Old dog keeping us awake most nights.

[al shookup]

My dog Louie is eleven year old, normally well behaved and quiet during the night in his bed in the kitchen.
He is very clingy because all through his life he has had someone in the house with him during the day and he is spoiled rotten.
For the last week or more he has kept us awake by constant barking, scratching doors and yanking his bed covers around the kitchen floor all night long
He is obviously anxious as the floor is covered with saliva droplets and his mouth is very wet. We have tried putting him in his cage instead of the bed but no improvement.
We are knackered during the daytime and he is able to catch up on his sleep so he is happy enough.
People have suggested a pheromone plug-in to settle his state of mind but the blurb says it should work after a couple of weeks but I don't think my wife and I can last that long.
Has anyone else had this problem and is there a quick fix?
thanks

[Dawnspell]

Is there something that changed in his environment recently ? This could be anything from things being moved around in the kitchen, or outside say if someone has installed a light that's on through the night, or some sort of new noise.

Have you tried him sleeping in his crate in another room? Or even your room so he knows you're close.

There are herbal options such as valerian that would act quicker.

[Oscar 12345]

At an age a bit older than Louie, my Oscar became very agitated when left alone in the day time. He would pace, his beard would be wet through and he was obviously stressed. I put it down to a bit of doggie dementia because he was doing some other strange things. Walking into a corner and not realising how to get out again etc. Telling us it was dinner time when it wasn't. He was absolutely fine at night because he was in the same room as us. My recommendation would be to partition off part of your bedroom, top of the stairs etc. (you can buy some cheap but great extending gate type things) and put his bed in there so he can be near to you and so if he wakes up stressed you can tell him it's ok and he ought to settle again. Doesn't solve the problem if you leave him in the day time but at least you have night time fixed.

[al shookup]

Thanks to both for answering my plea.
Nothing has changed to spook him so can't lay the cause there. We are going to try putting his bed in the bedroom and see if that works. I know for certain that once he has sampled it he will want to be in the bedroom every night.
I can't partition off using a gate as we live in a bungalow and hence no stairs.
I will give Valerian a try as suggested.

[zeta1454]

It would be a good idea to have Louie checked at the vets in case there is a health issue - pain can cause odd behaviour patterns in dogs as can thyroid issues and changes such as decreased vision (onset of cataracts) or hearing loss. As suggested above it may also be related to neurological changes similar to Alzheimer’s in humans. I agree with both above that letting Louie sleep in your room may help reduce his anxiety at night.

A couple of links which may be of help:

If you wanted to try a herbal product for general anxiety, some people have found Scullcap & Valerian helpful:

https://www.dorwest.com/blog/how-to-keep-your-dog-calm/

If there is a possibility it may be “canine dementia” this may offer some guidance:

https://www.whole-dog-journal.com/healt ... -dementia/

[Oscar 12345]

Not a gate actually, more like a barrier against a wall. I have a couple of these which we take on holiday so that Otto doesn't roam about at night. They are very lightweight and keep a schnauzer safe. https://www.amazon.co.uk/Oypla-Safety-F ... 5080&psc=1

[al shookup]

Again, thanks for excellent advice. He has just been checked over last week at the vets so it shouldn't be a problem there. The folding partition looks a good idea and is worth trying.
Will try Scullcap & Valerian.

[Mandyunwin68]

Hi there I came across your post whilst googling a problem we have with our mini schnauzer. Firstly how is Louie doing? I do hope he’s ok. It sounds so much like the problems we have been having...
Alfie our gorgeous spoilt 11 1/2 boy has been so restless at night these last few weeks. He sleeps in our room but keeps getting up out of bed and wandering. We’ve even tried him on our bed but he keeps moving about and then panting. We just cant settle him and he doesn’t seem right. I’m concerned he’s now unwell, been to the vets twice for his anal glands doing (as he seemed to keep turning and looking at his bum) and a check over. He limps a bit now and again but otherwise is good. Eating well and loves his walks or plods still. I realise he’s old as he is quite a big tall mini, weighting 13 kilos but not overweight for his size. And advice much appreciated.

