Older dog so restless in the evenings

[RasberryJamAndScones]

Is this something that happens with age? Could it be a form of dog dementia?
Our Collie X is nearly 11. Over the past year he has become increasingly restless in the evenings, wants to go outside, begging for food, standing Infront of you whining. Often won't come up to sit with us on the sofa or go in his basket to settle. When he's outside in the evening he often starts barking at something and we have to bring him in. The vets have said he is slightly overweight so he can't have extra food but he is definitely fed enough! Today he has had a 40 min walk this morning, 40 mins with the dog walker at lunchtime and an hour out with me and the kids after school. But he's still incredibly restless. Any ideas? Do I just need to be firmer telling him to settle?

Sorry I have no helpful advice, but following your thread as my 14 year old girl is the same. She’s also obsessively licking her bed.
It’s a worry!

I have a friend who is a vet and she has said that restlessness at night can be a symptom of pain. In older dogs it could be something like rheumatoid arthritis, and some breeds are more susceptible to that than others.

I would take him to the vet if he hasn’t had a checkup recently. Could it be something like arthritis or a digestive issue making him uncomfortable lying down?
Older dogs do tend to get more fussy and rigid with routine though. Is it possible he’s asking to go out because of something that usually happens after that, e.g., does he usually go outside right before you all go to bed/he gets a bedtime snack/goes to a more comfortable bed?

Osteoarthritis rather than rheumatoid, rheumatoid is an autoimmune disease and is pretty rare in dogs.

Look at the scoring in a canine cognitive disfunction assessment for your dog and then speak to your vet as their are medications that might help:

vetcenter.purina.ro/sites/default/files/materials-pdfs/Material%2076_Cognition_Canine%20Cognitive%20Assessment%20Scale_0.pdf

The Quality of Life assessments are also useful for elderly dog owners as you can track the score over time.

My dog improved with the monthly injections for her arthritis and moving onto a renal diet as she had started to develop issues.

Thanks all - he has monthly librela injections for his shoulders which were getting stiff and painful. I am wondering if we need to change his diet, hes currently on Arden Grange sensitive which we found about 5 yes ago and has made a big difference to his poos. @RandomMesswhat food is your dog on please? Ours is definitely drinking more since starting Librela.

He definitely isn't doing any of the things in the cognitive assessment though, still happy to go out every day, play football in the garden, remembers loads of commands, typical collie!

I'd say discomfort. Maybe too much exercise and then the pain sets in. Mine was like this so was having half a paracetamol in the evening. That settled him. Now a year later the vet has given him something stronger which he has in the evening. She examined him thoroughly, hips and knees. It's his hips she said. Poor boy. I've had two new hips in the last year so know sometimes it's really bad.

Back to the vet is my advice for a once over.

It could be an adverse reaction to the Librela. It is a known risk factor in older dogs.

You need a blood test. She is on renal royal canin.

She was drinking more and then needing to wee more and just unhappy.

My dog did this in the last couple of years of her life. It was very distressing and frustrating not knowing what the problem was, and getting irritable with her because she wouldn't settle, which obviously I feel guilty about.

The vet said it was probably a mix of dementia and pain. She had some arthritis in her back and hips as she got old. I started to give her anti inflammatory painkillers and CBD oil in the evenings, which really helped.

I agree with everyone else that the restlessness could be caused by pain - possibly arthritis or digestive issues. It's worth getting his teeth checked as well.

@Sorryitsearly obsessive licking can be a way for a dog to try and self sooth if they're in pain.

I have a 14 year old little dog, they cause a lot of worry as they age, don't they?! Mine was also restless in the evenings until I realised she was worse after particularly active days so I make sure she doesn't overdo things nowadays and have shortened her walks. That has helped a lot, alongside giving her yumove and changing her diet. A dog's digestive system can become more sensitive as they age. Oily fish is anti inflammatory and a fish diet is often easier to digest, the vet recommended a fish diet to help my little dog's joints and to heal her digestive system after a bad reaction to loxicom. She's doing well now and isn't on medication, all her blood tests were great, but I'll be taking her back to the vet if the pain returns.

I’ve not heard of giving CBD oil to dogs @MrMurphysComeuppancecan I ask what brand you used and the dosage?

