.... i left the sitting room door open last night and low and behold not a peep out of him all night - cheeky git :P
Plus my neighbours (not dog friendly) now offically know im a weirdo, out the back 6am, with a container, dog on lead trying to whisper to him to do his wee's (yes i know im crazy) so i could get a urine sammple to save him for getting it syringed out while in the vets - we got there in the end... :pac:
He's off now for his full day of tests... ill update you later 0 -
Ok so I'm sitting here with the worlds worst for wear dog , feeling sorry himself doesn't even cut it ;(
So his full body check ie eyes, lungs, joints etc are in really good shape ... Urine, blood, electrolytes all perfect BUT he's anaemic, not massively but he still is, she told means this suggests his thyroid may be under active this can cause peeing at night, his slight weight gain and sometimes flakey skin - I thought these we due to change in food to taste of the wild two months ago...
So he's needs another test on the extra blood she took today , that will done externally.. Once confirmed he will be put in eltroxin etc and he'll be ok.
And under active thyroid can lead to serious issues including cancer so if it is the case thank god he went for his tests - so just wanted to say thanks DBB for encouraging me to head to the vet xx
Now Back to cuddling my very very sad dog ...
Thanks guys 0 -
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Yeah the vet explained once the extra tests confirm 100% then yip he'll be on pills.
In one way I'm happy as I'm glad I know and can get him back to tip too health now on the other hand is prefer if she told me he's totally fine!
Least now once sorted he will hopefully loose the extra kilo he's carrying and feel not so tired all the time he's 17.5kg (he's very tall for a cocker) so would like to get him down to 16kg, so hopefully this will help
Now if I could just look after myself as well.....0 -
Phew! Good that it's all done!
I know it would have been nice to have got an all clear, but in a way, it would have caused a whole set of new questions about why he felt the need to pee in the house in the middle of the night, so in a way, and don't take this the wrong way, I was kinda hoping the vet would find something wrong with him, but something very fixable. This can't be fixed as such, but it can be very effectively managed, and how great that you've caught it early (assuming the tests confirm it).
Thyroid problems are very under-diagnosed in dogs, if you google it, you'll find that most websites will tell you it's rare... but it's not. Jean Dodds is an American veterinary behaviourist and has done loooads of research into it, and has done a great job of raising awareness of it amongst vets worldwide. Go look her up! She even has a book on the subject which, although a bit meaty, is aimed at dog owners 0 -
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Ok so just a little update for you guys...
His thryoid test came back normal... but he's still quiet anemic
So Im going to do my own research into the causes etc and see what I come up with.
Vet has recommeded i bring him back in Mid March for testing again, which will be grand as ill get it done when he's getting his teeth cleaned etc..
Until then Vet suggested feeeding him liver (shudder) once per week..
So last night i "served" him liver, much to his delight, even the smell of it in th bag nearly made his little eyes pop out!! once i started cooking he went bananas
, needless to say he really enjoyed his dinner last night. So ill keep this up until his next appointment (and probably forever) and hopefully he's a little better after his next tests. if his bloods are still the same next time we'll have to expolre other avenues etc..
Cheers Guys
:pac:0 -
Ok so just a little update for you guys...
His thryoid test came back normal... but he's still quiet anemic
So Im going to do my own research into the causes etc and see what I come up with.
Vet has recommeded i bring him back in Mid March for testing again, which will be grand as ill get it done when he's getting his teeth cleaned etc..
Until then Vet suggested feeeding him liver (shudder) once per week..
So last night i "served" him liver, much to his delight, even the smell of it in th bag nearly made his little eyes pop out!! once i started cooking he went bananas, needless to say he really enjoyed his dinner last night. So ill keep this up until his next appointment (and probably forever) and hopefully he's a little better after his next tests. if his bloods are still the same next time we'll have to expolre other avenues etc..
Cheers Guys
:pac:
Get a copy of the test results from your vet and send them to Jean Dodds with an summary of what's going on with your dog- this is what I did for my dog last year. The website is hemopet.org and it costs approx €50 with all proceeds go back into their blood bank and rescue. I had my detailed analysis/findings within 2 hours of submitting them. They do breed specific studies instead of a generic range that you'll get here or from labs in the uk(our vet's lab is in the uk). Be prepared for an argument depending on who your dealing with and who they send Jean's findings too btw - I was told the EU diplomat in UCD had never heard of Jean Dodds which I found a bit unbelievable but didn't care - they gave us bad advise before about Bailey's legs so I went with JD's advise. For Bailey I found it very hard to get weight off him, his fur looked like he'd gotten an electric shock (it had improved since switching to raw but still looked mad) and he could be very nervous/anxious/jumpy especially when out on walks. Everything has improved since starting the soloxine.0 -
Get a copy of the test results from your vet and send them to Jean Dodds with an summary of what's going on with your dog- this is what I did for my dog last year. The website is hemopet.org and it costs approx €50 with all proceeds go back into their blood bank and rescue. I had my detailed analysis/findings within 2 hours of submitting them. They do breed specific studies instead of a generic range that you'll get here or from labs in the uk(our vet's lab is in the uk). Be prepared for an argument depending on who your dealing with and who they send Jean's findings too btw - I was told the EU diplomat in UCD had never heard of Jean Dodds which I found a bit unbelievable but didn't care - they gave us bad advise before about Bailey's legs so I went with JD's advise. For Bailey I found it very hard to get weight off him, his fur looked like he'd gotten an electric shock (it had improved since switching to raw but still looked mad) and he could be very nervous/anxious/jumpy especially when out on walks. Everything has improved since starting the soloxine.
Thanks TK123, excellent advice. I just emailed my vet saying I wanted a copy of all his results and I will indeed send them on - thanks so much for the advice - its much appreciated
Im sure I get a call asking me why I want the results at the end of the day I paid €300 i total for them so I want them - Ill get them on way or another!!
Ill keep you posted!
Cheers0 -
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