Dog barking during the night

[MaxPaddyandHarry]

We have a 16 year old English Springer.
He is in pretty good condition for his age. He can run short distances off the lead, albeit quite slowly. He trips over sometimes. He can still manage stairs.
He is a good weight, maybe a bit slim. He doesn't always eat his food, but seems to be maintaining his weight.
Until recently he has slept through the night, but he has started waking during the night. We can hear him walking up and down the hallway (we have wooden floors). Then he stands at the bottom of the stairs and barks until someone goes down. He doesn't usually want to go outside or to eat. Last night he did it four times.
Any ideas about how we can deal with this would be welcome.

[gettingfedupagain]

How long does someone stay with him? How do they greet him when they go down?
Could he sleep in a crate upstairs? Maybe his sleep is getting poor and he's lonely

[MaxPaddyandHarry]

My husband usually goes down to him and I must admit his aim is to get back to bed as soon as possible.
I wondered whether the dog is beginning to get confused about day and night. There are street lights nearby.
A crate is not possible as there is nowhere to put it. He has never used one before.

[ZooeyS]

My old dog has just started doing the same thing. About once each week he'll decide he doesn't want to sleep downstairs on his own and will cry until he's allowed in the bedroom. I think he just gets a bit confused and lonely... I wouldn't mind if he didn't snore worse than dh

[MaxPaddyandHarry]

ZooeyS 😄
I don't allow the dog in the bedrooms. It is complicated by the fact that our son has ASD and doesn't like dogs. He tolerates this one, but we have to have a dog free area for him to cope.
The dog belongs to another family member who lives with us, but we do most of its care.

[missmouse101]

Sounds like senility creeping in, this can be one of the signs. A vet visit would be good. They can prescribe things like Vivitonin which can make a big difference.

[missmouse101]

I meant Vitofyllin, sorry OP!

[MaxPaddyandHarry]

Yes, we did wonder. Is it an expensive drug?