Is My Dog Sick? Or Just Getting Old?
A few weeks ago Maggie, aka Princess Margaret, came back after a play session with a tiny limp. Well, damn, I thought, I hope this isn’t serious. Her limp disappeared the next day, and play sessions with Skip and her favorite toy were back on the agenda after one more day of “just to be sure.” Maggie seemed thrilled to play, until I handed her a toy (she’s “It” in the chase game), and she ran for a few seconds and then dropped the toy to go pee. Okay, guess she really needed to urinate? And maybe she wasn’t limping, but perhaps what was injured still hurt? But she seemed okay the next two days, although a little quieter at night, so I asked her to jump up into the crate to go work sheep with Skip at another farm on what would have been 5 days after her little limp.
She wouldn’t jump in. She looked at the crate, and looked back at me. She’s usually crazy keen to work sheep, but she is twelve years old, past the age that many working dogs want to work. Perhaps she does still have some kind of soft tissue injury that hasn’t healed completely? Or, was this was about her age as a “geriatric” dog. Her hearing is clearly degrading; perhaps working sheep is stressful because she can’t always understand what I am trying to convey? Or, maybe, as an older dog, perhaps she just doesn’t want to work that hard anymore? And, of course she is quieter at night, because she’s twelve. Jim and I are quieter at night now too. (Cue Netflix and PBS.)
I respected Maggie’s communication and put her back in the house. But, as I drove away I couldn’t stop thinking about her behavior. Granted, she’s been less playful in the evening than before–not surprising given her age, but . . . hadn’t she had on a “sad dog” face the last few evenings? And, as I thought about it, why did she lie on the wood floor last night instead of cozying with us on the couch? By the time I was on my way home after working Skip–you know where this is going–the puzzle pieces fit together. It was Friday afternoon, and I became obsessed with getting her into one of my vet clinics before they closed. Bless them, they got her in that afternoon.
Good thing. Maggie had/has Anaplasmosis, one of the many Rickettsial diseases, that can cause no symptoms at all, or very serious ones, including, eventually, organ failure and death. (Lyme is caused by a different type of bacteria, but they are both conveyed through tick bites and have similar symptoms.) She had a fever, (which explains lying on a wood floor versus the couch), and a “strong positive” test result. After 2 doses of Doxy, she became her old but still playful self. Whew. If I hadn’t gotten her on antibiotics she could’ve gotten much sicker, especially given her kidney disease. ( I should mention here that the dogs wear Seresto collars and we almost never find ticks on them, although nothing is 100% effective. I find myself thinking of doubling up and adding another tick protection method.)
I bring this up because I think it can be tricky to figure out if an older dog has changed their behavior because they are elderly, or because they are ill. I well know the symptoms of tick-borne diseases, but because Maggie is twelve, and is clearly losing her hearing, it seemed reasonable that she’s be less playful at night, and perhaps decide to take a pass on working sheep one day. Honestly, it was thinking about her face the night before that got my head out of “she’s twelve, her hearing is going, does she have a soft tissue injury?” Maggie has the facial flexibility of Jim Carry, and as I thought about it, her face looked wrong–a bit pinched, her eyebrows squinched. Sad Maggie.
In hindsight, it’s easy to think about a tick-borne disease, especially given that we are in an area that exploded with ticks last year. I write about this, because, until her symptoms began to add up, it was easy to imagine that her behavior was due to her age. Mild injuries with hard working dogs who also play hard are common. Rest and monitor, right? Not wanting to jump up into the car? Injury not yet healed reasonable explanation, and/or losing interest in working sheep because of her age?
I’ve run into this before, and I’m hoping that the many veterinarians who read these posts will jump in here, because sorting out the mystery of “age versus illness” can be tricky stuff, at least for us mortals. Of course, we all know the obvious signs of illness–vomiting or diarrhea that doesn’t resolve, lethargy, etc. Dr. Google has a gazillion lists, including loss of appetite, increased urination or defecation, pale gums, and significant changes in weight. But the one I want to focus on, is “changes in personality.”
Or, as I would describe it, changes in behavior (says the person who is so very much NOT a veterinarian but is trained as a behaviorist). Maggie’s limp, of course concerned me, and I did the obvious–rest and monitor. But it was her behavior that got me calling the vet–not wanting to go do something she’s been excited about the week before, her “sad dog face,” and her lying down in an area she never uses.
