13 year old Labrador not wanting to be inside

[morphjk]

I have a 13 (9th November) year old Labrador who until July this year was one of two dogs that we owned as our other Labrador who was about 6 months older had to be put to sleep. I was worried about how he would be after she left but he has generally be alright. He did have moments of barking which he never ever did when she was around and would sometimes cry. I found he would cry looking at her kennel. 

 

When he came inside he would lie on his mat but wouldn't be quite as settled as he use to be when she was around but would stay in before wanting to go outside again. But then suddenly things changed and he now comes back in but basically after a few minutes of being on his mat he wants to go back outside. I try to encourage him to lie back down but he doesn't want to. Sometimes when I go to get him he doesn't want to get out of his kennel so I go over and give him some pats and he then decides to come in only to go back out quickly again.

 

He seems happy enough and still enjoys company. He still enjoys going on his walks although slightly slower than they use to be but still reasonable. 

 

Today I even bought a new bed in case that encouraged him to stay in but nope he wanted out again. Last check up vet said he was doing really well and wouldn't be surprised if he needed another 3 year vaccination injection in 3 years time (only because I said it might be the last one due to age).

 

I'm not sure what to do. He seems happy enough sleeping in his kennel and not coming in but I certainly miss having him around. I guess if he is happy then all good but appreciate any advice. 

[juice]

He could be grieving.

After i lost my cattle dog my Bully girl just shut down, slept all the time, didn't want to do anything, even though she wanted to go for a walk she wanted nothing to do with her dog friends she had played zoomies with for years. It was like i had a different dog.

She also got really sick, nose running constantly , then bleeding from the nose, after $5000 of exploration at the specialist they decided she was just grieving and her immune system had shut down.

I hadn't fostered for years, but i got a young pup and she gradually came out of her shell. She is now back to crazy nutter, and i have another BT aswell, but i now know she is not good alone .

I would give him time and don't force him to come in, if he is more comfortable outside leave him.

[Loving my Oldies]

It is so distressing to see our pets grieve and feel helpless to make them feel better.     

 

Perhaps, if you feel up to it, you could try fostering, as Juice did.  Getting another dog often helps immensely.  

 

 

Edited November 18, 2019 by Loving my Oldies

[Dogsfevr]

I wouldn't foster until you have personally sorted out your feelings  & the dogs .
Your coming into good weather in the scheme of things .
I would switch off from wanting him inside & maybe making him feel overwhelmed .
Is he on pain medication??Has his hearing or eye sight got worse over the last few months ,these can change the routine of dogs immensely even without losing the best friend
He may be feeling old age soreness & they can get restless & prefer certain areas as its cooler & quieter .14 is a great age .
Maybe do smaller walks & some more gentle mind games where you can see how he is really going .
We currently have a 14 yr old who lives with others,she is going through a phase of being more a loner & doing things that is not typical but make her happy .We just play with it unless its not in her best interests .Her vision & hearing has got worse over the last few months so he behaviour has changed nothing concerning for us as we have been through this with many a dog but we know its time for her to find her strange happy place
She is know on increased pain meds for some arthritis as the warmer weather & air con made her more unsettled .
Getting old sucks,hopefully your golden oldie settles

 

Edited November 19, 2019 by Dogsfevr

[morphjk]

13 hours ago, juice said:

He could be grieving.

After i lost my cattle dog my Bully girl just shut down, slept all the time, didn't want to do anything, even though she wanted to go for a walk she wanted nothing to do with her dog friends she had played zoomies with for years. It was like i had a different dog.

She also got really sick, nose running constantly , then bleeding from the nose, after $5000 of exploration at the specialist they decided she was just grieving and her immune system had shut down.

I hadn't fostered for years, but i got a young pup and she gradually came out of her shell. She is now back to crazy nutter, and i have another BT aswell, but i now know she is not good alone .

I would give him time and don't force him to come in, if he is more comfortable outside leave him.

He is happy when he comes in but then wants to go out. I don't force him to stay in and let him go straight out when he wants. Seems happy enough with everything else so I just try and give him attention by going outside and giving him pats.

