Older Grey Irritable

[Guest mmichalek]

Hi Everyone!

 

Our greyhound Daisy is almost 9 years old and we've had her since she was 2. She has begun to get really cranky in the past year or so. Around 4:00 every day she starts barking at us and running around. It's like clockwork. She's even barked directly into our 3-year-old son's face. She's really great with him usually and treats him like her pup. Maybe she wants to play?

 

If we go outside and she doesn't, she flips out. We don't have an enclosed yard, so she has to be on the leash if we take her out. Then she doesn't want to hang out outside on the leash and barks most of the time. Sometimes she gets tired and lies down but not always. I've also tried bringing a bed out, but that doesn't seem to help.

 

She also gets really agitated when we have anyone over. She will come over and bark directly at me - like she's talking to me. She never used to do this before.

 

Any tips? Can we get her to calm down and not bark?

[GeorgeofNE]

What you're interpreting as "cranky" I interpret as a dog who wants to be part of the action. She probably would prefer it be all about her, all the time. The barking is her way of saying, "Hey! It's all about me!"

 

 

Any chance you could enclose even a small area of the yard?

[LaFlaca]

How distressing this must be for you. I wonder if there's not some dementia going on? Check this out:

 

http://www.petmd.com/dog/conditions/neurological/c_dg_cognitive_dysfunction_syndrome#

[Roo]

The 4 pm barking sounds a bit like sundowner's to me. My Daisy (a terrier) gets weird around 4 or 5 every day. She doesn't bark (ever, unless there's a bear) but one characteristic of dementia, if I remember correctly, is barking from a dog who used to be quiet or quiet from a dog who used to bark. My aunt's shih-tzu barked all the time at nothing when she got old I don't have any advice, but you might look into dementia as a diagnosis.