I found that specific change in behavior, lying down in a different place, to be particularly important. It has correlated with illness in two other dogs I’ve owned. My BC Mist was almost thirteen when she began sleeping in places she’d never slept in before. She also ate her dinner a bit gingerly, but she’d just had her teeth cleaned and I thought perhaps her gums were a little sore. I dropped her off at the vet clinic on a Thursday, thinking I should have her checked out but that it was no doubt a minor issue. It wasn’t. She had hermangiosarcoma, and died four days later. I forget the details with the other dog, I think it was Pippy Tay, but again, it was her choosing to lie down in areas where she never, ever did before.
This is all to say that the value of knowing your dog and his/her habits is invaluable. “Personality changes,” as often listed by veterinarians, is a great start, (especially atypical aggression, so often pain related). But what might look like minor changes in behavior can also be signs of illness. I don’t want people to swamp their vet clinics, heaven knows they are busy enough, but . . . if any of my dogs start sleeping in a new place (unless the weather has changed markedly), I’m at least calling the clinic. I’m hoping here that many of you will add to the conversation–what other behavioral changes have you seen in your dogs that got you wondering if your dog was ill. What do veterinarians hear from their clients about changes in behavior that brought them to the clinic? Or they noticed in their own dogs (or cats or horses . . .). I think the village could be invaluable here; people read these blogs years after they are posted; I routinely get comments from people thanking me and the village, years after the post, for helping them through something. Jump in!
MEANWHILE, back on the farm: Well, it’s been an interesting day. Last night I took the dogs out to pee before bed and heard a loud crash. A very, very loud crash. I knew just what it was–we live at the bottom of a steep, curvy hill, and far too often someone takes the curve too fast and hits the guard rail. I ran into the house, yelling to Jim that there’d been an accident and we had to go to help. I could tell by the sound of it that it was serious. At first all we could see were a few small metal items in the road, and no smashed guard rail. So, did they bounce off the guard rail and drive away? But the sound of the crash was dramatic, so we parked where we could safely, walked back with our torch-like flashlight and looked around. That is when my flashlight found a truck, 40 feet down in a gully, lying on its roof, smashed like an accordion. Long story short, we called 911, and helped the couple–astoundingly not dead–until the police and ambulance came. Thank god we heard the crash; there is very little traffic on that road, you couldn’t see the truck from the road, or even much damage to the guard rail. Needless to say, we are overwhelmed with gratitude that the two of them are relatively okay (one does have some significant injuries) and we are continuing to try to get the county to put up better signs. Afterward, too wired to sleep, we watched multiple episodes of Big Bang until it felt possible to go to sleep, sometime around midnight.
And then, this morning, we discovered that letters were sent out to my nieces, the eventual beneficiaries of an annuity we have, that, in light of our recent deaths, they would be receiving the remaining balance. Just in case the word spreads–we are not dead yet.
In light of the above, it feels especially appropriate to savor the joy of early spring flowers, like this tiny iris that I love so much, and have so few of.
The snow drops were in full form a few days ago, but today they are fading. I like this photo because it shows you how most of the yard and farm is still brown brown brown. And the snowdrops are tiny tiny tiny (I was lying on my stomach to shoot this.)
Last week the sheep got shorn, here they are in mid-process:
Here’s a video of them afterwards, in which Beyond and Snow White go at each other a la National Geographic. I’ve mentioned before that sheep recognize each other in part through scent, and when you shear them they smell like strangers. Usually I cover their eyes and spray cheap perfume on their faces, but the day was a stir-fry and I just couldn’t manage it. (No sheep were harmed in the making of this video, promise. I was ready to intervene but you can see Beyonce (what a bad ass!) start to rub faces with Snow White as things progressed.)
I leave you with Maggie, assuring you that she is feeling much better, and would like to come to your house to work sheep, please. And a reminder that the ticks are out big time, and our vet clinic has seen any cases of anaplasmosis already. Let’s be careful out there!
Here’s hoping your week is less dramatic than ours. I would love it if you would join the “old or sick” conversation. Tell us your experience, your insights. People will thank you for years!
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About the Author
Patricia B. McConnell, PhD, CAAB Emeritus is an applied animal behaviorist who has been working with, studying, and writing about dogs for over twenty-five years. She encourages your participation, believing that your voice adds greatly to its value. She enjoys reading every comment, and adds her own responses when she can.
