Interesting Behavior Changes in Aging Dogs

[SpringerLover]

I have Bailey here for a couple days. I immediately noticed two things she does that are distinctly different from when she was younger. These two specific things haven't been addressed in at least a year.

1) She resource guards her crate a gazillion more than she used to. I kind of expected it to be less, since she has no need to guard it living at my mom's, but it's exponentially worse. It's manageable, and the cats/Gabby get cookies for listening to her when she tells them to scram, but I was super surprised! She's always, always guarded her crate but for some reason this seems more extreme. I guess it could be attributed to her crate being in a main traffic area, because I don't exactly have a non-main traffic area here! :rofl1:

2) She is 800million times better about being in her crate. She used to protest (loudly) being in her crate when there were more exciting things going on while she was in there. Aside from guarding it, she's just settled right in. I live in a tiny apartment so I'm using xpens and crates to keep everyone safe/happy while she's here. During her time out alone today, she plastered herself to me and when that got her nothing (hello SA), she put herself in her crate for a nap. It happened over about 15 min, but I was shocked.

I'm not really looking for advice, just... sharing? Haha. Has anyone else had similar experiences?

 

[Brattina88]

Funny, Maddie's more content in her crate than she ever has been.... And I just mean that she'll go lie in her crate when I am home, and she never really did that before.

My addition to this thread: now that she's deaf... YAAAAY THERES NO RULES! Dogs Are Allowed on Top of the Table, to beg, etc :rofl1: Oy.

 

[RBark]

Kobe is definitely more serious about his space nowadays. He will complain and grumble if Syl or I get in his way unnecessarily. I don't mind him doing it, and it's not really resource guarding in this case I think. He won't bite, if Syl ignores him he just gives her a stink eye and relocates himself. But I force syl to respect his space.

 

[skittledoo]

Bamm is a grumpy old man. He literally grumbles at everything. He is more pushy about wanting to be in bed with us at night.

He is more tolerant of other dogs to a degree. He is still leash reactive but sometimes acts like reacting requires too much effort at times so he will just watch other dogs as we pass by.

He basically is better with some things and worse with other things. He is starting to lose his eyesight which concerns me a little since he is a fearful and reactive dog. Worry about him potentially choosing to bite more often if he is having trouble seeing stuff around him, but so far he has been pretty good though I think a lot of it is me micro managing him.

He also sleeps a LOT.... Like A LOT....

 

[ihartgonzo]

OOOhhh, Gonzo has started getting majorly senile in the past year. He's almost 15! He still runs around like crazy and looks about 8. But I can tell he's changed a lot which is kind of sad.

He has all the same stuff going on as Bamm, lol! He is great with other dogs where he used to be a douche. He plays wildly with my friend's Pit Bull puppy - and this is the puppy hater extraordinaire. He is also much less sketchy with people coming in and out of the house. He's much more grumbly about his bed and crate, which is fun with a toddler around. Not. I think it's because he isn't as limber about getting up.

Do you notice that crate guarding is common with Springers? There was a very sweet older Springer who used to board at the hotel all the time. He was NUTS about anyone coming into his kennel. We discovered that was only when HIS bed was in there... he guarded it fiercely.

 

[SpringerLover]

Do you notice that crate guarding is common with Springers? There was a very sweet older Springer who used to board at the hotel all the time. He was NUTS about anyone coming into his kennel. We discovered that was only when HIS bed was in there... he guarded it fiercely.

I only have Buzz and Gabby to compare to, who don't care at all about guarding their crates. She's definitely a sharper dog with a shorter fuse, that I've worked for many years to attempt to lengthen (the fuse, that is). When we worked on crate guarding years ago, I made quite a bit of progress but she's since regressed quite a bit. I never would have felt comfortable leaving her door open for her to go in/out of if other animals were around. When we all lived at my mom's, her "safe space" was about 10 feet. Her crate was in a bedroom (not my bedroom, because then she would guard crate + whole room) and the other animals just learned not to bother her.

 

[*blackrose]

When Rose and Blackie matured, they stopped caring about things. With Blackie, it was really only noticeable being around new dogs. He was much less reactive and more, "Okay, I just don't care anymore. It isn't worth the effort of getting upset, so as long as you're okay and I'm okay, meh."

Rose went from being a cat killer to having a cat best friend, and also being around the birth and raising of a litter of kittens.

She stopped chasing cars.

She, too, was much more "meh" about other dogs, to the point I almost would have deemed her dog social versus dog reactive.

Her storm phobia increased exponentially.

Chloe just turned 7. Her reactive reactions (LOL) have gotten worse. She still reacts to the same stimuli...she just reacts much, much more strongly. What used to be irritated body language is now a full blown snark/lunge/air snap/bite. She has what the vet believes to be arthritis in her rear right leg and that is now starting to bother her. She can't do the tricks she used to, and is much more laid back.

 

[SpringerLover]

You know what, Gabby has actually guarded her crate (or maybe her food bowl) a couple of times. I've very rarely heard a low growl if Buzz comes lumbering up to her crate after he's eaten. It's not every time he goes up to it, and she doesn't care at all about guarding chews/Kongs while she's out with other dogs. So it could be crate + food bowl?

