Get a baby gate and close off the pantry. Seriously, he could get into something that will kill him. At this stage it could just be recreational shopping, because he found something interesting once upon a time.

It sounds like Wolfy is an older dog? Could it be he is looking for you? and not seeing very well? OR I hate to say it, maybe dementia setting in? I'd try the baby gate also. Or could you take the dogs in the bedroom with you and try the baby gate across the door?

I agree about the baby gate. Maybe he is sleep-walking? I've read that dogs can do that. That might explain why he is opening odd food items.

My cat gets in the pantry if we don't shut the door all the way... and we will wake up to torn open dog food pouches and cat treats.

I do have a baby gate, although I'll be surprised if it can reach across that opening, which is pretty big. (We never anticipated such things when we took out so many walls in this house 30 years ago.) I've been trying to block the opening with dining chairs at night, but he just pushes them out of the way.

I think both your explanations are possibilities. I've wondered if this has something to do with me, as it coincided with him trying to go upstairs with me at night. The stairs has a door, and I keep it shut. Neither dog has been able to navigate the stairs for at least a year. Wolfy can't even get up the porch steps, much less a staircase.

Angel has periods of dementia, but I haven't noticed it in Wolfy.

Thanks!

Susan,

Read the attached link on canine cognitive disfunction syndrome. If this sounds like what Wolfie is going through, please see your vet. They have meds that can help him live a more normal life.

In the meantime, confine him at night to a room where he will be safe and cannot get into anything.

Good luck!

Here is a link that might be useful: Link

I wonder if there is a doggie version of Sundowner's Syndrome which is sometimes seen in early Alzheimer's patients. Sundowner's sufferers experience mood changes and restlessness in the evening hours.

Jodi-

Yes, dogs will get into bone meal! Try putting the bag of bone meal outdoors and see if he stops. (The flour could have absorbed the smell of the bone meal; maybe that's why he tore open the flour. It also looks similar, but dogs are led by their nose, not their eyes.)

He could be going after a mouse. Mice are nocturnal---active at night---so he might ignore the room until nighttime. And, some dogs are more determined than cats are, especially when it comes to getting at something. My cats will try to get a mouse for a while, but if it keeps getting into a spot where they can't reach it, they get bored and walk away. So I wouldn't assume there's no mouse in the pantry just because your cats ignore it.

Wolfy may have vision problems. I have a blind blue heeler and one of the first signs was night blindness. He got along fine during the day but once we turned the lights out he couldn't see. He wandered around the house bumping into furniture and things. Wolfy's nose may be leading him to the pantry where he gets stuck and can't get out. Just a thought.

I would also suggest a baby gate.

Wolfy visited the vet and had a physical less than three weeks ago. Cognitive dysfunction wasn't suspected in him, but the symptoms outlined in Cindy's link fit my other dog, Angel. I discussed Angel's condition with the vet when she went there last week.

I never thought of night blindness. I guess it could be a possibility. Wolfy gets restless before bedtime--poor timing from my standpoint, and I guess from his. I wondered if the cause might be eating so late; since I started working evenings, the dogs have been fed at the end of the day.

The baby gate doesn't fit. I'll see if I can figure out another way to block off the room. Meanwhile, I'll remove anything that looks potentially harmful.

Thanks for your help!

Susan

OMG, I have an 11 yr. old male Chow named Wolfie that acts almost exactly like yours. He will pace seemingly for hours, then sit as close the wall as possible and just staring at it. He has peed on every bed (except mine - too high for him to jump up on) and every couch,(except for the real expensive one in living room) love seat, futon, etc., in the house, but NEVER ON THE CARPET.
Doggie Dementia. But he is still "My Little(Big) Baby"

Susan, look for different baby gates that cover wider sized openings, or use an ex-pen. We use an ex pen unfolded for a 10' wide opening, and just fold it up when not needed. Or use eye-screws in the doorway and secure with snaps.

Here is a link that might be useful: ex pen

I would wonder if he would stop rummaging if he could sleep in the room you are in. Would it be possible for you to relocate your bedroom downstairs? That way both dogs could sleep with you in your room...
barring that, it sounds like a baby gate might be the solution.
Suzan J

There's no bedroom downstairs, so the only way I could sleep in the same room as the dogs is if I slept on the couch. I'm reluctant to do that--although sleeping on the couch might not be much worse than the way things have been going lately.

As I write this, it's 11:00 p.m. and both dogs are panting. Wolfy is clingy, nosing my arm and attempting to get under my desk. (He doesn't fit.) It's possible that these behaviors of his have something to do with the fact that I'm out of the house seven hours a day (minimum) now. Before I started this job in December, I was home with the dogs a lot more. Wolfy is quiet and seemingly content in the morning and early afternoon before I go to work, but when I come home at night his restlessness starts. Jodi, I've wondered about the sundowning phenomenon, too.

Uxorial, I just noticed your message--sorry! I did remove the bone meal. Actually, I threw it out because Wolfy had bent up the box so badly.

Sarah, it's nice to know someone else is putting up with very difficult behaviors from a much-loved dog. I caught some flak on the Pet Forum last year (just from one or two people, not everyone) because I tolerate a higher degree of ....well, mess from my two elderly dogs than was deemed civilized. I'm the first to admit that gracious living flew out the window when my dogs got old and often incontinent. But I refuse to destroy these loving and loyal animals to restore my standard of living. If the time comes for that decision to be made, it will be for their comfort, not mine.

Thanks, all.

I don't know what causes stuff like that, but my dogs would wake me up just wandering around at night. I started confining them to the laundry room. I had my husband convert the door into a Dutch (?) door, so there would be air in there in case there were any fumes.

Susan, I am really sorry you're going through this. I don't have any suggestions to offer. And with the 6 dogs we've had over the past 30 years I now have to consider myself lucky that none of mine have experienced this. It does seem to be something related to age or dementia or sundowners. Maybe you could call the vet and ask him. Since he just saw Wolfy hopefully he won't suggest another appointment.

Interesting though about the bone meal. I stopped using it on my bulbs a few years ago when I read that some rodents are actually attracted to it.

We had to block off the living room once when we were having the wood floors refinished and I didn't want to have to buy one of those 10 foot wide baby gates. So I took an old sheet, folded the top over about 3 inches and the same with the bottom, and sewed across leaving the ends open - almost like a rod pocket curtain, but with openings for a rod at the top and bottom. And then I ran a piece of electrical cord through the top and another through the bottom and then tied them to eye hooks that I had screwed into the side of the doorframe. That kept the dog from getting into the room and when we were done with the project. Something like that would be easy to store when you don't need it.

I hate to say it but this might be something that isn't going to improve and you do need your sleep at night.

I, too, think you need give serious consideration to the possibility that there might be a mouse in your house. All cats are NOT mousers. Contrary to public perception, that's not a 'born in' skill. They have to be taught to hunt by their mothers--and not all mother cats even know how to mouse these days.

And it does sound as if your dog was chasing something going after particular foods that might appeal to mice, AND trying to follow them into spaces that were too small for him.

It could just as easily be that he's suffering from the start of some age-related issues, so you're going to have to really keep an eye out and try to determine which is the cause.

Hope you and he eventually manage to get some rest at night!