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Re anaplasmosis: it’s very sneaky. My Tilly had it in 2023, had no symptoms even though she was severely anemic. It was caught by pre-surgical bloodwork done before she was spayed. Ironically, I opted to have her spayed at 18 months; I had hoped to wait until she was two, but she was short-cycling, and a girl who was in season four times in seven months was not sustainable. Her surgery was postponed, and she went on antibiotics. All well.
She had been on a flea/tick/heartworm combo, and never missed a dose, and, although I had found numerous ticks on her, none were engorged–they were either dead or crawling around. Evidently anaplasmosis can transmit much more quickly than Lyme.
Since we are out all the time birding, she is now checked for tick-vectored diseases at least once a year.
I know this wasn’t the primary purpose of your post, but wanted to spread the word.
My other animals are the ones that usually clue me in that one of the gang is not doing well. If someone is being treated differently by the others that one is heading to the vet. I find the cats are especially good indicators if something is off with a dog. They either are always with the dog or are avoiding the dog like the plague there is no middle ground. A dog that is seriously ill has a constant cat presence indoors and a dog that is about to be ill has no cat anywhere in the vicinity.
I had to laugh at the shorn sheep not recognizing each other. I remember growing up watching the lambs not recognize their mother’s at shearing time.
Hoping this week is more predictable and calm than the last.
Hmmm – watching The Big Bang after dealing with The Big Bang (thank goodness you heard the crash! It was bad enough, but could have been so much worse!) seems a little…coincidental?
It was fascinating to watch the ears on the two ewes – so expressive! Glad they quickly figured out who was who.
Thanks for sharing Miss Maggie’s story. Glad you fit the pieces together so quickly, and that Maggie’s well on the road to recovery.
Almost all our dogs have had dramatic rather than subtle disasters. The only unobvious one was the day our sprightly ten year old Aussie Bandit, who always, always led on walks, walked behind me. Off to the vet, where they found an inoperable tumor. We euthanized him ten Best Days Ever later.
And lastly, so very glad to hear that you’re not dead yet. I bet your nieces were too!
I remember a non-dog owning neighbour once asking me how I knew Sophy was unwell – to me the change of stance, the worried line between her eyes, dropped ears and tail all signalled it loud and clear but the neighbour saw none of those signs. Sometimes it is just a strong feeling that things are not quite right that takes me to the vet, and they trust me enough (or are polite enough) not to dismiss my fears. Sophy’s recent bout of pneumonia was caught early because it is unusual for her to cough more than once in 48 hours and I could hear slight chesty noises on the Friday evening (always at a weekend …) – fortunately my vet has clinics on both Saturday and Sunday mornings, and she was on antibiotics within hours. Sometimes I do overreact but with an elderly dog I am very firmly of the belief that it is better to be safe than sorry.
I agree with Kat about other animals telling you there is something up – if one dog becomes excessively interested in the smell of the other there is usually something going on…
Thank you so much for this post – incredibly timely for me, as my nearly 13-year old Tippy has been “different” of late, and I can’t quite put my finger on it. His hearing has disappeared, but that’s not surprising at his age. Forgive me, but I’ve been putting off going to the vet because I couldn’t face what I might hear. Enough already, will call today and make an appointment for him.
Nothing to share regarding the “old or sick” conversation, but do all of your sheep have fun names?
ChatGPT said:
This is such a thoughtful and insightful post! It can be so difficult to tell whether changes in our dogs are due to ageing or underlying health concerns, and your breakdown really helps put things into perspective. I love how you highlight the importance of knowing our pets’ normal behaviour and trusting our instincts when something seems off. Your writing is always engaging and packed with wisdom—thank you for sharing your expertise in such a compassionate way. This is definitely a post I’ll be coming back to as my own dog gets older. Keep up the amazing work!
When my 14 year old Dusty (Chow/Rottweiler/+ mix) began slightly limping, I put it down to her age, her enthusiastic chasing of squirrels, and her racing in the yard with her buddy Jax. The limp became worse, so off to the vet we went. She was diagnosed with bone cancer, which far too quickly became unbearable for her. I had to let her go two weeks ago and I am still grieving. She was one of my ‘foster fails’, adopted when she was seven. Seven years with her wasn’t long enough… it is never long enough.