I'm also interested in this @MrMurphysComeuppance , I have heard of giving it to dogs but don't know much about it and was wondering what brand is safe to use and if it has any side effects?

I know older people get akathisia, I think it can manifest in dogs if they are on any meds?

My lab does this, she’s 11 and over the last 2 yrs has had a series of health problems. It started with an injury to her spine, trauma, it left her temporarily paralysed in her back legs. She made a good recovery that left her weak in her left rear leg. The change in her gait put pressure on her spine and she ended up with a disc problem, IDDS. It was difficult to diagnose because of the existing problem but was mild so treated conservatively. Then she was diagnosed with a mast cell tumour on her good back legs.
After two years of limited exercise, crate rest for six weeks at the beginning of the summer and limited exercise due to recovery and heat I think she is just fed up, we tend to limit exercise because she still thinks she’s two and can still bounce around like a two year old.
She gets restless in the evening because she’s basically pissed off that she hasn’t been out. After seeing her in pain with the IDDS it’s not pain. She had no interest in doing anything when she was in pain.

When my son is at home she spends most of her time with him, mostly snoozing on his bed while he’s gaming or working on his laptop. Now he’s back at uni she follows me around falling asleep wherever I am. I think she gets restless in the evening because she’s ready to settle down but until I stop pottering around she can’t settle, it’s her job to be wherever I am, so eventually just gets avoid with me. Once I sit down to watch TV she’s fine

Shes currently snoring loudly on the end of the bed. And will remain there until I get up tomorrow morning. With a possible trip to the loo before I go to sleep.

Thanks for all the input I'll book a vet appointment instead of the nurse to do his next librela.
Re the amount of exercise he's getting - does this sound too much? He's always so happy and excited to go and runs around chasing squirrels, finding sticks for me to throw etc. so he does seem to still be enjoying his walks but could it be the pain only sets in in the evenings? I've also got him on the strongest You move which I'm hoping will help.
Interested to hear how much others exercise their older dogs that are high energy working breeds.

Mine is only small but being a terrier she's full of energy and still thinks she's a puppy. She's so happy and full of beans on her walks but if she does too much she definitely has a flare up of pain that evening.

Hopefully other posters with larger, working breeds can help with the amount of exercise yours should have.

Our ex working spaniel gets just one good walk in the morning now either up in the hills or paddling along the shoreline up to his middle which vet says is a good resistance exercise. We also have a young Labrador working strain who DH takes out a second time and with him on his fishing boat. The old boy just follows me from room to room.

DH catches a lot of mackerel which he cooks or freezes for the dogs. I bought frozen sardines from Lidl last week. We also buy tinned sardines in oil for them.

I boil up chicken carcasses then simmer on low for at least four hours to release the collagen. You can do it with beef bones too. They love some juice on their kibble.

They enjoy vegetables too so I usually do extra.

Dementia there's a drug now which gave us an extra year with our old spaniel.

My bad. I got the types muddled. I have rheumatoid arthritis and it’s knocking me on my arse a bit so my head must have must gone straight to that type 🤦🏻‍♀️

Repeating other comments but yes this could be a sign of pain. My elderly girl became restless in the evenings, pacing, panting, generally unsettled. Turns out she had teeth problems and has just had a few teeth out. The restlessness was coming on after her dinner, so I guess eating was painful. She’s much better now! Although she has always been a sofa-licker for as long as I’ve had her.

I honestly couldn't tell you - it was a few years ago. She's been gone three years. But it was a little bottle with a pipette dropper. I bought it off Amazon. I didn't really measure a dose as such, just dripped a bit out onto a chunk of bread and fed it to her. The first time I think I might have given her a bit too much because she went into such a deep sleep for so long that I thought I'd killed her 😳😬. Worst few hours of my life 😂but she eventually woke up refreshed and was right as rain.

The anti inflammatories I got from the vet and they were expensive but someone told me they are no different to human anti inflammatories and you just have to make sure you get the right dosage for the dogs size, much like you would with a child. But I'd check that thoroughly before you do it.

There’s a condition called sundowners, linked to dementia, which can be common in older dogs. Worth a look at to see if it sounds familiar.

Thank you - I just read about this and it does sound a bit like our dog sadly. It's when the kids have gone to bed and you finally collapse on the sofa then he's pacing, doing his best collie stare at you, whining, asking to go out, barking to come in etc. exhausting.