Dog behavior issue. Help me figure something out to keep from losing my mind.

[staceyobu]

We have an elderly beagle who is over 14 years old. In the last several months, he has started pacing for hours at night and peeing in the floor downstairs. During the day, he is fine. Plays, chases squirrels, acts normal. We have hard flooring, so he wakes me up at night going click, click, click with his toenails across our bedroom floor, click, click, click down the hall, click, click, click in my room. Click, click, click. Click, click, click. It's so annoying. 

Things I've tried:

1. Locking him in my bedroom at night. He scratches and scratch and scratches to get out. You let him out. Click, click, click. Click, click, click.

2. Locking him out of my room at night. See above, but he scratches to get in.

3. Shutting him in a crate. He lies down for an hour and then whines to get out. Relentlessly. Have you ever tried to cry it out with a kid who will scream for six hours without stopping? This is the dog version of that...

4. Shutting him in a crate downstairs. We can hear him crying. It wakes everyone up.

5. Shutting him in the backyard. He howls. And howls. 

6. Giving him an assortment of lovely treats in his crate and all other suggested methods of "crate training". Does not help. He's currently asleep in a crate with the door open (I'm sure he's exhausted from his night). I think he hates it because he can't pace.

Like, I feel like I have a 3 month old. I'm also tired of the pee. But, getting up in the night and letting him out does NOT stop the pacing. Can you get a dog's toenails removed? I mean, I'm kinda kidding, but if it were a real option...

[Pen]

Step 1: Take him to veterinary visit for check up.

[Pawz4me]

7 minutes ago, Pen said:

Step 1: Take him to veterinary visit for check up.

Absolutely. X 1000.

Dogs can develop canine cognitive dysfunction, their equivalent of dementia. It's not uncommon for dogs (or humans) with dementia to be worse at night. I seem to recall that there's a med or two that may help some dogs, at least temporarily.

Also, if you're hearing his toenails click on hard flooring they need to be trimmed. They should be kept short enough that they don't make any noise when walking on hard flooring. There are some exceptions to that--I've met a few dogs who clicked no matter how short their nails were. For those dogs I'm guessing it had to do with how their feet flexed. But for most dogs clicking on hard flooring is an indication of way too long nails.

[Innisfree]

My experience with this sort of thing...  Dogs can experience dementia, just like people. We had a dearly beloved mutt who started to have cognitive problems at about that age. Incontinence, nighttime pacing, getting "stuck" in corners and unable to figure out that nothing was really preventing him from turning around. We had multiple vet visits and months trying to keep him going, but eventually decided his quality of life was pretty much gone.

You may not be there yet, but look up sundown syndrome for dogs. https://www.senioradvisor.com/blog/2017/03/how-to-help-your-dog-with-sundowners-syndrome/

And certainly start by talking with your vet. It sounds like your dog still has a good daytime quality of life; maybe there's a way to calm him at night.

[ktgrok]

first, he needs to be checked to see if there is a UTI, bladder stones, or prostate problem. 

2nd, if that is all ruled out I'd think dementia. A bit of xanax at night might make all the difference in helping him sleep. 

[itsheresomewhere]

Take him to the vet for a check up.  Our old dog has doggy dementia and has started taking Benadryl at night to help him. We are starting with this first over a few meds as he has several medical issues. 

[Jean in Newcastle]

Another vote for a vet.  Besides dementia, I would wonder about if he is in pain. 

[klmama]

I've read that sometimes dementia in humans is related to UTI.  I wonder if there is a doggy version of that same problem?  Definitely take him in to the vet to investigate what's going on with him.

[Chris in VA]

Agreeing and adding overweight dogs (and cats) can also have problems with their nails (can't trim short enough because they "press down").

[Pen]

I would suspect some sort of pain, infection, discomfort...   And pacing plus peeing suggests something urinary or related    I hope he has something that could be easily resolved perhaps with an antibiotic  

I had a dog once pace at night due to pain from cancer.  I hope your dog doesn’t have something like that  

Nail trimming should help the clicking. There are also rubber tips for nails. And maybe a dog door so he could go in or out at will could help if turns out to be not a matter resolved by medical attention. 

[unsinkable]

Poor pupper. Poor you. 

I hope you can get him to the vet and get some help.

 

[Alicia64]

I agree: he needs to see the vet. He's acting like my elderly Maltese acted when he entered into dementia.

I forget the name of the pills he was prescribed, but they really helped.

Hang in there,

Alley

[KungFuPanda]

Vet visit, nail trim, and doggie door?

[Pen]

What has happened? Has he gone to vet yet?

[Pawz4me]

The medications I mentioned above that I couldn't remember at the time --

Anipryl is the only prescription drug approved to treat CCD.

Cholidin is a supplement which has been praised on another board I'm on for helping CCD. The praise and recommendations come from both members and from the vet moderator.