I was dealing with a roast chicken in the kitchen and noticed that London was not eagerly waiting at my feet. I took a tidbit into the living room where he was lying in his tub bed, and he ate it with gusto. But when I went back to the kitchen he simply watched me go, instead of leaping to his feet and following in the hope of more chicken.
It turned out that his years-long low-grade kidney failure had crossed a threshold to an acute stage. The vet put him on a restricted diet for kidney failure and we had about two months before I had to let him go.
I am eagerly awaiting my next whippet puppy, who is currently a growing bulge in his mama’s middle.
I have a hound breed and have had 2 dogs, separated by many years, tell me they were in pain. Both stood in the middle of a room, made intense eye contact with me, and refused to move no matter what I said and did – both continuing with the eye contact. Vet visits confirmed that one had a splenic hemangiosarcoma, the other a splenic hemangioma (benign) that had begun to bleed. Currently there are 5 senior spayed girls (hound and terrier) and one whole boy. When he focuses intently on one of the girls, I know it’s time to get her a health check.
A change in personality was the only clue there was something wrong with one of my dogs. It took us almost 6 months to get her Addison’s Disease diagnosis because all I could tell our vet is that it was like the light had gone out of her eyes… She still ate, drank, went running in the morning, worked at night. It was easy to chalk it up to the loss of one our older dogs a few months earlier, but she never got the spark back. It was profoundly frustrating because there was no definitive symptoms. I consider us lucky to have gotten a diagnosis before she had a crisis. I try hard to watch my dogs every day when they do not know I am there. They are capable of hiding a lot when they know we are watching.
“Reports of my demise are greatly exaggerated” seems apropos but again as in your erroneous death announcement a mistake from the original Twain remark: “The report of my death was an exaggeration.” Not as lively, I’d say 😉
Olive was very good at masking her symptoms and pain. She was a stalwart terrier after all and could muscle through. Until she couldn’t. As she got older, her body started to break down, and she was unable to compensate as well. I could tell simply from looking at her walk or how she held her head if something was wrong. (Years before, we had gone through a year and a half of conservative management for her torn CCL, and during that time, I developed eagle-eye, x-ray vision to notice if something was even the slightest bit off.)
She, too, had anaplasmosis, which we didn’t realize until she was at the vet for a dental procedure, and they took a blood sample because she was shaking so hard, she gave herself a very high fever, and they were trying to find out what was causing the fever! (We cancelled the dental and brought her home for a two-week course of anti-biotics.) Now there’s a buried silver lining.
So glad Maggie is on the mend (good song title). You and Jim are incredibly wonderful people—you saved their lives. Wow.
I too, had a dog who died from what I believed was hemangiosarcoma. I didn’t do a necropsy but the symptoms all pointed to that horrible cancer. Apparently healthy in the morning and gone by noon. Upon doing an ultrasound the vet found a huge mass in her abdomen. I hope I never have to go through that again. After she died, I started thinking back to the changes in behavior that started maybe 6 months earlier. No longer engaging in play, retreating from being petted, overall just quieter and a bit more grumpy. She was a dog who suffered from hip dysplasia, having TPLO surgery on one side at just 14 months. While the surgery helped I always thought having her hips misaligned left her with chronic back discomfort which had to be getting worse as she aged. And it is the hip issue and developing arthritis attributed to aging that I thought was the cause of her changes in behavior. She had a complete yearly exam in August and was given a clean bill of health at age 10. Then 2 months later she was gone. So, YES, pay attention to those behavior changes.
