Senior dog who is agitated, pacing and panting

[Marlene]

I am sorry about Dirk Danita. I know how much he means to you and your family. I hpe you find the right meds so he is pain free. Hugs to you both

 

[Willow]

Just a note . . . the Tramadol is not processed by the liver/kidneys and therefore safe to give when they are at their max level of NSAID (which is what the deramaxx and the like are) or when they can't have NSAIDs due to poor function in the liver/kidneys, such as my last senior foster dog.

 

[birdlady]

Danita, how much deramax do you give? I get the 100 tablets and give half daily...Coco may weigh a little less than Dirk though plus she has lost a lot of weight. Coco was on rimadyl immediately after her surgery but then they switched her to deramax.....

 

[Danita]

Dirk gets 3/4 of a tab. The max for his weight.

The thing is, he mostly acts up when the 3 of us aren't together. If we are all together he is relaxed.

 

[BraveheartDogs]

Dirk our 14 yr old GSD has gotten so bad. He can't relax, he used to be so laid back, comfortable and secure.
Now he paces, pants, can't be left alone or he stands at the door the whole time or stands in a corner staring at the wall. He has to have both myself and my husband with him before he can relax.
It was getting so hard on him, it was wearing his hips and by the end of the day he would be barely able to stand up. Even at night in bed he would have a hard time sleeping and be up 1/3 of the night panting and staring off. He comes to work with me, and does the same there. He is also petrified of other dogs and cats. He even bit me really hard when I was giving him his med He has never bitten people until now.

We took him to the vet, (seems like its every other week now and he was started on Clomicalm, for separation anxiety. It is hard giving it to him because he gets pretty sedated, I feel so guilty, but at the same time, he isn't scared anymore. I would hate for the rest of his days on earth feeling frightened and confused.

Anyone else with senior dog stories to share?

I was going to suggest that he may need medication. It definitely could be caused by anxiety or by pain, but it sounds like you have ruled out pain. Clomicalm typically needs to be used in conjunction with a behavior modification plan, but if it's working alone that is great. You should not feel guilty, you have to do what you have to do to help him. I believe there is very little that is worse for an animal that being afraid, so if it is helping him relax it is the kind thing to do for him.

 

[waterfaller1]

Is this a form of one of the meds he is already getting?

I do not know Danita. I just know when I was given Rimadyl for my dog, for a minor injury, I came home and researched it. I did not like what I found, and he was fine without it. Maybe there is something safer? I hope so. I assume they have checked his sight and hearing each time?

 

[birdlady]

Danita, I was at the vet with Roxi today. She said Coco is at the max for Deramaxx but she gave me a weeks worth of Tramadol to try...up to three tablets a day. She said it may make her groggy so to start with the least dose. It is also safe to take with Deramaxx as Amy mentioned. I gave her one this Am and then went to lunch with a friend. Came back and Coco seemed more alertish...but she was a little wobbly too....so we will see how it goes.

 

[GG.]

Rimadyl is like doggy advil/aleve - it is a non steroidal anti-inflammatory med and is safe as long as it is used as directed

it is not designed for long term used like other meds

 

[birdlady]

GG...I think that might be why after Coco's surgery they switched her to deramaxx then.

 

[Danita]

Yesterday, it was really bad, he stood and stared and panted for most of the day (my husband was at work). We picked up the tramafol, I thought it was the pain. He has had two doses, it hasn't helped. So it must be anxiety, as the tramadol is fast acting.
I suppose we wait and see how he is on the clomocalm in another couple of weeks. It is supposed to take a month to work.
What if the clomicalm doesn't work?
I miss my relaxed and comfortable dog

 

[BraveheartDogs]

Yesterday, it was really bad, he stood and stared and panted for most of the day (my husband was at work). We picked up the tramafol, I thought it was the pain. He has had two doses, it hasn't helped. So it must be anxiety, as the tramadol is fast acting.
I suppose we wait and see how he is on the clomocalm in another couple of weeks. It is supposed to take a month to work.
What if the clomicalm doesn't work?
I miss my relaxed and comfortable dog

I don't want to scare you but want to put this out there in case the meds don't work. Seizures can present as almost anything. I have seen seizures that look like what you would imagine the animal lying on the ground shaking, to seizures with the dog coming to find me and then just staring and shaking, to some where the dog (while resource guarding) went into a bizarre slow motion seizure to one where the dog simply wandered around the house non responsive in a daze. All were seizures. The only way to know is to try seizure meds and see if they improve. Something to think about if you don't find any answers or relief with other meds.

