Greyhound Insomnia

[SleepDeprived]

Hello 

We’ve had our grey (6 y/o) for nearly two years now and she’s never been a great sleeper. We spent the majority of last year trying to get her to sleep on her own downstairs but eventually we realised she was happier with us. She loves her walks and is exercised regularly with other dogs and on her own. For a while we struggled to find a combination of food that kept her fuller for longer (which was a cause of her waking up in the night) but we’ve hit on a solid combination that’s been working for several months. 
 

However, since the clocks and temp have changed she’s been struggling to sleep through the night and has been waking up in the early hours seeming quite agitated. She’s kept warm, but seems to prefer the cold at night and we are wondering if that is contributing to her insomnia. We are also seeing a few changes in her character particularly around other dogs - quite agitated and grumpy.
 

Would love to hear from anyone who has experienced something similar. She’s never been your average laid back grey but it is increasingly feeling like she’s falling back into old habits. 

[palmettobug]

She may be having some pain issues, I know my oldest (age 8) is super grumpy when the weather changes. He gets gabapentin, Prozac, and a glucosamine supplement, but still has his "bad" days. I supplement it with chiro adjustments and cold laser when I can.

So I would start with having x-rays done, along with blood work to check kidney health especially.

[SleepDeprived]

Hi! Thanks so much for your reply - I should have said in my OP that she has hydrotherapy and laser every other week (laser if she’s got a few more pressure points) so we keep on top of any muscular pain and the physio is brilliant.  I don’t think it’s that but will check with her physio on Friday just in case! 

[Remolacha]

You might have a vet who knows greyhounds check her thyroid as well, but you want one who knows greyhound thyroid levels are different from other dogs.

[FiveRoooooers]

27 minutes ago, Remolacha said:

You might have a vet who knows greyhounds check her thyroid as well, but you want one who knows greyhound thyroid levels are different from other dogs.

This was the first thing that popped out to me as well. A friend recently dealt with this with one of her greyhounds, who went from being a silly happy clown dog into a very extreme devil dog. He is truly hypothyroid and the meds have returned him to his former, wonderful self. 

[SleepDeprived]

Thank you both - thyroid tests (including the extra one that you have to do for greyhounds) were done in the summer and both were fine! I’m beginning to think it won’t be an easy fix. 

[FiveRoooooers]

1 hour ago, SleepDeprived said:

Thank you both - thyroid tests (including the extra one that you have to do for greyhounds) were done in the summer and both were fine! I’m beginning to think it won’t be an easy fix. 

Did they run a full thyroid panel? More info here.

[GreyPoopon]

I too thought of thyroid. Whenever we decide to test thyroid properly, we do the MSU (Michigan State) panel, which includes an interpretation by an endocrinologist. (Not sure where you're located.)