About Charlotte B Expertise I can answer any question on raising and training dogs,the proper feeding, training, and behavior of animals.What I do not know for certain, I will take the time to research for the correct advise.
Experience My father was a veterinarian and taught me hot to take care of animals, starting at the age of three.
I have raised and trained purebreds, and mixed breeds.I participate in animal rescue groups in my area.
Up until my health made it necessary for me to stop, I have trained dogs.I have trained some dogs that could not be handled by their owners. They would bite their owners, but in 65 over 65 years of handling dogs, I have never been nipped in anger. The only times I have had skin broken was in playing with a little puppy, and they were not yet taught not to nip so hard.
Organizations SPCA of Irving Texas, several rescue groups.
Question Thanks for the info Charlotte, I have tried the night light and we pat him all night. We even talk to him when he barks, but, he still won't settle. I think I might try a small TV and some sort of seditive. I asked my vet and he didn't give me anything, so I'm thinking maybe something more natural. I found a website that offers some different brands, but, they are mostly for traveling with your dog or a dog that might be afraid of thunderstorms (which Bailey is) and didn't recommend long term use. What do you think?? If it will help him sleep at night and us too can it really hurt??? I really appreciate your outlook on what I know is Bailey's life coming to a close. My kids will really miss him, so I try not to think about it. But, he really has been slowly going downhill for about 8 months now. I think most of the nighttime stuff happened when we were on vacation. We left him with someone, but, maybe he didn't get the normal attention. But, I did think he would be over that by now, we went in April. Anyway, I again appreciate your thoughts, I really don't know what do to. Thanks - Donna
---------------------
Followup To
Question -
Hi Charlotte - I have a 15yr old golden that has been having some difficulties sleeping at night. He gets restless as soon as the lights, tvs go off and everything goes silent. He sleeps in the same room with us, but, starts to pace up and down the hall way, pant and sometimes barks. Almost like he's looking for us. Do you have any ideas or suggestions. My vet seems to think it's his age and maybe he is going senile. I understand and sympathize, but, I cannot go many more nights without sleep. Help
Thanks
Answer -
Hi Donna;
Dogs can have alzheimers, but if that were it, he would behave that way in the daytime, at least some times I would think.
What pops into my mind is, maybe he is losing his hearing, and his sight is not too sharp, so when the lights go out and he can't see you, and maybe can't hear you, and he may be losing his sense of smell too, he doesn't know where you are, or is just generally disoriented.
Dogs pant when they are nervous too, and he may be barking to call you, and when you answer, he can tell where you are, or he may be bouncing sound waves off the hall. He may be able to tell something by that.
If all his senses he has used all his life, are failing him, he would naturally feel insecure.
Maybe a night light would let him know where he is. Even if his eyes are dim, he might be able to see that faint beam, and know where he is.
I don't like to bring this up, because it is a hard thing to face, but he knows how close he is to the end of his life, and he may be afraid of dieing alone. I know animals are supposed to crawl off somewhere to die, but that is in the wild. Instinct makes them go somewhere they will not be so vulnerable. So they can just die in peace, but all my animals have preferred to have me with them, holding them.
Animals that have lived as family members have lost some of the reliance on instinct. He has grown used to being a part of a family, and being comforted by his family, not living alone and depending on his wits.
When the house gets dark and quiet, he may be afraid.
I have been accused of spoiling my animals. Can't imagine whyLOL
I was one of my dogs' seeing eye person for the last 2 years of his life. He went blind, and knew his way around the house and back yard, but when we were out for a walk or went to the vet etc,I held the leash a little closer, and he would press his body against my leg, and then he could maneuver quite well, knew he was safe, and he would move so well, others couldn't tell he was blind.
Things I would try, if it were my dog:
Night lights in all the rooms he might normally go into.
a small tv set, put on the floor by his bed, with the volumn very low, so he could hear it, and you can sleep.
Letting him on the bed with you, so he could touch you, and feel he was safe. My dogs sleep with me anyway.I like a live teddy bear.LOL
Move his bed by the side of my bed, so you could just drop your hand down, and he could feel you touching him.
I am afraid you have to face the fact that he may not be with you that much longer. I can tell, when mine get close to their end, even if their health is good, because they don't get that far from my side, and seem to need more closeness.
Maybe the vet could prescribe a mild tranquillizer that would help him go to sleep.
Spending some time with him before bedtime, maybe giving him a soothing massage would help him settle down.
Go to this site and check out these massage methods for dogs.
Linda Tellington, developed a method of animal massage, for almost every need.
I bought the video and studied it.
