Night time wanderings

[fireplaceburning]

Our dog (11) has started wandering around the kitchen at night and banging into things, tipping up boxes and just now I've gone in to find that he's broken my beautiful fruit bowl and eaten some of the fruit.

It's so out of character, during the day he's as good as gold, sleeps in his bed and goes for walks.

Any suggestions as to why this is happening?

Mr elderly jrt started doing this and the vet said possible dementia, although we tried a drug for that and it didn't help. He suddenly went deaf as well. He would wander constantly with no purpose really. Then would stand still looking wobbly then fall over. It came quite quickly out of the blue. He was about 15 when this all started. Looking back the vet wasn't great tbh, we were told he was just old and he wasn't in any pain. Sadly we decided to pts just before he was 17, and I regret not letting him go sooner.
I would keep a close eye on your dog and make an appointment with the vet if it keeps happening.

I am worried it could be something medical 😞

This is a bit of a classic sign of cognitive decline - but there are supplements and medications that can really help so it is worth getting in to see your vet.

Also, is it dark? Could something as simple as a low night light help in case he's just struggling to see as well at night time?

It's possible he's got some sort of discomfort, maybe a UTI or arthritis or - well, lots of possibilities. Our dog, who is nearly 15, went through a bout of being up in the night, shredded a bag I kept my wellies in and knocked other stuff in the utility room about. Very out of character. We're still not exactly sure what the cause was - he had some white cells in his urine suggesting inflammation, but apparently no uti. The vet thought some possibility of a bit of neurological pain. Anyway, she prescribed Metacam and gabapentain and the situation seems to have resolved so we're cutting back on that. I have removed extraneous items from the room now - fortunately he can't reach work surfaces, would be harder for a larger dog in a kitchen.