 

[April]

Im so sorry that Dirk is having these issues

 

[Danita]

Thanks for all the info everyone.

I don't think the tramadol is a good idea, his back end sinks almost onto the floor. I won't give him anymore.

he is with me at work, I was just able to get him to rest now. He is sound asleep.

I hope this nervousness goes away, I hate to see him like this.

Even the residents at work (group home) here keep asking me what is wrong with him, and they don't notice too much of anything.

 

[KimKimWilliamson]

I am currently dog-sitting an 18 year old Border Collie named Magoo. She has similar symptoms to your dog. She paces, stares at walls for lenghty periods of time, and she can barely walk, though insists on doing so.....she has had three seizures and is on drugs to prevent them now. I have known her for many years, she was a client at the boarding facility I ran up until recently. She was always old, but I hadnt seen her in a month or so, and when her owner dropped her off to stay with us it was clear she has had a hard last month or so....she takes literally over 30 pills a day, and still doesnt seem comfortable to me.
After having her in our home for two weeks, my husband and I have agreed that we will try to never let our dogs gets like Magoo....we will try to put our dogs comfort before our desire to keep them, and make the right choice when the time comes. Its just so painful to see her struggle through life with rarely any moments of lucidity......all I feel when I look at her is sad and angry that her owner keeps pushing her to live when she clearly isnt happy.....

I work at a vet and just two days ago I asked the Dr I was working the ER with what he thought I should do to make her feel as comfortable as possible until she's gone, and she gave me Tramadol 20 mg to take once daily - seriously I havent seen Magoo as active before in all the 5 years Ive known her since giving her this pill!

This is Magoo with my girls:

 

[birdlady]

Awe that is sad...how much of the tramadol do you give? I have been giving only one pill in the am....she seems to be ok with that. Her back end was sinking prior to the meds, so not much difference there, but I think two or tree pills would be too much for sure.

Danita, sometimes you just need to adjust and get used to the changes....coco is not the same dog she was years ago...so sad to see and say, but we just make her as comfortable as we can...as long as she is not in pain, we will move forward.

 

[KimKimWilliamson]

We give Magoo 1 20mg pill in the am with breakfast, along with her slew of other meds for renal failure and seizures. The Dr I got the prescription from says if I find she is sinking or struggling closer to the end of the day I could give her one 10 mg pill in the am, and one 10 mg pill in the afternoon as apposed to the one 20 mg in the am. But so far it seems to be doing wonders for her.

 

[birdlady]

She is so sweet....I love the pic!

Not sure of the m per pill for coco..will check it....I could also try to split it in half....

 

[KimKimWilliamson]

It should say on the bottle what the dosage size is.

 

[birdlady]

It's not a bottle...she gave me 21 pills to try assuming the maximum dose of three per day...maybe it is written on the baggie....

 

[KimKimWilliamson]

Does the baggie have a label the vets office printed to identify it as being co-co's? All Magoo's pills have prescription labels on them. I only took 10 pills as well though as I wasnt sure if it would have a great affect on her, and also her owner wasnt aware I was doing it until after.
I would suggest just giving them a call to find out. Adjusting her dose could be dangerous otherwise, but I know you know that
If she told you CoCo could have three a day, your probably using 10 mg, but coco is a chocolate lab right? Thats quite a bit larger than Magoo. Magoo is only 9 kg's. (20 pounds)
so maybe you do have the 20 mg....I dunno! LOL