 

[Laurelin]

Summer is getting wilder the older she gets. It's kind of funny in a way. I feel like she's going to be one of those crazy old people that doesn't give a **** what anyone thinks. Summer is gonna have some fun times. She is all about being a people slut and jumping up and down as much as possible. And just general flailing.

Last night she was jumping in chairs and climbing on top of great dane sized crates while I wasn't looking.

Or maybe it's because I'm more lax since she's older. Or maybe living with Mia 5 years made her crazy.

One weird thing is Summer randomly decided raw is the best stuff ever when as a youngster you couldn't pay her to touch it. She also runs agility much faster than when she was 4 but I think that was due to training method?

Her eyes are getting a little cloudy though (lenticular sclerosis) and her face is all grey. I am in denial.

Her allergies have gotten worse too. And she snores the last 2 years.

 

[joce]

Byrons last couple of years he tended to ignore a lot of my commands and I always let it go so he was not the most obedient dog. I think he heard fine but just knew I was not going to reinforce anything?

 

[TexasRanger]

Abby used to love puppies, now she wants to eat them.
Zane is more demanding and neurotic.
Deputy (diagnosed with CCD) is more puppy like, complete with accidents in the house.

 

[stardogs]

Maggie got more fearful of storms around 10yo, but part of me wonders if she was feeling bad because of the cancer. She never showed any outward signs other than slowing down a bit, but I always wonder about its relation to her change in storm reaction.

 

[RD]

Yep.

Eve gets sharper as she gets older. While a couple years ago I would've trusted her with young humans, I now generally keep a closer eye on her for any unpleasant reaction towards any human, particularly small ones that she could injure. Not to say that she's unstable, but if finally pushed outside of her bite threshold, I think she'd react more severely now as an older dog than she would've years ago.

She's gotten worse about noise sensitivity. Displays very odd behaviors, scratching at corners by doors and sometimes peeing in the house due to gunshots and thunderstorms. Does not really do this in her crate, only when loose. Does not do this due to loudness or close proximity - sometimes she flips her lid over what I think is nothing, until I stop everything and can oh so faintly hear one of her trigger noises.

She's a boundary pusher now, and it's so annoying. It's not a result of her age, it's a result of my roommates repeating commands 4-5 times before they actually insist that she does something, and failing to even offer a conditioned reinforcer in the form of a "yes" when she listens to them. She's taken on that "I must make sure there's something in it for me before I try" attitude that I see mostly in older cats. She still listens well for me, but sometimes we have our days where I can't bear it unless I take her outside and put her through her paces to sharpen up her commands.

I feel bad for the lack of consistency she gets between myself and my roommates. I speak to her softly, but I ask her to do things once. Twice, if I think she didn't hear me the first time. The guys sit there and repeat commands as if she didn't do it the first two times they asked, asking LOUDLY ten more times is going to give them different results. Head. desk. smash.

 

[PWCorgi]

You know what, Gabby has actually guarded her crate (or maybe her food bowl) a couple of times. I've very rarely heard a low growl if Buzz comes lumbering up to her crate after he's eaten. It's not every time he goes up to it, and she doesn't care at all about guarding chews/Kongs while she's out with other dogs. So it could be crate + food bowl?

She also really didn't want Dani near her crate when Dani first came back!

 

[PWCorgi]

I don't think it's fair to say that Frodo has gotten better with age, because there's been drugs (yay drugs!) and behavior mod going on too. He's just going to be a lifelong project I think.

He is definitely more tolerable to live with now than he was 2 years ago, so there's that.

 

[Taqroy]

Murphy hasn't really changed much (at 11) but he was the most laid back dog ever in the first place so...I'm not overly surprised. His eyes are getting cloudy which makes me sad.

I seriously thought Tipper would calm down some by now - she'll be six this year. Nope, not happening. She has been extra bitchy recently but I don't think that's age related.

Mu has calmed down but I'm pretty certain it's the drugs.

ETA: I realize Mu and Tipper aren't really old but I figured I would throw them in. I really DID think that Tipper would have calmed down some. More fool me.

 

[SpringerLover]

She also really didn't want Dani near her crate when Dani first came back!

Sigh! Gabby isn't perfect after all!

I had forgotten about that, too! I wonder what triggers it. She yelled at Rascal when I first got her when she wasn't eating well and he snaked his foot in between her crate bars to try to steal her food. SHE didn't want it, but HE COULDN'T have it either! She doesn't bother the cats at all when she's not crated.

 

[Slick]

I feel bad for the lack of consistency she gets between myself and my roommates. I speak to her softly, but I ask her to do things once. Twice, if I think she didn't hear me the first time. The guys sit there and repeat commands as if she didn't do it the first two times they asked, asking LOUDLY ten more times is going to give them different results. Head. desk. smash.

Yep. I feel ya.
I have definitely overheard my roommate "Sit. sit. sit sit sit. SIT!!! Ok, never mind. Here have the cookie anyways" :yikes: