Anxiety in older dogs

louismom · Aug 14, 2014

Hi, I'm new to the forum and have a 10-yr old Frenchie- Louis. Recently he has been showing signs of anxiety. It started with noises on the TV- any type of "dinging" or ringing would send him to the back bedroom where he would stay for hours. Then he started refusing to sleep in his crate- he has NEVER spent a night at home without being in his bed. Next, he refuses to be crated during the day when I leave. Now I know what you're thinking- just pick him up and put him in- he weighs 35 lbs and becomes very aggressive- has snapped at me several times. The neighbors watched him a few days ago and he had a poop accident on their floor- hasn't done this since he was a puppy. He is on Metacam for arthritis, but no other meds. Also, he has started barking at noises- is not a barker at all. Does this sound like dementia? Has anyone tried gingko biloba? I don't want to give him anymore drugs. Any advice would be appreciated.

MaplesMommy · Aug 14, 2014

Im sorry you are encountering these problems.
Has anything changed? Did you move? Did anything traumatic happen?
My first thought was maybe he is loosing his vision and that lets 'normal' things suddenly appear scary

louismom · Aug 14, 2014

No- absolutely nothing has changed. He goes for his yearly check-up at the end of the month, just curious if others have experienced this.

lkclark · Aug 14, 2014

Maybe he's losing hearing or it has been altered in some way. Seems like he's ultrasensitive to noises and is easily startled by occurrences that no longer sound familiar to him.

davidh · Aug 14, 2014

Hopefully your vet can figure out what is going on. Not sure what it could be, I was thinking maybe something with his hearing, but that wouldn't explain why he doesn't want to go to his crate. Please keep us posted.

Alice Kable · Aug 14, 2014

I am so sorry your Louie is going through this. I have not had a senior Frenchie, but have had many senior English Bulldogs and when their bodies start to go downhill their temperament does change. They become grumpy and try to compensate by being aggressive.