[Oscar 12345]

Mandy, I think I would be back to the vets and/or an ortho specialist for a deeper understanding of what the issue might be. It sounds like he is in some discomfort, maybe arthritic. If he is checking his rear maybe it is in rear legs or back. There are a number of good joint supplements, my previous schnauzer had a remarkable improvement of his stiffness with YuMove but I would definitely want a bit more guidance about where/what the problem is. If it is physical stiffness there are a number of holistic therapies that can help.

[al shookup]

Update on Louie...He is unwell at the moment and has been for the last three weeks. He is regularly sick and has bouts of sloppy poo. He still gets us up from bed some nights if he is feeling unwell and liable to be sick or poo which is good of him. We have had him at the robbers (I mean Vets) and at the first visit the vet said he was ok. We brought him home and he continued to be ill. The second visit I saw a different vet at the same practice and he injected Louie gave us some tablets and sent a blood test off. The results came back and the vet they had found nothing with his liver etc. But he continues to be ill.(£275 up to now)
The vet said they could use the same blood sample and a few more-thorough (and expensive) tests (not surprised there). He has been sick again about an hour before I wrote this message so I am ringing the vet tomorrow to get more tests done.
As far as Louie is concerned, he suffers with a bad painful problem in his left leg which the vet knows about but he is not on treatment other than Yumove and a daily prescribed painkiller which do help. He will be my last dog as I have had six altogether in my lifetime and loved them all but am now too old at 77 years of age to take on another one I am sorry to say.

[zeta1454]

Hi Mandy - a vet check is always the first choice to make sure that there is no physical issue causing the problem. If there is no specific cause identified and you want to explore other products that may help, some people have found CBD oil to help anxious dogs and there are many dog owners now using this for a range of issues instead of or alongside conventional medication. We have an elderly dog coming up to 14 years old this year and he has been having Simply CBD Liquid Gold oil for a couple of years now and it certainly seems to be helping (alongside other natural supplements) to keep him fit and well. He has not suffered from restlessness at night though. He only has one drop on his meal at night. We use this one as it contains turmeric too but the Simply CBD Light oil was also recommended to us for a dog.

If you did want to try this, do research it first and be sure to use a reputable company with certified oils from a recognisable source. There are a couple of Facebook groups which provide advice and support to people using or thinking of using CBD oil too.

This is the link to the company I get the oil from and you can also contact them for advice re Alfie.

https://www.simply-cbd.co.uk/about/

[Oscar 12345]

This is to al shookup, sorry to hear that Louie remains unwell. If I were you I would get a consultation with a vet that specialises in canine holistic health and nutrition. They would do a telephone consultation and advise based on what you are experiencing, the best diet and/or supplements to settle Louie's problems. There are several good ones. Here is one. It could save you a lot of money and worry. https://holisticvet.co.uk, Nick Thompson offers raw feeding consultations.

[al shookup]

Thanks Oscar for the advice.

[al shookup]

Update on Louie. My Wife collected some tablets (15 in all ) from the robbers today to settle his stomach but only succeeded in upsetting mine. The cost of tablets only...£85. What a rip off!

[Mandyunwin68]

Thanks to everyone for your help, it’s appreciated. Well Alfie seems more settled, after a very small extra walk and a dose of Metacam last night he slept fine. He also seems more settled today which is great to see. Interesting that I had recently changed his diet onto a raw diet. Last night I decided to switch him back onto what he had before (and for years), not sure if it the food that’s giving him a sore tum. He’s not been sick or had diarrhoea but I’m wondering if his little 11 yr old belly reacted badly to a new diet even though I introduced it very gradually. Back to the Harrington’s senior biscuits and tinned wet food!
Fingers crossed. Thanks again all and will update with anything as and when.