Possibly a daft question about our dog!

[santasaltire]

Bak in July we had to get our very much loved dog put down. Since then the one who is left has gone a bit, well, strange. We always assumed they never got on, just tolerated each other. The dog that's left , we have had for 11 years and was very badly treated, so has always had little quirks. Now though it's like she has memory loss. Every day the mindees and i take her for a walk, a decent walk, and within 30 minutes she is pestering to get out again, she walks backwards and forwards, backwards and forwards, she wanders constantly round the downstairs etc. DH thinks it is a combination of her missing the other dog and her age, but i am really concerned that she , well, for want of a better word, has senile dementia. She forgets she has been out, forgets she has had food. or is it just an attention thing?

You seem to have thought of all the possible reasons for this behaviour. She probably is missing her 'companion' even if they weren't basket buddies. It's probably worth a chat with the vet and a check-up.

Would she appreciate a new companion?

Perhaps she was already losing the plot before you had the other dog PTS, but she followed the other dog's lead if you know what I mean.
The other dog maybe showed her what she should be doing and when?

Seen similar with a pony who was blind. No one noticed anything until he was turned out on his own one day. He froze and couldn't move, because his friend wasn't there to guide him.

fairytale, we have thought long and hard about getting another. We have ruled out a puppy because we really feel she couldn't handle it. We can't make our mind up about getting a dog from a rescue palce though.
The dog we have was going to be shot by her owners bacuse she wouldn't work on the farm with the sheep. We went and asked if we could have her. The first few months were a nightmare,a nd we did question of we had done the right thing, because they had literally kicked the sh*t out fo her. She cowered everytime we went near her, she used to crawl along on her belly when outside, we had to drag her out for the toilet, she wet herself if she heard a strange noise. gradually though she got better.2ndtime is probably right, the other dog guided her. I guess i'm just worried that all the beating she took have left her scarred and now she has no one to guide her, she is just lost andstrange.

Dogs do become reliant on their companions.
I think that another companion dog might be a good idea, if you can cope with another dog.

That's so sad Saltire. I read your last post with tears in my eyes. Why are some people such gits? Your poor doggy. Is she pleasantly confused (silly term often used to describe the elderly) or distressed?

This might sound harsh, but if she is destressed I would think about having her put to sleep, if no other solution can be found.

No, she's not distressed. Just wandering around in a happy sort of way+. She is older now, so does sleep a bit more, and is deaf. It's mostly at night she starts, she will come into living room, then tap at the door to go back into hall. A few minutes later she is tapping to get back in. DH is taking her to vet on monday, will see what he says. Or after she has been for a walk. She gets so ecited as well, last night i was wrapping presents, and she had been out, but was lying on the paper, lying on top of me, getting up and wandering about.

Bless her. Sorry for suggesting that then. It's obviously not the right thing to do then.

We had her at the vets today. Apparently she has an abcess in her mouth, which has probably been causing her to get run down all the time, and that's why she's been miserable, because she has been fighting infection. We also discovered she has a wee heart murmer, so she now has to take medication for the rest of her life, and her wlaks have to be cut down.
At least we know what's wrong with her, i was worried we were going to have to lose another dog so soon after the other one.
The vet also said that he didn't think she would tolerate another dog just now, given her past history, but maybe to consider it next year, but not a pup, an older dog

I thought your post about her previous owners was really sad too. The poor dog. I hope she makes a recovery and is happier soon.

Saltire, the previous owners' behaviour is shocking and disgusting. Why are people so cruel? We are thinking of taking on a rescue dog who was found tied to a tree, beaten then abandoned. I simply can't understand it

She was in today getting the abcess removed. I was really worried, especially with her heart problem, but DH has just phoned to say he can go and pick her up at 5pm, and she has to lie somewhere nice and quiet, so i'm really relieved.
You are all right about her previous owners, my DH restrained himself very well when we first went to get her. I will be honest, there were times we never thought we would make any progress with her, and did question if we should take her to a rescue centre. however we persevered, and now she's great. Hopefully now the abcess is removed and her new heart tablets kick in she will be a bit brighter