# Senior Golden Barking



## nolefan (Nov 6, 2009)

What have you tried to help him? Your avatar shows a puppy, do you have two dogs? Are they crated together when you leave? Do you leave on music or t.v.? New Chew bone? Food? Frozen stuffed kong? What sedative from the doctor? Have you tried a calming chew with melatonin from a pet store during the day? I do believe that this kind of upset for him does come in to play when evaluating quality of life for a senior dog. I hope you're able to come to a solution that gives him comfort.


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## littlemoonbeam (Feb 1, 2021)

nolefan said:


> What have you tried to help him? Your avatar shows a puppy, do you have two dogs? Are they crated together when you leave? Do you leave on music or t.v.? New Chew bone? Food? Frozen stuffed kong? What sedative from the doctor? Have you tried a calming chew with melatonin from a pet store during the day? I do believe that this kind of upset for him does come in to play when evaluating quality of life for a senior dog. I hope you're able to come to a solution that gives him comfort.


Thank you for your response. 

Senior dog does not need to be crated.

I have found leaving the puppy out with him when I leave for really quick steps out makes him more comfortable but she's too young to leave out if I will be gone for a long time. We do leave the radio on. NPR so it is continuous talking. 

He does get calming treats during the day. I use Charlottes Web brand. For sleeping at night the vet has him on Trazodone. It says I can give it twice a day but it really knocks him out. I also leave him a lick mat covered with peanut butter. The problem is sometimes he pushes it out of his reach and he needs help getting up to walk around. 

Regarding quality of life, he still plays with the puppy, goes on walks, is interested in food and treats so I don't think it is time to start thinking about saying goodbye to him.


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## nolefan (Nov 6, 2009)

littlemoonbeam said:


> Senior dog does not need to be crated.
> 
> I have found leaving the puppy out with him when I leave for really quick steps out makes him more comfortable but she's too young to leave out if I will be gone for a long time. We do leave the radio on. NPR so it is continuous talking.
> 
> ...


I am thinking that if he can't get up without help, maybe he does need to be crated - it would maybe help him from feeling the need to stand and panicking if he can't get up. It might make him feel more secure. Have you considered crating he and puppy right next to each other or using a wire ex pen to make them a smaller secure spot together where the puppy would be safe and the older dog might be less prone to feeling lost? Have you tried to set up video to see if you can figure out what part of the current set up is actually triggering the barking?

I would also consider trying a different brand of calming treats to see if a different combination or dosage? might make a difference. Have you tried cutting the trazodone dosage in half or even into quarters to see if you played around with that it might help? I completely understand not wanting to over use drugs, but I feel like regardless of the neighbor's displeasure, having your boy feel secure is the top priority. I agree with you that he clearly still has good quality if he is playing with puppy and going on walks but mentally getting things settled is just as important.


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## DblTrblGolden2 (Aug 22, 2018)

I lost my oldest Golden, Duke, a few months ago. He had many health issues his last few years, but the last year of his life we thought he had some form of dementia. In the end his vet felt he had a slow growing brain tumor. Due to his other health issues it wasn't safe to sedate him for testing, and we wouldn't have been able to do much in the way of treatment. He would have episodes of barking at nothing, but it was as if he saw something we didn't. He chased after invisible things in the yard. He would also bark at things in the house even when we were home. He'd bark at a doorway as if a person was standing in it, but there was no-one there. It wasn't normal barking, it was aggressive barking.

Duke had free run of our home from the time he was 8 months old. He was an amazing boy. When the erratic behavior started I found he was calmer if I contained him in our laundry room if we weren't in the house, or were sleeping. It's a large mud/laundry room. I bought a cute barn style 1/2 door for the room and we installed it high enough he could peek under, and low enough he could jump up and see over. I also found he was calmer if when he was contained our other dogs, at least one of them, was with him. He preferred our puppy, Cruz. He and Cruz had a very special bond and Cruz soothed him. I think they become unsure of noises and surroundings. I also always gave him a special toy when we left. He only got that toy when we were leaving. The smaller space and quiet setting seemed to really help him. 

I tried medications and Duke just couldn't handle them. We did everything we could to keep him happy and feeling safe. I will also warn that with Duke, and I'm not saying this will happen to you, his barking led to more erratic behavior in the end. He became nervous and unpredictable. In the end I knew he wasn't happy living with the restrictions he had combined with the health issues we were battling. (Health issues were major) It's hard to watch the changes that take place as they age, or become more ill. I really struggled with letting Duke go. I found that being able to compare his quality of life to my other dogs really helped me see how much his life had changed. I was pretty much willing to do whatever it took, but that wasn't what was best for him. In the end for us it became about safety for Duke, our other dogs, and us.

Sedatives weren't an answer for us, at that point what quality of life do they have? That is a personal decision that each pet owner must make on their own.


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## littlemoonbeam (Feb 1, 2021)

DblTrblGolden2 said:


> I lost my oldest Golden, Duke, a few months ago. He had many health issues his last few years, but the last year of his life we thought he had some form of dementia. In the end his vet felt he had a slow growing brain tumor. Due to his other health issues it wasn't safe to sedate him for testing, and we wouldn't have been able to do much in the way of treatment. He would have episodes of barking at nothing, but it was as if he saw something we didn't. He chased after invisible things in the yard. He would also bark at things in the house even when we were home. He'd bark at a doorway as if a person was standing in it, but there was no-one there. It wasn't normal barking, it was aggressive barking.
> 
> Duke had free run of our home from the time he was 8 months old. He was an amazing boy. When the erratic behavior started I found he was calmer if I contained him in our laundry room if we weren't in the house, or were sleeping. It's a large mud/laundry room. I bought a cute barn style 1/2 door for the room and we installed it high enough he could peek under, and low enough he could jump up and see over. I also found he was calmer if when he was contained our other dogs, at least one of them, was with him. He preferred our puppy, Cruz. He and Cruz had a very special bond and Cruz soothed him. I think they become unsure of noises and surroundings. I also always gave him a special toy when we left. He only got that toy when we were leaving. The smaller space and quiet setting seemed to really help him.
> 
> ...


I am sorry for your loss of Duke. Thank you so much for sharing your experience with me.


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