I'm starting to worry about this with my Homey, too!

Is there a Doggie Haldol that they can give her? My Sammie takes an Herbal Remedy for Thunderstorms. It is called HP Anxiety TFLN.

I'm so sorry for her, and of course you for your loss of sleep.

Gayle

There is a Doggie Type Haldol. Here is what I found. Ask your Vet.

"Anipryl is a drug that can help a dog with cognitive dysfunction, although it does not help all dogs. It takes between 4 and 8 weeks to work. It is an expensive drug under its brand name, but there is a generic equivalent to the human form of the drug (Eldepryl): selegiline hydrochloride. Check with your vet to see if the generic form is acceptable. It is cheaper and can be purchased at any pharmacy with a prescription. For more information see http://www.medi-vet.com/info/anipryl.asp.";

Why not move her bed into your room right by your bed? Perhaps the security of knowing you're next to her may just be the soothing element she needs during the night.

We had an 18 year old dog with a similar problem. We wrapped up an old alarm clock in one of our teeshirts and placed it in beside her at night. It was one of the "ticking" types and it seemed to soothe and calm her as long as she could hear it. I know it works for very young puppies also, so it may be worth a try with your fur friend.

Mona has a good suggestion.
My guess is she is still confused and in shock from the car incident and needs extra assurance from you.
Chances are, if she is restless in the night all she needs is a pat on the head and some soothing sounds from you and you can do this without getting out of bed. If she does need to go out it doesn't matter if she's in the hallway or next to your bed; you still have to get up.

I think calling the vet to discuss meds for her is a good idea too. The poor dear has had a traumtic experience and if there's a medication to help her calm down and feel better all the better!

Good luck!

lori

Is Angel the one on arthritis medicine? Is there any chance that the medicine could be contributing to the problem?

We had a similar problem with our 12 year old German Shepherd. The Vet examined him and did blood work but found nothing. He told us to withhold water after 7 pm to see if that helped. We dealt with the incontinence for several months until it finally became obvious that our beloved pet was having more bad days then good.

If you followed Mona's suggestion and let her sleep next to your bed you could use a crate and line it with plastic so that the urine doesn't get on the floor and then put some old towels inside for bedding that you could easily launder.

Unfortunately I can't think of anything to offer you to help you get back to sleep. It's so sad when our pets start having age problems.

At least one of our dogs gets us up every single night, usually around 2 AM. 2 of them are older and need to go out, even though they are bladder control meds. The other 2 are just bored and want to go out at the same time. It can take anywhere up to 2 hours for us to fall back asleep, but we're used to it, none of them have been good at sleeping thru the night.

Other than using some meds to help her control her bladder, I have no good advice, Alisande. I think keeping her closer would be a comfort to her, though. Good luck to you both. Aging ain't for sissies.

We have a problem with our 10 year old cockapoo. He's been on prednisone for over a year so is ravenously hungry most of the time. His internal clock goes off at 4:00 AM, so that is my get-up time every day. Good thing I'm an early riser, but sometimes I would just like to snooze a little while longer.

Finally found out what prednisone does to make them (and us) so hungry. It saps the glucose, so without that, the hunger factor is always there.

Anyhow,I will persevere with this and enjoy the early mornings.

To add to the mix, once in awhile, if there is a critter outside, he will not rest. Must go out and sniff it out.
That is another problem, but when it occurs, it is usually all night long.

Gotta love these doggies :-)

Thanks for your posts, everyone. I didn't word mine very well, and have to explain that Angel was hit on the road 15 years ago. That's how Jill found her. I love that story.

Jill was a teenager, and in her friend's father's car when she saw the puppy on the road. They stopped the car and she got out and picked the puppy up. No one had a cell phone (like I said, it was 15 years ago), so they stopped at a house and Jill asked if she could use the phone to ask her mother to come pick up the dog. The woman said, "You can use my phone, but your mother isn't going to want to drive over here to pick up a dog." Jill replied, "You don't know my mother." :-)

I thought about having Angel sleep in my room. The reason I haven't done it is that it's relatively easy to clean up messes in the bare hallway, whereas my room has rugs. And rugs seem to trigger her urge to pee, or at least that's what I suspect. Maybe it feels more like the outdoors.

No, Wolfy is the one on arthritis meds. Angel doesn't take anything, which I guess is pretty remarkable. No, waitÂshe actually takes a heart pill, but she's taken that every day of her life since puppyhood. She's done amazingly well.

Linda, I like the suggestion about the ticking clock, but Angel wouldn't be able to hear it.

I might try bringing her into my room at night after first covering the rug next to my bed with a plastic trash bag (cut open) and newspapers. It's worth a try.

while she might not hear the clock, she might be able to "feel" the vibrations...wonder if a heating pad would help? my 21 yo cat would make a beeline for mine everyday.

if though, your quality of life gets to the point where you're becoming sleep deprived, or worse getting sick (colds, etc) then you'll have to make "that" decision...

another suggestion? how about a schedule change? later dinner, last potty time just before your bedtime? anything to break the habit you're now in...

You are really describing our Daisy although she was never hit or injured...but the night situation is or can get really bad..we tried everything and she reached a point where she barked or cried alnight...We put her bed in a bathroom downstairs and she still barked and cried but she also chewed all the woodwork and especially the door...Eventually it reached a point where my poor husband had to drag himself to work everyday worn out and we knew or realized that Daisy's time had to come to an end...We were beginning to hate her because of the things she was doing and it wasn't her fault so we called an end to her life..we thought it was unfair to her to keep her locked in a bathroom or crated all day and night so we said our goodbyes and let her go to sleep.

You have also described my 14 year old American Eskimo Sheba.....I can't remember the last time she let me sleep through the night,but God love her..she's happy and still enjoying life for the most part.

Last night as I led Angel upstairs I wondered if she'd actually be happier staying downstairs, since she stays there, mostly sleeping (and without barking) all day. But I put her upstairs anyway, because that's where she's slept all her life.

Within 15 minutes she was barking. Feeling desperate, I brought her downstairs. I removed the inside back door mat and laid newspapers down all around the area, figuring that if she had to go out that's where she'd head. I was right.

She started barking at one point (I really despaired then!), but stopped after a short while. I had quite a mess to clean up this morning, but it was worth it to get eight solid hours of (mostly) uninterrupted sleep.

No advice, but I've noticed Luther (who is 11 years old now) barking at our voices, barking at setting cups down or any odd sounds. He used to only bark if someone was knocking at the door, but now he barks at everything. Drives me nuts because sometimes we will be watching a movie and it takes forever for him to stop and realize it's nothing. He's also getting incontinent, poor dog. He usually does great, though, so I can't complain. On days I work he goes out at 5 am when I get up and then holds it till the kids get home in the afternoon. But every once in a while he will go out and ten minutes later has to go out again, but we don't realize it and think he only wants attention, nope, big puddle in the floor.