 

7 hours ago, Dogsfevr said:

I wouldn't foster until you have personally sorted out your feelings  & the dogs .
Your coming into good weather in the scheme of things .
I would switch off from wanting him inside & maybe making him feel overwhelmed .
Is he on pain medication??Has his hearing or eye sight got worse over the last few months ,these can change the routine of dogs immensely even without losing the best friend
He may be feeling old age soreness & they can get restless & prefer certain areas as its cooler & quieter .14 is a great age .
Maybe do smaller walks & some more gentle mind games where you can see how he is really going .
We currently have a 14 yr old who lives with others,she is going through a phase of being more a loner & doing things that is not typical but make her happy .We just play with it unless its not in her best interests .Her vision & hearing has got worse over the last few months so he behaviour has changed nothing concerning for us as we have been through this with many a dog but we know its time for her to find her strange happy place
She is know on increased pain meds for some arthritis as the warmer weather & air con made her more unsettled .
Getting old sucks,hopefully your golden oldie settles

 

We are alright. It has been several months now and whilst still missing my girl I'm generally alright. I do miss having a dog around inside but that is just me. 

 

He is on Green Lip mussel for arthritis but has been on that for a long time. Hearing went really bad for a while as he got an ear infection which has now been resolved but no doubt there is a loss of hearing there to an extent. I don't think the eyesight is any worse.

 

Tonight was a walk around the block which started off in a gusto by him and continued on for quite a way. By the time we got closer to home though he wasn't limping a bit and was obviously sore. I had made sure it wasn't long. Getting up he is a bit stiff like a lot of old dogs but once moving seems to be alright. Certainly always keen for his walk,

 

 

[sandgrubber]

On 11/18/2019 at 11:15 PM, morphjk said:

I have a 13 (9th November) year old Labrador who until July this year was one of two dogs that we owned as our other Labrador who was about 6 months older had to be put to sleep. I was worried about how he would be after she left but he has generally be alright. He did have moments of barking which he never ever did when she was around and would sometimes cry. I found he would cry looking at her kennel. 

 

When he came inside he would lie on his mat but wouldn't be quite as settled as he use to be when she was around but would stay in before wanting to go outside again. But then suddenly things changed and he now comes back in but basically after a few minutes of being on his mat he wants to go back outside. I try to encourage him to lie back down but he doesn't want to. Sometimes when I go to get him he doesn't want to get out of his kennel so I go over and give him some pats and he then decides to come in only to go back out quickly again.

 

He seems happy enough and still enjoys company. He still enjoys going on his walks although slightly slower than they use to be but still reasonable. 

 

Today I even bought a new bed in case that encouraged him to stay in but nope he wanted out again. Last check up vet said he was doing really well and wouldn't be surprised if he needed another 3 year vaccination injection in 3 years time (only because I said it might be the last one due to age).

 

I'm not sure what to do. He seems happy enough sleeping in his kennel and not coming in but I certainly miss having him around. I guess if he is happy then all good but appreciate any advice. 

I'm not sure you can or should do anything.  I had to pts my old Lab just shy of 15. Her daughter, a nine year old, is spending a lot of time outside, but still comes in to sleep and eat.  I have two other dogs, so I still get my dog fix. 

Maybe get a puppy? 

[juice]

I wouldn't subject an old dog to a puppy.

Green lipped mussel doesn't really cut it for old bones, they need pain meds, anti inflams. dogs in pain take themselves away to be alone.

I would do a vet check and get some relief for him.

[morphjk]

6 hours ago, sandgrubber said:

I'm not sure you can or should do anything.  I had to pts my old Lab just shy of 15. Her daughter, a nine year old, is spending a lot of time outside, but still comes in to sleep and eat.  I have two other dogs, so I still get my dog fix. 

Maybe get a puppy? 

Speaking with the breeder we decided we would wait till he is gone before we got a puppy as we feel it would be too annoying for him even though he is very easy going. I had always wanted to let me see out in final days in peace.

 

1 hour ago, juice said:

I wouldn't subject an old dog to a puppy.

Green lipped mussel doesn't really cut it for old bones, they need pain meds, anti inflams. dogs in pain take themselves away to be alone.

I would do a vet check and get some relief for him.

When we put him on Green lipped mussel years back it made a huge difference. I have been to the vet recently (6 weeks and 4 weeks ago) and they didn't feel he need anything 

Edited November 19, 2019 by morphjk

[Papillon Kisses]

What flooring do you have inside? Could he slipping?

[Dogsfevr]

3 hours ago, morphjk said:

Speaking with the breeder we decided we would wait till he is gone before we got a puppy as we feel it would be too annoying for him even though he is very easy going. I had always wanted to let me see out in final days in peace.

 

When we put him on Green lipped mussel years back it made a huge difference. I have been to the vet recently (6 weeks and 4 weeks ago) and they didn't feel he need anything 

Many vets will fob you off at that age ,some will over sell & others treat the dog like each day is a bonus at its age no need to spend much  ,it is but it can enjoy some comforts in the progress,personally at that age i would be asking to give a low dose anti inflam meds a go like meloxicam .
You don't even have to give it daily but you may be surprised how more restful/relaxed he may be & if limping after walks thats what the pain meds job is for .
Discomfort like us can be confusing .

[juice]

Exactly , if he’s limping he’s in pain . You would take something if it was you with arthritis. 

You would be surprised how much they improve with anti inflammatory meds . 

 

[morphjk]

Well I'll go back to the vets and let them know not to fob me off and that I want answers. I've always found this particular vet to be very good but perhaps he isn't and it is time to find a new one. 

Edited November 20, 2019 by morphjk

[morphjk]

5 hours ago, Papillon Kisses said:

What flooring do you have inside? Could he slipping?

He has never liked the laminate flooring hence I have mats that I put down for him to walk on. He comes in fine just doesn't stay in for long. 

[morphjk]

I've just been to the vets and now have Meloxicam as mentioned by Dogsfevr. There is definite arthritis there so will now see how we go and hope for some improvement.   

[Animal House]

Well done for not giving up, fingers crossed the Meloxicam helps. 

[morphjk]

So far he still doesn't want to stay inside despite his wanting to come in several times and I haven't walked him myself yet due to busy family activities this weekend. Will see what he is like next time I walk him. Walks might be coming to an end.

[_PL_]

Did they suggest a series of cartrophen shots as well? It's one a week for four weeks. Love it for the oldies. I add Joint Performance to their food as well. Covers all bases when added to meloxicam.  

If he's coming to the end of proper walkies just take him out for a shuffle and sniff a few doors from home. And have a look at simple enrichment items like snuffle mats for him to use.

[Dogsfevr]

14 hours ago, morphjk said:

So far he still doesn't want to stay inside despite his wanting to come in several times and I haven't walked him myself yet due to busy family activities this weekend. Will see what he is like next time I walk him. Walks might be coming to an end.

Walks don't need to end you just need to make them shorter even just to the neighbours house & back .
Walks no matter how short are more about the mental health off the dog getting out the front & still seeing the outside world & the brain kept active ,its also still important the dog gets up as it keeps the joints moving its just about modifying .

Just leave the door open & allow him to make his choices outside just might be more relaxed & less busy

[sandgrubber]

What are temperatures inside and outside? Is there a chance he's going out to find a cool place to lie? 

[morphjk]

9 hours ago, Powerlegs said:

Did they suggest a series of cartrophen shots as well? It's one a week for four weeks. Love it for the oldies. I add Joint Performance to their food as well. Covers all bases when added to meloxicam.  

If he's coming to the end of proper walkies just take him out for a shuffle and sniff a few doors from home. And have a look at simple enrichment items like snuffle mats for him to use.

Yeah they did but they never helped last time he had them for his OCD so we decided against them, we had better results with Technyflex (Green Lipped Mussel). The vet wants me to continue using that as he still believes that should be used as well.

 

8 hours ago, Dogsfevr said:

Walks don't need to end you just need to make them shorter even just to the neighbours house & back .
Walks no matter how short are more about the mental health off the dog getting out the front & still seeing the outside world & the brain kept active ,its also still important the dog gets up as it keeps the joints moving its just about modifying .

Just leave the door open & allow him to make his choices outside just might be more relaxed & less busy

Can't really leave the door open as he won't go across the laminate flooring unless I have all the mats in place which aren't left in place unless I am bringing him in or putting him out. I'm not making him come in nor keeping him in if he doesn't want to stay in.

 

7 hours ago, sandgrubber said:

What are temperatures inside and outside? Is there a chance he's going out to find a cool place to lie? 

Well we live in Hobart so I wouldn't call it hot. In fact it has only be around 20s of late. Our lounge room can get out with the western sun but the air con is run when need to.  Last night as soon as he went outside he got straight into his kennel.