15 yr old dog struggling to sleep through the night

Dog Food Advisor Forums Diet and Health 15 yr old dog struggling to sleep through the night

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  • #104711 Report Abuse
    darlene o
    Member

    Hi all – My yorkie-poo just turned 15 and he’s always been a quiet dog and a good sleeper. Over the last few weeks his old age has kicked in – he sleeps well during the day, but he’s having a lot of anxiety at night, waking up, whining, barking (he never used to bark, but we think this is because he’s lost his hearing). We feed him the Wellness Core dog food for small breeds (hard) currently, but he’s also quite gassy often so I’m wondering if there’s other foods that might be better suited for our poor little guy – he also recently was put on ID Digestive soft food for a few days due to some stomach issues and really seemed to take to the wet food so I’m wondering if that may be better for him. Thanks in advance for your experience / advice.

    #104713 Report Abuse
    anonymous
    Member

    See my posts regarding dementia in this thread
    ./forums/topic/blood-work-still-off/

    I would give small frequent meals, presoaked in water if you are using kibble. Wet food is fine, whatever works.

    Talk to your vet, ask about medication, see what he recommends. Especially to get through the night.
    If possible, keep him awake during the day, take him for walks as tolerated.

    PS:You may find this site helpful. https://dogdementia.com/treatment/

    #104714 Report Abuse
    darlene o
    Member

    Thanks for the feeback! So far they prescribed him acepromazine at night which was supposed to make him relax, but it did exactly the opposite – he was a mess on that! he actually still goes on multiple walks a day, goes out back and chases the squirrels, plays catch, etc – it’s just the nights have gotten bad – he seems to get up and get disoriented, scratch to go outside a lot in the middle of the night (even though his bladder holds it much longer during the day), etc.

    #104716 Report Abuse
    anonymous
    Member

    Yep, acepromazine that’s what my old peke was on toward the end. It’s strong stuff, really knocks them out for a few hours.
    They get very confused at night, it’s heartbreaking to watch them go through this.
    Check with your vet regarding the dosage of his medication. It’s true, some tranquilizer meds can have a paradoxical effect. See what else the vet suggests?
    Make sure you take care of yourself, you are doing everything you can do to keep him comfortable.

    • This reply was modified 6 years, 5 months ago by anonymous.
    #104736 Report Abuse
    Susan
    Participant

    Hi Darlene,
    He sounds like he has a lot of life left in him & has a exciting little life, going on daily walks, chasing squirrels, I’d say the Wellness Core Small Breed isn’t agreeing with him anymore it’s way to rich now for an older dog….Wellness Core Small breed is higher in fat & protein, probably causing bad wind pain like my boy gets when he eats a kibble that doesnt agree with him, he wakes up & is up & down thru the night & just walks around the common garden area then he comes back inside, I’d say he’s farting then feels better then my boy comes back inside goes to bed then he’s up again wanting to go out again, see how he goes after eating the Hills I/d wet tin food see if he settle down, cause he’s normal thru the day isn’t he??

    I’d feed the Hills I/d low fat Restore wet canned food & also a Senior kibble like “Canidae” Pure Meadow Senior if he still wants a few dry kibble bisuits to chew & crunch on, Canidae Pure Meadow Senior formula is GF very easy to chew & digest, only has 10.80%max fat & has all the supplements older dogs need for their joints, skin, brain, heart etc, I’d start feeding smaller meals thru the day/night, I feed 4-5 meals a day 7am, 9am, 12pm, 5pm, 8pm….easier to digest smaller meals then 2 bigger meals.
    You could feed 1-2 meals a dry kibble like the “Canidae” Senior kibble & the rest of his meals he gets the I/D Restore wet tin food & see if he gets better thru the night. Ask vet about “Gabapentin” capsules, it helps them sleep at night, helps any joint or nerve pain & doesn’t cause any stomach/bowel problems, if your on facebook, put “Canine Pancreatitis Support” group in the “search” bar, join then on ur left is their “Files” click & then click on the first link “Low Fat Foods” then scroll down a bit till you get to all the wet tin foods, the fat has been converted to dry matter (DM) fat (Kibble) on your right, then he can have a few different flavours & see which one he really likes best..
    Here’s Canidae’s site to look at the dry formula’s but the wet tin foods haven’t been converted & probably will be too high in fat for him, when you see say 5%min fat on a wet tin food after it’s converted to dry matter 5%min fat is around 20%min -25%max fat that’s way too high…
    https://www.canidae.com/dog-food/products

    #104861 Report Abuse
    Susie
    Member

    I hope your doggy feels better soon. My 11 year old chihuahua was restless for a while at night. He would awake from a deep sleep during the night and sit up. He would get water, hack, and go back to sleep. His abdomen was tight and he hacked. He never had bowel issues nor did he vomit. He was diagnosed with IBD and collapsed trachea. I feel like most of his issues were IBD related. He was critically low on b12 and folate. He was treated with a few antibiotics and finally got better. We did have to put him on a very simple diet for a month to calm is GI down. We boiled yams and lean turkey and he had turkey yam mash. Now he eats The Honest Kitchen Zeal. We try to keep his fat and fiber low. I’m telling you all of this in case you can relate and apply anything to help your dog. I am sad that our dogs have to age and heir health declines. I have four seniors but I’m hoping they live to be 20 and yours can too. ❤️

    #104870 Report Abuse
    InkedMarie
    Member

    Do a google search on your subject. A few years back, the Whole Dog Journal had an article with supplement suggeststions. At the time, Neutricks worked for the senior dog I had.

    #104872 Report Abuse
    Susie
    Member

    I want s to add, maybe your pup is low in vitamin b and or folate? It can cause or be the cause of GI issues. My boy was low and he is doing better after supplementing. We did a GI panel thru Texas A&M.

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