I use massage to sooth, calm fear of thunderstorms, pain relief, and a lot of things. you can even cure eccessive barking, and aggression, with her methods of massage.
www.lindatellington-jones.com
The video is only about $35.00 and you will use it as long as you have animals. I give my Setter a massage sometimes a couple of times a day, for Arthritis and Hip Dysplacia. It really gets her moving with less pain, and less medications.
I hope I have helped you some. It is difficult to know what to do, when they can't talk and tell us what they need.
If there is any more help you feel I can give you, or if you want to just bounce off an idea about what you might try, please feel free to write anytime.
Charlotte
Answer I really think the Tellington-Touce would help with calming Bailey down at night. I KNOW it will help with fear of thunderstorms.
When I first got my video, my grandaughter was 5 years old, and had a natural way with animals. We were keeping my son's Lab/Chow mix, he had been run over by a light truck, from his hind qusrters, over his body and over his head. the poor dog was stitches from head to toe, and it was 2 weeks before he could even leave the hospital and come home.
Hecame to my house, because he had to have round-the-clock care, and had to have help just going down the back steps to go outside and do his business.
The Vet said it would be at least 6 months beofre he was fully recovered and had normal movement, as before he was hit.
I used the massages on him. My gand-daughter watched the tapes too, and she had learned the correct way to do the massages.
She would massage him on his back and sides and hind legs, for about 1 hour, several times a day. I did his front legs, because a wounded animal is more likely to bite. I was a little apprehensive, because the dog knew me, but not all that well, and he was in a lot of pain.
I had to masage the leg, and work it in a circular motion. I had to sit on the business end of his teeth, and close enough for him to take my head off, if he wanted to.
I told him "Granny is going to try to help you, and it will hurt, but I won't hurt you any more than I have to."
I started massaging and working his leg. He winced with the pain, but he stared straight into my eyes while I worked on him. I worked his leg for about 15 minutes, and I did that 3 or 4 times a day. at the end of a week, he could go up and down the steps easily, and was walking a lot. He would walk around the house, and back yard. I am sure he knew the more he walked the better he would get.
At the end of 2 weeks, when my son took him to get his stitches out, he trotted into the Vet's office, and the Vet was overwhelmed. Gary told him about the massage tape, and I had sent the address for ordering, if he wanted it. He did!
I had watched an informercial, and bought the tape from there. Ok,a couple of weeks later, we had a heck of a thunderstorm. Lightening and thunder that you would have thought the sky would fall down. Duke, my son's dog, and Silky, my then 2 year old English Setter went spastic.
Jenny and I did the calming massage for about 5 minutes. She did Silky, I did Duke. They lay down at out feet and slept through the rest of the storm.
Silky is 12 years old now, and she has never been afraid of thunder since.
Silky has Arthritis really bad, and Hip dysplasia now, and she comes hobbling to me for a massage. I give her an all over massage, especially her hips and back, and she can walk as well afterward, as she can after her meds take effect.The meds on top of the massage help her to move around almost as well as before the Arthritis and HD started.
I am just totally sold on those massages.
My daughter is a licensed massage therapist, and she is going to go to school for the animal massages now. Ranches who raise high dollar breeding bulls and those who raise race horses, and other high dollar horses, pay a big fee for animal massage therapists to come once a month and massage their animals, especially before a show or race.
If I were not so stove up with arthritis and spine damage, I would do it too. So, I just do the small animals that our rescue groups get that have fears, aggression etc.
Some of the babies we get are in bad shape. Between the Vets that take care of their medical needs, good nutrition, and the massages, we fix them up good, and adopt them out to homes where we know they will never again be abandoned or mistreated.
Go to the site and check out the massage. I highly recommend you get the video.
From April to now is not that long. As old as Bailey is, his fear may not be that you will abandon him, but that you may leave him somewhere, and he would pass before you got back. They are a lot more intelligent than even scientists believe.
Go to this site too. It is great for people who have lost a pet, or are close to losing one.
I have recommended it to a lot of people, and they all say it helped them a lot. There are stories, poems, and writings that will help you with the loss, and grief.
When you lose a pet you love, you lose a member of your family, and the grief is the same.
I am sure you will find things in there that will help your children with the grief process.
Especially! Be sure to read "The Rainbow Bridge" That poem will make you cry, but it is a good cry, and it helps a lot.
I really believe it, and I believe all my animals will be there when I cross the bridge.
I lost my first animal, a little dog, when I was 5 years old. I have had so many dogs and cats, a cow, a nanny goat, a bantam rooster. I remember ever one of them, and can see them with my mind's eye, and every mark and spot on them, still. I hit 70 June 7th.
My husband read the Rainbow Bridge, and said "Honey, if that is true, when you cross that bridge, there is going to be such a stampede.LOL
Go to
www.petloss.com
Good luck with Bailey, and as I said before, if I can help you in any way, feel free to write.
Charlotte
