My dog has started to have anxiety attacks overnight

[evenstar]

I’ve had this wonderful dog for four years now, since a friend of mine passed away. She’s an older dog but no one really knows how old. Maybe 12. Hunting/pointing breed. She was a young adult when picked up by a rescue group who then adopted her out to my friend.

That’s some background. She has become anxious about thunder ever since this one year when my neighbors set off fire works in the cul de sac (grrr).
That fear has gotten worse over the past few years and I’ve bought a thundershirt recently to try.

The past four nights she has awakened me in early morning - anytime between say 1:30 and 2:30 AM - with signs of anxiety. Restlessness, trying to put herself between my head on the pillows and the wall, panting on one occasion, and just generally not being able to settle. No storms in the area and I can’t hear anything (doesn’t mean she doesn’t of course). After anywhere from 30 minutes to an hour she’ll finally lay back down and get back to sleep and I can try to get some sleep myself.

Any ideas what could be creating this anxiety? I’m really at a loss. Have entertained the notion that there’s a bear or something wandering through but though there have been a few sightings near town none have been in this area. And nothing has been disturbed (trash cans and such). So I just don’t know.

I’m going to try her in the thundershirt tonight and we have a vet visit scheduled for next week.

[S1969]

Sometimes this is just a sign of dementia in older dogs.

Can she hear and see well? If not, it could be that she wakes up and can’t figure out where she is?

[floppyammy]

@evenstar

I’ve had this wonderful dog for four years now, since a friend of mine passed away. She’s an older dog but no one really knows how old. Maybe 12. Hunting/pointing breed. She was a young adult when picked up by a rescue group who then adopted her out to my friend.

That’s some background. She has become anxious about thunder ever since this one year when my neighbors set off fire works in the cul de sac (grrr).
That fear has gotten worse over the past few years and I’ve bought a thundershirt recently to try.

The past four nights she has awakened me in early morning - anytime between say 1:30 and 2:30 AM - with signs of anxiety. Restlessness, trying to put herself between my head on the pillows and the wall, panting on one occasion, and just generally not being able to settle. No storms in the area and I can’t hear anything (doesn’t mean she doesn’t of course). After anywhere from 30 minutes to an hour she’ll finally lay back down and get back to sleep and I can try to get some sleep myself.

Any ideas what could be creating this anxiety? I’m really at a loss. Have entertained the notion that there’s a bear or something wandering through but though there have been a few sightings near town none have been in this area. And nothing has been disturbed (trash cans and such). So I just don’t know.

I’m going to try her in the thundershirt tonight and we have a vet visit scheduled for next week.

My old dog started getting restless and anxious at night. It is common in elderly dogs, and similar to Sundowners in elderly people. We added melatonin, which helped, but the biggest game changer was adding nightlights in rooms and hallways. We were able to discontinue the melatonin.

[evenstar]

Thanks for the replies. I didn’t realize that this could be common in older dogs. And of course I see her running around on the farm and can’t believe she’s gotten old . I haven’t noticed a drop off in her hearing or vision but she could be compensating in other ways. I will check that out.

My house is never truly dark because of ambient light in the neighborhood but certainly is darker than when a full moon. I will see if adding a night light helps (if nothing else i can keep better track of her as she’s roaming around on the bed!) My experience has been with kitties and my elderly meeser kitty (she lived to 22) would regularly “get lost” in my very small house and would yowl and yowl until I went to get her.

Floppyammy, did you get melatonin from Chewy or a similar source? I’ve never used it so wondered if you got something dog specific.

[Jealoushe]

Do you have blinds/curtains closed?

Something similar happened with my dog. Someone threw fireworks at my window and they went off right in the window. It was the scariest thing ever but ever since then one of my dogs has severe PTSD from it. Thunder and lightening are triggers, as are any flashing light in the window. I have to keep the blinds closed at night so nothing reflects off the window.

[luvmyhackney]

Try CBD chews. They helped my neighbors anxious older dog.

[candyappy]

I had a lab mix who was terrified of storms. As she got older ( around 9-10) she suddenly would come to my side of the bed panting, shaking and trying to get on the bed and just filled with anxiety. I would pet and talk to her and eventually she would lay down ( her bed was by my side) and sleep through the night .

She was eventually diagnosed with both diabetes and cancer but I suspect she had cancer well before the diabetes and that maybe she was experiencing some pain at night due to that.

Of course that is only a guess and maybe not what you want to hear but in those times ( it came & went) there were no storms.

[evenstar]

More food for thought.

Jealoushe, I do have blinds on my windows, plus drapes that block out light. She can’t see anything outside the windows at night.

I’ll look into CBD chews as well. Thanks for that suggestion, luvmyhackney.

