Hello All. Wonder if any of you can help.
I have a just-turned-twelve year old ESS who has recently seemed to have gone a bit deaf (I can walk normally on a tiled floor right up to him and he startles when I step around him). His eyes have also started to cloud a bit. He does, however, still bounce around like a pup and manages to drag OH for an hour long walk (run in his case!) every day. He comes home happy and still quite bouncy so I assume we're not overdoing his exercise.
He's been a fantastic house dog (apart from the tumbleweed bales of hair he managed to produce on a daily basis!), barks only when he's hear someone knocking the door or coming round the side.
However, recently, he's started randomly barking through the night. He starts around 1.30 and goes for an hour, even if we go downstairs to see what's wrong. It's not a "someone at the door" bark, just a random woof every few seconds. He seems to go quiet for the night just after 3. We tried a Thundershirt on him for a few nights but he gets stressed when we put it on him and we got up this morning to find it on the floor! A bit disappointing as he seemed quieter the first few nights but then started back with a vengeance.
We have no idea what to do next. He has his annual check up in a few weeks so maybe the vet will be able to help, but in the meantime, any advice will be gratefully received.
It did cross my mind that he's ill and trying to tell us something - he had his check up last year and the vet found a lump. His spleen was enlarged so he had a scan there and then and we were told to have him operated on immediately or he could burst it while running around and we'd not be able to save him. It was in such a mess the vet sent a sample off for biopsy but it came back clean - vet sent another as he couldn't believe it wasn't cancerous! He even gave us 4-8 months tops. Well, he's still here and seems as fit as the proverbial's dog. But I'm worried. He's no longer insured - as luck would have it, NOT, we stopped a month before his op as the premiums had tripled after his 10th birthday and were in stupid land price wise. With this in mind, I hope the treatment won't be for expensive long-term drugs (but if it has to be it has to be), so if anyone has any experiences of something that may calm him down, again, it'll be appreciated.
TIA
I have a just-turned-twelve year old ESS who has recently seemed to have gone a bit deaf (I can walk normally on a tiled floor right up to him and he startles when I step around him). His eyes have also started to cloud a bit. He does, however, still bounce around like a pup and manages to drag OH for an hour long walk (run in his case!) every day. He comes home happy and still quite bouncy so I assume we're not overdoing his exercise.
He's been a fantastic house dog (apart from the tumbleweed bales of hair he managed to produce on a daily basis!), barks only when he's hear someone knocking the door or coming round the side.
However, recently, he's started randomly barking through the night. He starts around 1.30 and goes for an hour, even if we go downstairs to see what's wrong. It's not a "someone at the door" bark, just a random woof every few seconds. He seems to go quiet for the night just after 3. We tried a Thundershirt on him for a few nights but he gets stressed when we put it on him and we got up this morning to find it on the floor! A bit disappointing as he seemed quieter the first few nights but then started back with a vengeance.
We have no idea what to do next. He has his annual check up in a few weeks so maybe the vet will be able to help, but in the meantime, any advice will be gratefully received.
It did cross my mind that he's ill and trying to tell us something - he had his check up last year and the vet found a lump. His spleen was enlarged so he had a scan there and then and we were told to have him operated on immediately or he could burst it while running around and we'd not be able to save him. It was in such a mess the vet sent a sample off for biopsy but it came back clean - vet sent another as he couldn't believe it wasn't cancerous! He even gave us 4-8 months tops. Well, he's still here and seems as fit as the proverbial's dog. But I'm worried. He's no longer insured - as luck would have it, NOT, we stopped a month before his op as the premiums had tripled after his 10th birthday and were in stupid land price wise. With this in mind, I hope the treatment won't be for expensive long-term drugs (but if it has to be it has to be), so if anyone has any experiences of something that may calm him down, again, it'll be appreciated.
TIA