Health Issue Vs Bahavior Issue In A Non-Grey

[LBass]

An acquaintance has a 9 year old female terrier mix (mostly Scottie) and a male Scottie. The family adopted the female a couple of years ago from a situation that was neglectful but probably not abusive. About 6 months after her adoption, she began to have some issues at night. Per the owner, every night she wakes up and paces around anxiously. She's not destructive during these episodes but seems restless and anxious. Their vet has been working with them using medications--Paxil at the moment--but nothing is giving her any lasting relief. I suggested Melatonin, but that has been tried already. The vet is now suggesting a "dog psychologist" but the owner is not enthused about that approach since it means a day-long family trip out of state. I'm also not sure this is behavioral. Somehow it doesn't have that feel to me.

 

I think 2 things are going on--the family is genuinely worried about the well being of their dog and the husband is a light sleeper and is tired of having his sleep disrupted by the dog's pacing. I suggested foam earplugs for him and he said he'd give that a try.

 

I told him I'd throw the situation out to the many knowledgeable dog lovers of GT to see if anyone has any thoughts or insights. My own was that maybe they are dealing with some sort of canine cognitive disorder--the owner will bring that issue up to the vet. Any other suggestions?

 

TIA, Lucy

[NeylasMom]

This may be a dumb question, but have they tried crating her in the room with them to see if that gives her any relief?

 

If not, a veterinary behaviorist really may ne their best option. Or perhaps a slightly more convenient less expensive options would just be a vet apecialist that deals with things like congnitive disorders, maybe a neurologist?

 

But I think.you're right that there may still ne a medical component so I would go one of those routes before I went straight behaviorist (assuming that's what you meant by dog psychologist?).

[Guest snowpuppy]

Restlessness generally indicates pain and discomfort...I would be VERY hesitant to utilize psychotropic medications on a dog. There haven't been any actual studies on groups of more than 5 dogs that I'm aware of (and that was inconclusive involving prozac...) and so in large when you allow your vet to prescribe those things they're experimenting on your dog with no way of knowing what the long term effects are actually going to be. Make sure you know the potential side effects in people and ask what studies they're using when prescribing them (you can generally hunt them down on the internets and get a better feel for what results they're hoping for and what other dogs experienced).

 

In the event that extensive blood work has been done and ALL medical causes have largely been ruled out then it would be a behavioral issue. You shouldn't really need an out of state for a behaviorist...doggie psychiatrist seems like an improper term all together. There are certain principles of psychology that generally indicate a need to discuss things with the patient and with dogs and cats that conversation isn't possible. Cognitive disorders I'd think would have more in the way of symptoms involved than evening restlessness. Again in the human mental health world all medical causes need to be removed prior to pursuing a psychiatric diagnosis.

 

Early arthritis could be a possibility. It sounds counter intuitive with the pacing, but this is a dog, not a person...they can't go grab some icy-hot, pop in a movie, have some ibuprofen or asprin and wait for it to subside. If that's the case the issue would be resolved with some pain relief given before bed. Again I'd advise that they ask about and research possible side effects...something that helps your dog sleep does more harm than good if its going to destroy the liver with regular use. Make up a couple of rice socks...dry rice in 2-3 tube socks, pop it under a blanket in her bed when she gets up after you've microwaved for 2 minutes (don't add water ewww)....works as a heating pad to help soothe sore muscles.

 

The other thing I'd be worried about is whether or not its post seizure activity being had while everyone else is asleep.

 

Last thing I could offer would be to pick up culinary lavender and use that in the bed, and in homemade lavender-lemon treats (its what we used along with behavioral training) to help our moon get through her separation anxiety when she came to us at 8 months.

 

Ear plugs sound like a good way to go for the easily disturbed people.

[4My2Greys]

I wonder if it could be Sundowner's syndrome.

[greysmom]

If it's CCD or Sundowner's the anti-anxiety meds aren't really going to help much in the way they want. "FordRacingRon" has a thread now about what they are doing for their greyhound's nighttime problems. Also, they might want to do wome research on a scottie forum in case it's something particular to the breed.

[KF_in_Georgia]

How long after mealtime is it happening? Does it happen the same length of time after other meals than dinner--maybe during the day when the family isn't home to observe it? It could be gas or indigestion or acid reflux. A Pepcid before dinner might help. (Either that, or a snack before bedtime, if this is a case of empty stomach discomfort.)

[Burpdog]

Does the husband snore?

 

Here is a good article

 

http://www.veterinarypartner.com/Content.plx?A=3189

[JJNg]

There are a lot of different possibilities that could cause this behavior. Especially since she's an older dog, I think snowpuppy's suggestion of pain/discomfort is worth considering. If it's low grade discomfort, it may not even be very obvious on a physical exam. A safe option would be to try a joint supplement that also has ingredients to provide immediate relief of pain/inflammation - such as Dasuquin or Phycox. I recently saw an 11-year-old Cavalier King Charles Spaniel who had started waking up in the middle of the night and panting. Nothing obvious on exam, except for a very mild stiffness around his hips. When we started him on Dasuquin, he started sleeping through the night.

[GeorgeofNE]

I'm going to throw this out there--she can hear something. A squirrel in the attic. Mice in the walls. Termites. Something no one else can hear.

 

We had a dog we thought was going nuts cause he started digging the floor--he actually dug a hole in it and exposed, ta da, a termite infestation we had no clue about! he could hear the little bastards!

 

It could also be activity outside--raccoons, foxes.

 

A dog who is getting senile is unlikely only to exhibit the behavior at night. A dog in pain is unlikely to only be in pain at night. A dog who hears nocturnal activity....

[LBass]

Thank you all for the suggestions and insight. I'm carefully compiling all this to pass on to my buddy.