I am a veterinarian with over 30 years experience that was caught by surprise by a tumor of the spleen in my just turned 7 male Mini Aussie. I say this first-because you shouldn’t beat yourself up if you miss subtle signs-it happens. I feed my dog plenty of treats and a very palatable diet (I would quite happily eat it myself if they put in a little more spice and garlic). Approximately 2-3 months ago he occasionally wouldn’t eat his breakfast, I chalked it up to too many treats. He on occasion wouldn’t eat treats until after he defecated unless they were super high value and his stools were occasionally less than perfect-again thought treats. Two weeks ago he was fine in the morning-even ate and had a perfect poop. In the afternoon he was a different dog, lethargic and not interested in eating or playing and had kind of funky tacky gums. I went to an ER over an hour away (I’m retired). Even the ER Doc was scratching her head-until the x-rays and there it was a great big tumor. He had surgery and waiting on biopsy-luckily I had insurance-(over $10,000 bill). So my first piece of advice is get the “dam” insurance, its way better to make decisions based on what’s right for your pet rather then finances. Next notice patterns, one day or two of soft stool-no big deal, if continues even intermittently-possible a problem, you notice your cat/dog at the water bowl more often when before you rarely saw them drink-could be a problem, appetite fluctuates could be problem, urinating more or less-could be a problem, panting a lot could be a problem, lying in different spot, not wanting to or unable to jump in car (my dog) could be a problem. Finally get used to checking your dog’s mucous membrane–know what’s normal, moist and pink good, press the gums down, if color returns in less then 2 seconds-good, check your dog’s weight periodically- like us they usually gain weight as they age unless its deliberate. ( I have had clients rationalize that they had kinda been feeding less when the dog actually had a serious issue) Look at his/her urine-is the color normal (if you live where there is snow) And don’t be like me-keep a thermometer at home. An excellent web site curated and written by veterinary specialists is veterinarypartner.com-lots good reliable advice. I could go on-so simply know what is normal and normal for your pet, and watch for patterns-you know your dog/cat best and if you bring your dog to the vet and are not satisfied-politely press the vet to do a little more and of course be prepared to pay for testing. Our pets cannot not talk and Vets rely on these tests to make a diagnosis.
I would add that it’s also important to consider palliative solutions when problems are due to ageing. Probably preaching to the choir here, but so many of my clients just don’t consider anti-inflammatories for arthritis or even helping their dogs and cats by ensuring that their environment is consistent when their faculties decline.
One client ask me apropos her cat (I was there to train her dog) if her cat could feel pain!
Charlotte re the cat and pain. Good god in heaven!
My goodness there is too much excitement in this message! I’m so glad you were able to get Maggie to the vet and wish her a speedy recovery. I enjoyed your thoughtful discussion. Not lying in the same place was also, a long time ago, a sign to me that a cat wasn’t very well (sadly not with a good outcome). So I am glad the antibiotics will do the trick for Maggie. What a good job you heard the accident and were able to help the couple! And what a shock for your poor nieces! Here’s hoping for calm, relaxing, and healthy times from now on.
I know near nothing about sheep–they look so NAKED! I wonder why we don’t leave a little pompom of wool on them so they can recognize each other. Good story about your dog; I will share it with my Oregon Humane Society friends (the volunteers & staff, not the dogs.)
Is “sad dog face” an actual thing, as a symptom? Because I have met dogs at OHS (Oregon Humane Society) whose heads hang down. When they feel better, they carry their heads above their shoulders.
A week ago yesterday we lost our beloved Sheltie, Kamron. In January he stopped eating for several days so we took him to our Vet. She did an ultra-sound of his liver and blood tests. Suspecting cancer, she referred us to a local Vet practice that specializes in cancers. They did more tests & to our shock & dismay diagnosed him with Lymphoma. Informed that there is no cure, we discussed multiple chemo options with them & chose the simplest one with the least side effects plus prednisone. The prednisone restored his appetite, which became super-charged. He slept more, but alternated between his regular indoor game-playing and outside walks and more subdued versions of both. Last Monday he could barely stand up when we woke up & then collapsed completely when he got downstairs. We had already decided, after going through a nightmarish struggle to keep our previous dog alive after she collapsed years ago from a Vestibular attack of unknown etiology, that we wanted him to pass as peacefully and calmly as possible.
Kammie had one extremely short burst of energy & alertness before the Vet we had researched in advance arrived at our home. We began to second guess ourselves, but he was already sleepy & she reminded us of that we’d have to go through if this happened in the middle of the night. We held him & cried & told him how much we loved him as she gave him the shots to relax him and help him pass.
Kammie was only 11 1/2 & we’d both hoped & expected him to last longer as he was a very playful and affectionate dog who was loved by everyone, & he still looked healthy & amazingly handsome, except for his increasingly sad and/or tried facial expressions.
We are devastated as he was like a son to us & he never gave us anything but complete love, comfort, and loyalty. It is harder losing him than it was losing my parents…
Dear Anne, I am so so sorry. Take care of yourself. ❤️💔❤️
Awww, precious Maggie. Bless you for trusting your instincts and for the reminder to trust mine, especially after losing my precious Elsa 3 weeks ago to a severe case of pnbeumonia. She was probably 13-ish but the loss has left me beyond sad, not just because I loved her so; she was also my daily muse. The loss been hard to square but I do know she’s in a better place now and, I hope, waiting till I can join her and her ‘brothers.’ Your instincts were definitely on duty when you helped the car crash victims. Again, more blessings for reminding yourself that some things need investigation and to trust those inner feelings directing you there.
