To think having an old dog is harder work than a baby?

[ThatchersCold]

Or maybe it’s just my dog

I’ve had my dog since a pup and he’s getting on for 15 now. We’re like batman and robin, I’ve pretty much always worked from home or in jobs that I can take him with me to, so he’s been by my side pretty much his whole life.

When he was younger, he used to be ok if I left him for an hour or so to go the supermarket, but now I can’t do that as he cries the whole time I’m gone. He used to be ok if I left him with my neighbour but now he cries if I leave him there too. He loves dd2 and he’s ok at home if she’s there with him, but will cry if it’s just dd1. So I have to coordinate any shopping etc with when dd2 is there to stay with him, but she’s at school so that’s not always easy.

If I go out on my horse he’ll sit by my handbag in the yard and cry until I get back. With babies at least you can pass them to a partner or relative for a few hours, I can’t do that with him! He’s happy to come in the car with me but obviously that depends on the weather, if it’s hot I can’t do that and he feels the cold in the winter.

I left him with my Mum (he is used to being there as we go over several times a week and has stayed there plenty of times over the years) for a week recently while I was on holiday, and when I came home he’d chewed himself all over because of anxiety and now has loads of bald patches. He also started shitting on the floor which he is still doing most nights now - not sure if that’s also stress or just some kind of dirty protest/punishment for leaving him .

The neediness is wearing! I love him to bits but I find myself having to organise everything in my life around him not being on his own, and often have to turn down doing stuff because I can’t leave him.

Lucky for him that he’s cute .

Sorry op but without a picture I can't even believe you actually have a ddog!!

I'm no vet but could he have dog dementia?

Aw bless, what breed is he?

It sounds very hard - have you had him checked by a vet for canine dementia?

I would take him to the vets, that's not normal behaviour

Worth going to the vet as there are medication options for anxiety. Not to this extent, but my eldest ddog (11) is also becoming more sensitive and clingy.

Would you consider letting him sleep in the same room if not the same bed?

I didn't even know canine dementia existed! Stupid really as we are all mammals with brains.
OP, so sorry your dog is so needy all the time, it must be so stressful. No advice I'm afraid.

I’ve not had him checked for dementia, but he’s completely compos mentis in every other area, he’s a canny little thing.

He’s half JRT and half something else

He’s quite civilised about shitting on the floor in that he takes himself downstairs to the kitchen where the floor is tiled, rather than doing it on the carpet.

He already sleeps in my room, he always has done. He likes his own bed to sleep in but jumps up for a cuddle in the morning.

Half JRT and half little old man obviously!!
Ah gorgeous!!

Aw Bless Him, maybe worth getting his eyesight checked.

He does sound very needy , but he's getting on a bit .

Awww really cute, I don't have a dog so I don't have a clue.

His eyesight seems fine, his eyes are a bit cloudy but he can spot a tennis ball from miles away!

Awwwwwww 😍😍😍

Op, we have a 16 year old JRT. She is blind but according to veterinary criteria (mobility, appetite, engagement etc) her quality of life is still OK. But we have the same problem as you in that she has started to suffer terrible separation anxiety. We take her with us everywhere we can, she is OK in the car though she does bark, but on the occasions we have had no choice we have had to leave her alone in the house she gets really stressed out to the extent she has diarrhoea. Accidents at night too. We are going to talk to the vet about tranquillisers.

My dog has canine dementia and she is very similar. Vet explained to me that she knows she knows me and I am familiar therefore I'm like a safety blanket. Because she isn't sure of her surroundings, she is like glue to me on the assumption if she's with me, she's ok. It's getting to the point she is starting to follow me to the bathroom and tries to follow me out the front door in the morning. This is getting worse as her eyesight and hearing is decreasing.

It is hard work. Mine doesn't sleep upstairs (never has done) but she's starting to wake and whine in the middle of the night.

Make sure you're watching water and food intake - mine sometimes walks towards the water bowl, gets distracted and wanders away, forgetting to drink so I have to remind her.

No real advice OP though, sorry!

I've got an old dog and a newborn atm, and the baby is definitely harder work.

That said, it's a lot harder to put a nappy on a dog than a baby! Do you get up in the night to let him out? Our dog has a bowel condition and often messes overnight, so I let him out several times to ensure he has every chance to do it outside (this is a lot easier when I'm up with the baby anyway.

You might also want to try leaving something with your smell when you go out - like a really well worn nightie or leggings- for him to sleep on.

He is a handsome looking chap, I hope you can get him sorted out to enjoy a dignified old age.

My 15 year old staffie was like this for that last couple of years, bless her. She definitely had a touch of doggy dementia. It was as though we came full circle and back to her being as reliant on me as she was a pup. Beautiful and heart breaking in equal measure, I suppose it's hat we give back to them for their years of lifelong loyalty.

It does sound like it could be the start of doggy dementia to me, OP.

My childhood dog had it and lost a lot of confidence - he had always been adventurous, but we had to stop taking him on walks that weren’t his regular ones and keep him on the lead as he became terrified of other dogs.

Your boy has probably stopped recognizing your neighbour, and stopped remembering that you always come back from the shops. At the end late Ddog started to forget us.

My old boy (age 15) is the same. He's very frail but will literally keep moving until he collapses, following me around from room to room. He's got dementia and the clinginess is a result.

Not much you can do - the NC Neuro food from Purina is supposed to be good for brain function, but it's horrifically expensive. Unfortunately mine didn't like it much (thankfully we'd only purchased a trial size!). He gets a spoonful of coconut oil every day as the medium chain triglycerides are supposed to be helpful. However it's old age and all that we can really do is make sure they are happy and comfortable.

He always comes to the bathroom with me, if I’m on the toilet he sits by my feet, and if I’m in the bath he cuddles up to my towel on the floor and every 5 mins or so jumps up and puts his front paws on the bath for the necessary fussings.

I don’t get up to let him out at night but he goes out last thing.

Aww, look at him! My boy does this too. It rather knocks the atmosphere off a relaxing bath when you've had to drag the dog bed into the bathroom and its occupant is watching you intently. My boy wouldn't settle last night so I ended up on the sofa with him to give DH a chance to get some sleep, as he'd done the previous 'night shift'

No advice I'm afraid. At this time of life it's watch and wait; make sure he's otherwise happy and has a good quality of life and keep doing what you're doing.

Ours is 10 and she's started being really hard work. I can frequently be heard huffing and puffing round the house muttering "you're harder work than a flipping toddler".

No advice sorry, just here for the doggy pics. What a handsome man he is 😍

Good to hear I’m not alone - solidarity to those in the same boat! He woke me up the other night and I went downstairs to let him out, he didn’t seem to want to come back upstairs so I thought I’d stay downstairs on the sofa with him.

Woke up after a very uncomfortable night’s sleep to find the little bugger had taken himself back upstairs to bed and was happily snoring away on his back.