Candyappy, yes I worry that she has something going on that’s escalated things. She’ll be getting a complete senior panel and urinalysis when she goes to her vet exam. The panting and trembling is what I see as well.

[hoopoe]

Liver and kidney function issues can cause changes in brain function.

I would start with that baseline and work from there.

[yaya]

Pain can cause anxiety at night.

My dog started getting restless and panting at night quite a bit before he showed any other signs. Then he suddenly showed neurologic changes and passed away from a brain tumor within a week.

[S1969]

@evenstar

I haven’t noticed a drop off in her hearing or vision but she could be compensating in other ways. I will check that out.

I would be surprised if she is 12+ and doesn’t have hearing or vision loss. We were told by our vet that it seemed “sudden” only because the range in which they can hear is beyond our own range, and we didn’t notice the loss until it actually affected our elderly dog’s ability to hear in our own range of hearing - but he assured us that it had been happening for some time.

It’s hard when they get old but hopefully you can manage some of the issues. CBD or melatonin might help. Definitely thinking about vision and noises/lack of noises might help to manage things a little as well.

[evenstar]

I’m going to look into the CBD and melatonin tonight to get the lay of the land, as it were. I want her to continue to be her sweet happy self as she ages.

Until I started this thread, I had forgotten something like a kidney infection could lead to neurological symptoms. There’s such a wide range of possible causes.

[floppyammy]

@evenstar

Thanks for the replies. I didn’t realize that this could be common in older dogs. And of course I see her running around on the farm and can’t believe she’s gotten old . I haven’t noticed a drop off in her hearing or vision but she could be compensating in other ways. I will check that out.

My house is never truly dark because of ambient light in the neighborhood but certainly is darker than when a full moon. I will see if adding a night light helps (if nothing else i can keep better track of her as she’s roaming around on the bed!) My experience has been with kitties and my elderly meeser kitty (she lived to 22) would regularly “get lost” in my very small house and would yowl and yowl until I went to get her.

Floppyammy, did you get melatonin from Chewy or a similar source? I’ve never used it so wondered if you got something dog specific.

I just bought human melatonin at the drugstore. Just make sure it doesn’t have any artificial sweeteners (xylitol) in it.

1800PetMeds

[erinmeri]

So many things can cause anxiety like this. I am really glad you are getting to the vet. My dog with a brain tumor did have nighttime anxiety (restlessness, panting) towards the end, as someone mentioned, but there were other tell-tale signs that was what was going on, such as unilateral weakness, circling/turning in one direction only, and getting “stuck” against cabinets/walls/in corners. So I wouldn’t jump to that conclusion.

[CrazyGuineaPigLady]

My super easy going, always eager Basset started getting anxious at 12. It was easy to dismiss at first because he also had some minor physical issues that made the life he used to enjoy tougher. Then he peed on the carpet right in front of the TV I was watching, which isn’t something he would have done in his right mind. Nothing remarkable at the vet but he was put on a (then) experimental dementia medication (started with an A) and it helped quite a bit. I want to say the price in 2002 or so was as expensive as his food so I didn’t keep it up when I needed money to help his pain at the end but it really did make a difference for him.

ETA - Anipryl is what my dog got.

Dog Dementia

Tips on Helping Dogs With Dementia

While there is no cure for dog dementia, there are things you can do to make your pet’s life easier. Ask your veterinarian about steps you can take to support your dog. Medications that can be helpful to dogs with dementia include:

• Selegiline — This drug can help your dog control many of the symptoms that come with canine dementia.
• Antidepressants — Provides relief from the anxiety that often manifests in dogs with dementia.
• Anipryl — A psychoactive drug approved for use in treating CCD.

[pony_baloney]

I went through the same thing with the elderly dog I adopted a few years ago. She also started having seizures that were controlled for a few months with drugs, but the circling got so bad that she was pts.

Hopefully it’s just a dementia related symptom. It could just be sundowning. Brain tumors are heartbreaking to witness. My first dog also had one. What are the odds of two dogs having them?

[evenstar]

That’s so sad. Going through that once was hard enough.
Our appointment is for next week so I’m hoping to rule out some things and then figure out what will work best to help her.
Last night we had actual thunder so I didn’t get her out for her last walk until after 11 and bed time for us was almost 2 hours past usual. So what do you know, she slept right through to morning.

[erinmeri]

@pony_baloney

I went through the same thing with the elderly dog I adopted a few years ago. She also started having seizures that were controlled for a few months with drugs, but the circling got so bad that she was pts.

Hopefully it’s just a dementia related symptom. It could just be sundowning. Brain tumors are heartbreaking to witness. My first dog also had one. What are the odds of two dogs having them?

I am so sorry you went through that twice! It was super heartbreaking and rough. Luckily after a series of bad days, my boy’s last day was a good one before I said goodbye. I never want to go through that again.