Hugs all around!
This was a minor issue, but I think it still applies to signs that your dog has a health problem: Two weeks ago, I noticed that our Westie looked odd. She had one ear that pointed “up” and the other one pointed to the side. Very weird for a Westie, right? Then I called her to me, checked her out and discovered that the inside of the ear that pointed to the side felt like sandpaper. In comparison, her other ear was like velvet. I got her to the vet that afternoon, and sure enough, she had an ear infection in the “sandpaper ear.” She had both bacteria and yeast, so a special ear flush was recommended. Now I just need to remember the ear clue for future reference!
Thank you Trisha.
Thanks for this , my Rat Terrier female is 15 , deaf and sleeps a lot but is doing great otherwise. This is a good reminder to watch out for other things. It’s always interesting to me to see how the ranks change when one dog gets old. I have two more dogs a 8 yr old Miniature American Shepherd female and a 4 yr old male Miniature American Shepherd all dogs are neutered. The little Rat rules the house but lately the male MAS has been pushing limits with her ( he’s a bit of a jerk 😆) she stands her ground and he backs right off .
We live in a two-story home, and last year our now twelve-and-a-half-year-old Pembroke Welsh Corgi, Simon, began slowing down on the top three or four carpeted steps to the second floor. At that point, I had the questions your title IS MY DOG SICK? OR JUST GETTING OLD? so succinctly poses. Although retired from performance sports, he has continued to receive massages from a massage therapist who comes to a nearby facility once a month. At the appointment, she noticed a big difference in Simon and mentioned that to the veterinary chiropractor who happened to be sharing the room with her on that day. Until that visit, the massage therapist had always commented Simon was using his body correctly, and she had always been able to easily work out any tight areas. The vet asked if Simon felt warm to her touch. The massage therapist replied, “Yes.” The veterinary chiropractor said she had lately worked on a number of dogs that felt hot to the touch and were later diagnosed with Lyme disease.
Bloodwork was positive for anaplasmosis, and Simon began a three-month course of Doxycycline. Our vet also suggested we see a neurologist for possible degenerative myelopathy. By the time we saw the neurologist, our boy was pretty much back to his old self hopping up and down the thirteen carpeted stairs like before.
One of many reasons we chose his breeder was because the sire had tested clear for DM. I credit Simon’s massage therapist and the veterinary chiropractor for suggesting possible Lyme, although it turned out to be anaplasmosis. We live on five rural acres near the Blue Ridge Mountains, and our Virgina county is known for its high rate of Lyme disease —ask my husband what it is like living and working with a serious case of Lyme disease.
Thank you for another informative and timely post. It’s so nice to hear Princess Margaret is back to herself. And kudos to you on hearing and helping the accident victims.
I grew up on an Iowa farm with horses, cattle, sheep, hogs, chickens, and several stray (dumped) dogs that found their way down our country lane and joined our human and canine family. I so enjoy reading your posts which take me back to my days on our beautiful farm.
My Labrador, Lemon has had several symptoms like your Maggie and tonight she threw up her entire dinner. She just had her annual health exam but I’m making another
appointment tomorrow to have blood work and urine to see WHY she is sleeping in a different place, limping and now barfing! Thank you for your article!!!
One thing I have noticed with my many cats over the years (all rescues, so most pretty wild in their own way) is that when are not feeling well they will suddenly start being unusually sweet to me. They will want to sit on my lap or even have me pick t(em up and hold them, and they will quit bugging me for food. Drastic changes indeed!
Hi Patrica,
First, sending you a big hug. I miss seeing you. Living in a tick borne disease endemic area as you do, I now do double coverage with my dogs. Vectra and Simparica Trio. Anyway, many years ago Cowboy presented with a dramatic case of Anaplasmosis. Because, why not ? He woke up in the middle of the night, moaning with terrible abdominal pain and 103+ fever. Took him to the Vet ER and they thought he was bloating and were going down that path. A few hours later took him to my regular vet and by then temp was over 105 and they were able to diagnose Anaplasmosis in house. He was better in a few days. I’ll never forget it. Phew. Sending love to your gang, XOXO Judy
It’s summer. It’s hot. At times it’s rather warm even with the AC on. Your older dog starts taking a little water break in the middle of the night. He had his annual senior blood test a month ago, all clear. Take Mr. Fluffy back to the vet. It might be the kidneys, and the sooner you know, the sooner you can make the key and timely diet changes-and there are good options these days!
