Waking Up Disoriented In Middle Of Night

[Guest Jessbooch]

Doesn't sound like gas to me...

 

That is EXACTLY what my old Pomeranian developed in her old age. It was dementia, very common in dogs as they age and you described the classic presentation. Also very similar to presentations of dementia in humans, as well.

 

The animal's behavior is totally normal during the day, then at night they begin to experience confused awakenings. Our dog would whine, cry, hide under furniture or in tight spaces. She was not soothed by going out to pee, getting a snack, etc. Towards the end she was so frightened that she did not even seem to recognize family members during her nighttime awakenings and could simply not be comforted at all, except by the coming of daylight.

 

I'm sorry and hope this isn't what your pup has, but honestly, what you are describing is exactly how it began for us.

[lothianjavert]

I don't know Jen. I think the tramadol could be the culprit, but so could pain. If you are giving the doses at different times, possibly closer together, she could be feeling the side effects more. 9 seems young for old age dementia, but I guess it's possible. Some people suffer earlier too.

 

Sebau has been having problems with waking at night and pacing, but she's 13 now. Sometimes she'll pitter patter into the bathroom and stare at the toilet and cry. Her waking up and walking around wakes me up now, so I fetch her out of the bathroom, take her out to pee, and get her settled on her bed. Usually after that she sleeps the rest of the night.

 

I've also put night lights in the bedroom and throughout the house, and that also seems to help some. Sometimes she'll get up, and wander over to our bed to check and see if I'm still there, and then go lay back down. (I've had a lot of trouble sleeping for a few months, so I -have- been out of bed a lot, so I can understand why she does that, she's always been my velcro girl)

[Guest Sassy]

I have to put in my vote for watching the Tramadol. One 50mg tablet every 12 hours is the prescription for me, and I'm easily twice the size of your pup!! I shudder to think that a greyhound and I are on the some dose of a narcotic like Tramadol. BTW, I'm on it for a much more serious reason than painful toes. It makes me feel so loopy that I only take it at night. Yes, it interferes with my sleep and my thought process. Personally, I'd look at the Tramadol first.