cece1960

Do dogs go senile?
Seriously, I need some guidance from those who know more.
My dog is nine, and a large breed. They said they thought he was a shepard lab mix, but he actually looks like a golden with a black coat.

Recently, he decided he couldn't (or wouldn't?) come up the basement stairs. He can go down just fine, and can raise a real riot outside when a deer enters the yard. He seems healthy and agile. But he wouldn't climb the steps. Instead, he sat at the bottom and whined. I pulled him up once (barely) but the seconmd time was a no go. Same thing last night.
He's driving me nuts...he wieghs 90+ pounds!

I did notice his nails have gotten long, so I'll begin trimming tonight (he has dark nails so I have to trim a little at a time to be safe)

He seems afraid. I should probably mention he's a weenie
Any suggestions?

GratefulGirl

hi -im a vet tech and yes, it is possible for dogs to go senile in their old age. however, it sounds to me like maybe something else is going on. the movement of going up the steps is different than the movement of coming down them, so maybe something is sore and thats why hes unable to do it. i would take him to the vet and ask about the possibility of arthritis or a bulging disc that could be causing him pain. also, ask about a NSAI (non steroidal anti inflammatory) to help him bounce back. the two good ones are Rimadyl and Metacam...very easy on the system and you will see an improvement very quickly. good luck. i hope everything is ok!

Momsrainbow

I would go to the vet. My Lady weighs approx. 120-130 and she has arthritis. She just stopped one day hopping on and off 'HER" chair. Vet gave her meds to take as needed. 3 days of meds and she was like a puppy again.

Easeful

My lab started acting exactly like this about 3 years ago when she was 10. Trimming her nails helped. Adding "tread" to the stairs helped. Glucosomine chondritan (sp) helped. Eventually we put in a ramp for her. And put backed rugs on all the slick floors she walked on. In her case it was arthritis and the weakness in her back end going down the stairs was very frightening to her. If you've got somewhere your dog can swim that may help. My girl passed last winter, I still miss her.

Ps another clue that it may be arthritis is if she moves her rear legs in tandem, kinda like a rabbit. Also if she's wearing the hair off the tops of her back feet that's another symptom. If that's what it is the vet can give you anti inflammatories that will help, especially in cold weather. Good luck!!

Easeful

Oh and helping him lose weight may help as well. My dog lost about 20 pounds (80 down to 60) and that gave her another good and active 6 months.

Elana

A dog that suddenly will not walk up stairs she has always walked up is having one of two issues:

1.) Physical issue (most likely)

2.) Mental (training) issue.

Always assume #1 and get it checked out. My last dog, a German Shepherd, was my cattle dog. She was on Rimadyl (Rx) for years with no problem (other than the emptying of my wallet!). This NSAID allowed her to continue working right up to age 10. She lived to be almost 14. Toward the end she could no longer "hop in" the truck.. and needed help.

I agree that if your dog is overweight.. ANY DOG.. getting the dog to proper weight is essential. My Vet told me that in the German Shepherd, every 5 pounds over weight can steal one year off her life. Kazi was 4 months shy of 14 when she went over the rainbow bridge!

NOMOMERLOTMAMMA

My dog has arthritis. She was on Rimadyl for a bit. Is this something that she can take all the time? Or, does (sp) glucosemene and chondronant work for dogs? Is it safe for them to have?

CatsPajamas

I'm impressed with all the dog people here. What a special gift you are!

Hugs
Jack and Cocoa's mom

Easeful

My dog was on Rimadyl for about 6 months. I don't believe it shortened her life as she was almost 13 when she died, very old for a lab. I have read that it has liver implications, and being a recovering alcoholic and surrounded by alcholics and addicts I'm sorta obsessed with liver health.

My vet told me that the glucosomene chondratian (sp?) was safe for dogs. He said it was actually "discovered" by the horse industry. I've used it myself and it does seem to help arthritis symptoms.

NOMOMERLOTMAMMA

Thanks Easeful..

She is a tad overweight and I'm working on getting her weight down. I'd love to see her acting like a pup again every day! I'm going to look into it more..

Karen

Elana

Kazi was on Rimadyl for over 5 years before she was put down for unrelated issues.

I have heard of the glucosamene and Chondroitin working. I used it on my horse and saw no improvement other than the bottom line at the company making it.....

I also used Biotin which was supposed increase hoof elasiticity and strength.. did that one for a year.. and again, the only thing that improved was the bottom line for the Biotin makers!

I am now skeptical when it comes to supplements. Give me a double blind study proving efficacy and I will give it a try. Other than that I keep my hand on my wallet and a smile on my face cuz I am improving MY bottom line!!!

