My Pet World: Pug's piddling indoors could be spiked by separation anxiety, poor housetraining or a medical issue
1. Disorientation: Periodic confusion, seemingly forgetting favorite people, perhaps getting lost in the home the pet has lived in his/her entire life.
2. Changing interactions with people: Clingy dogs may become aloof, or vice versa.
3. Sleep pattern changes: Overnight, the dog may be restless, perhaps pacing or crying out. Also, the dog sleeps far more during the day.
4. Housetraining errors: Accidents occur without an apparent explanation.
5. Changes in activity level: Of course, older animals are less active, but often the thrill of life appears disappear from dogs who previously wagged their tails every waking moment.
"There are products that may help if this dog has cognitive decline," says Landsberg. "The earlier you intercede the more likely you are to be successful in slowing and conceivably reversing the decline."
Never force your dog from her hiding place, but try to coax her out with food or toys, Landsberg says. And reward play behavior.
"It would be interesting to see what happens if you blocked off access to your dog's hiding place," he adds.
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