Our 14 year old JRT is kinda being a grumpy old.man sometimes. He’s a chow hound so we know something s up if he doesn’t eat. Recent vaccine vet visit our vet said he looks like a 10 year old. He gets around ok. I think his hearing and sight have declined some but he never had a recall unless you yell “treat, biscuit, carrot” when he’s outside in our fenced yard. He throws up occasionally but always recovers I wonder what he found to eat in our yard. He’s had pancreatitis years ago and lives on a low fat diet. He also had a bout of an vestibular event in the night years ago that had never recurred. Max still jumps in our tall bed every night. He also wakes me up on pretty regular morning schedule by repeatedly jumping up on the bed till I get up to let him out and feed him. Max is very lumpy with fatty tumors but.none have caused him trouble yet. I hope Max has forgiven us for adopting Lucy. Lucy is 4 but we got her at 2 years old. She gets too playful at times and has invaded his fave Max cave space under our bed. They sleep curled up together alot so I guess he forgives her.
I really appreciate this post because it has been a subject of conversation lately among several of my friends and I. I noticed changes in my dogs behavior, slight but notable and asked the vet. Without spending several thousands in tests, it was hard to know. We did an elder dog test to set the baseline (only several hundred). Fast forward a year or two, my pup died with a tumor on her spleen (something I’m hearing more and more of among dog friends, recently–2 in the last 4 months). She was 14.5. When on a budget that doesn’t allow spending thousands to diagnosis an elder dog…what treatment would I/could I afford?)…the alternative is to honor the dog’s decreased actively level, watch for symptoms and pain and keep them as comfortable as possible. Oh, and I recommend Vectra 3D as the best flea/tick treatment. It reveals ticks so they don’t even bite.
We lost one of our standard poodles to hemangiosarcoma. It first presented as a limp & apparent soreness in a leg. We noted behavior & enthusiasm changes. Then a large lump
presented on his right shoulder in a matter of hours. We cuddled him all night. Took him to the vet first thing next morning & had to have him put down that afternoon. It’s a tough one. He was an extremely high-spirited dog, a comet who lived at high velocity— and left us the same way. He was just shy of eleven years old.
It’s been our experience that behavior is the first sign that something is not right. Any change at all from normal, or what they get excited about, or what they gaze at, or don’t gaze at, what they avoid, or even their sleep & dreams.
We have a 12yo Scottish Terrier that is a very active dreamer. She’s always chasing and yipping at something in her sleep. When she was 9, we noticed that she had not been dreaming as much in the evenings. It led us to a vet appt to see if there was something wrong. It turned out she had tumor in one of her vibrissae.
She wasn’t dreaming the way she normally dreamed because she wasn’t sleeping the way she normally slept. There was an irritation on that whisker all the time that kept her from deep sleep.
We’re very fortunate to have a Veterinarian that doesn’t scoff at “she’s not dreaming normally” as a symptom. The slightly discolored whisker node was hidden in her beard. Surgery was scheduled immediately & even though the margins weren’t as good as the Doc would have liked – the tumor was removed. It was a sarcoma but caught early. With this in her history we are vigilant for any behavior change & have diagnostics performed yearly.
I think this one of the hardest parts of owning a dog. My dog was with a sitter that knew him, but came home not quite right and was in full glaucoma crisis within an hour. He lost that eye 5 weeks later, the opthamologist telling us he had probably been cycling in and out of high pressures for a few months. I had had him to the vet twice describing behaviors that were unusual for him, including one a week earlier. Both times nothing was found so we treated for maybe arthritis pain. We know the odds are the other eye will go within a year or two so now I’m constantly wondering “is that a small nothing or something that counts? Is it something normal or not?” It always seems to be something that sounds perfectly normal, but I don’t know if it’s my spider senses or needless worry. Is it normal for him? Yes, but in this context, at this time?
I’m so glad you were able to get Maggie sorted so quickly. It can be so hard to get a vet visit quickly.