Easeful

So true. My vet insisted that I buy the GC from him since some study showed that x% of the super market "drugs" did not even include the active ingredients. I told him that I didn't doubt the truth of his position but that since I'd been sharing the bottle with the dog I was pretty sure it was working. Tough though to determine that bottle to bottle.

Fishy226

hi there - i'm a dog trainer...dog everything person....although not a doctor...but my world is dogs...i don't think your dog is senile. i think your dogs is having pain and is trying to tell you. possibly back or hip pain. i would take your dog to the vet and have them do an exam. a lot of dogs won't show that they are in pain all the time until it comes to a task like going up the stairs. or it could have been just a tummy ache or a sore paw..see if they do it again and if it is something that is persistent then i would have their hips and back examined...but definitely your dog is likely not senile...just in pain of some kind.

BigSis

Excellent advice above, Cece... what a wonderful gift you are to your dog.

We have shelter pup who became lame on her hind leg due to an accident. Anti-inflammatories do help her, especially as the weather turns. She has also developed cataracts, which frustrate her, but not to the extent they would we humans as she can rely so much on her sense of smell. But they do cause her to sometimes pull up short for no reason as she senses "something" or misses seeing a dip in the ground.

But I swear this gal came to us with a few personality quirks. She smiles a lot and is an enthusiastic old dog - despite the arthritis and near blindness. Sometimes, she seems a little... ah.. mentally deficient, especially next to her playmate who is an extremely bright blue heeler. But she is the more grounded one. And they make an excellent extended family for a couple of rather deficient humans.

I wish you much luck in figuring out what is going on with your furry sweetheart. Let us know if the anti-inflammatories or glucosamine chondroitine work for her.

cece1960

Thanks everyone. I'm afraid I'm not as up to speed as all of you.
He's now making it up, but not without clumsiness. I'm still convinced the long nails are hurting him, but he has a vet visit coming...I'll see if I can bump it up.
Last night, he woke me three times whining and insisting on going out.
He only rarely does that when he can hear something and with the leaves rustling, he think a deer's outside.
He's making me crazy.

Fishy226

I hope your doggie feels better...I wonder if it has a bladder infection or something...you know, my dog is funny...whenever she is in pain or her bowl is empty or she wants something...she has to go outside...it's like she doesn't know what else to do with herself lol.. I wonder if sometimes they just don't know what to do when they aren't feeling up to par and they act like they need to go outside as a default. My parents dog does the same thing...I hope he's okay and feels better

GiveLove

Hi Cece,

Insist on b umping up your vet appointment (have them do his nails when you're there...they're good at that)

I thought my Kelpie had arthritis (and indeed he did, but that wasn't the problem) when he started acting the same as yours. Wouldn't come upstairs, had to go outside, etc etc. Not to scare you, but it turned out that mine had a cancer that was in such a position that it started to hurt like hell to climb "up" anything. Plus it pressed on his bladder and made for some embarrassing moments for him.

If you catch this soon -- which I did NOT -- you may be able to enjoy your pet longer than I did. (It was a horrible shame...he was just the most terrific companion)

So please call your vet and tell them that you suspect something bad might be afoot, and get them to get you in, or refer you to someone who can.

Good luck and hugs,
GL

Barbdee

Hi, I used to breed dogs and have seen similar things happen from one bad incident...for instance did your dog fall or trip going up the stairs before? Just one bad experience can cause a traumatic effect. I had one dog who tripped over a wire and now refuses to jump over anything that even looks like a wire...even a yard hose.
Can't you cut his nails? Also stair treads DO help as somone else mentioned.
However, if he's waking you up at night and never did that before than I agree..get him to the vet and demand an x-ray (not usually too expensive). My mother's dog, 6 yrs. old, was doing strange things and had a tumor that must have been growing for quite some time. Luckily, it was still operable and $4000 later and a month of living h*ll, she's just fine now. Don't want to scare you either, but get him checked out WITH an x-ray...it took my mom about 4 vet visits until they finally did the x-ray to find out what was wrong.
Good luck!

greeteachday

I hope you can get him in soon, Cece. I was so fortunate with our golden...his vet was such an incredible animal lover (and probably a codie too, come to think of it) More than once she left her home and came down and opened her office to see Cloe when there was an emergency.

Cloe had meds for arthritis for at least her last 5 years. We first noticed it with symptoms similar to those you described. Let us know what you find out.
Hugs

hope213

my husbands dog got to the point where he could not climb the stairs,my sons dog too. both was caused from old age. arthritus set in there bones.at 9 that could be what it is.