I think Michelle makes a very important point – “What would we do differently based on possible test results?” is a discussion I have often had with my vet. If we are testing for something that is untreatable, or for which the treatment is hugely invasive and expensive and probably something I would not countenance for an already elderly dog, that needs to be taken into consideration. A blood test to identify a readily treatable disease is another matter altogether. My vet and I are agreed that for Sophy it is all about quality of life – she happily walked a mile yesterday, but I would not dream of pushing her to do the three mile walks we both managed when younger, even if I could still walk that far myself! (Hip replacement is looming, I hope within weeks rather than months…)
We had a Siberian Husky mix for 16 years and she was at least 17 when she died. When she was about 14, one day she began to ask to go out quite frequently. I immediately worried, “is she sick? UTI? kidney disease?”. I watched her that day and she was normal in the evening and slept all night just fine. The next day the behavior began again, “go out, come in, go out”. Then I began to wonder, is this some testing behavior which this dog has perfected over many years? So, the next time she was out, I asked her to sit before she came in. I got immediate talking back in her lovely northern dog fashion. Lots of grumbling and communicating. I gently insisted that she could not come in until she was sitting AND quiet. (I just stood there.) After about 15 minutes of this, she was complying and I let her in. That was all of the asking to go out all the time. So, again, it was personality! This wonderful dog was our diva girl who wanted to test, just every once in awhile, just to see if she could get fewer boundaries. This was the dog who when my daughter was a teenager looked at me and said, “God help us if she had opposable thumbs.” Happily, she was not ill or failing at that time and we had several good years more.
My previous dog began to stumble on stairs at the age of 13…it started as a tiny trip, then he would trip randomly on the sidewalk, very intermittently, and then he face planted on the stairs trying to go up them enthusiastically — as if he had just misjudged. I had the vet check him out and she diagnosed a proprioception deficit, but passed it off as old age. Not long after that visit, I saw an online plea from a woman about her dog who was seizing because of Simparica. My vet had switched my dog to Simparica about a year prior, so I searched the internet to learn more. The first thing that came up was that Simparica could cause proprioception deficits, like the one I was seeing. Back to the vet, and we took him off Simparica immediately and went back to using Frontline. Fortunately he recovered a good deal of the deficit, but he was never fully the same. I beat myself up for a long time over that. Today my 7-year old Bella and I were at the vet specifically because I noticed a behavior change. Waiting for lab test results. Your message is so important — know your dog, pay attention, and trust your gut. They’re counting on us to be their best advocate.
Yup, both the dogs I’ve lost had changes in behaviour that cued me in to the seriousness of the situation more than the obvious symptoms. A bit of a limp in an eleven year old dog? Not very worrying. Got so clingy he is following us upstairs? Worrying. (turned out to be osteosarcoma, unexpected in a smaller dog). And then with our second dog we knew she had a tumour, but again it wasn’t an obvious worsening of her symptoms, again it was when she started coming upstairs in the middle of the night that I realised the time had come to say goodbye.
Behavior change was the first sign with my 12 year old girl in 2023. She started being uneasy at night, changing her sleeping spot often, and drinking a lot more water. I had a vet appointment booked days before I noticed any physical symptoms. It took 2 weeks to diagnose lymphoma, and I had to let her go within that same month. Horrible disease, f all cancer. Pay attention to your pets; you’ll know when something is off.
Although tick-borne diseases are pretty horrific, make sure you consult with your veterinarian before doubling up on any tick treatments. I work for an organization that takes incident data and one of the worst calls I took was about a service dog whose owner first gave her a flea bath with pesticidal shampoo, then used a preventative. The dog died a pretty awful death soon after.. These products are meant to be used alone and you could wind up causing as horrific a problem as the one you’re trying to avoid! That’s also why you always, always, should use the appropriate dose/weight class for your dog. Wish they had tick preventatives for people! (No, not just repellent or permethrin-treated clothes).
j, thank you for reminding us that ALL of these pesticides and preventatives are chemicals! They are not the in the same realm as cosmetic products! And as more of them come out on the market, using them is increasingly complex.
And like we trust our doctors to help us with info on our human drugs, we need to seek out advice by a professional who knows the mechanisms of action and will inform us which to use with whatever meds our pets are already on, and what to not use in combination. Even (perhaps especially) the over the counter ones!
Yes, there may be a cost to that advice, but it will not be nearly as much as emergency vet services and not nearly as stressful as a bad outcome to a not-well-reviewed treatment plan. We are living in crazily complicated times – not easy to navigate.
Anne Ramey, retired RN