Over the last couple of days my younger dog has been getting agitated about my older - 14 and a half years old - sniffing him all over, play-bowing, brushing against him. Today he has been more agitated, lying near him, whining/crying. When he comes away and lies by me I can still feel his tension. This is a new behaviour, and very untypical. The old dog shows no signs, to my eye, of anything wrong apart from a bit of totteriness and forgetfulness (which are not new). He has an ear infection (for which I’ve had a phone consultation with the vet and have medication).

In normal times, I’d take the oldie for the vet to check over, but as things are at present I couldn’t say it’s an emergency, and I’m even a bit unsure about requesting a phone consultation. What would you do?

I know that at his age my old lad’s time will be up soon, but I don’t think it’s today, possibly not even this week. I’m worried that the youngster knows something’s wrong that I’m missing.

I would ring your vet and have that phone consultation as it might well put your mind at rest if nothing else.

No helpful advice I'm afraid but I am very interested in this thread as there is no doubt that dogs can sense things wrong both in their own species and in others, notably humans.

Harley, Mixedpack, thank you for your comments. It’s a tricky one, but having given it a lot of thought, for the moment I haven’t contacted the vet about this.
My reasons are:
- it’s fairly thin as “evidence”, and was not repeated yesterday, this morning there was full-body sniffing, but without crying and anxiety;
- Mr Oldie appears well in himself (eating, drinking, “outputs” all normal), and he even had a little zoomie after his morning toddle yesterday (he doesn’t go far, or fast, and his nose is busier than his toes);
- I massaged him gently all over yesterday morning, and there was no adverse reaction from him, nor did my untrained fingers find anything out of the ordinary (if there’s anything deeper inside I don’t know);
- what would I do if there were something bad going on? Because of his age, I wouldn’t want an operation; he is already on the full dose of Metacam for other conditions; he has supplements and exercises from his physiotherapist for his arthritis. I’m not sure realistically what interventions would be beneficial for him.

I have written all the details of yesterday’s episode down, and if it’s repeated, or if he appears to change for the worse I will call the vet. As soon as things are more normal, I will make an appointment for him to be checked over, and tell the vet about this episode.

Mixedpack- thank you, I am also interested in the ability of dogs to sense when things are amiss.  I have documented the episode and will use it when I can get Mr Oldie checked over (see reply above). If anything arises from this, I will update.

I am glad Mr Oldie is doing ok and perhaps the interest of the young dog was due to something else entirely, fascinating and really good to have an owner that knows their dogs so well, believe me it's not always the case

If there was something going on, there are supplements and other meds that might help, depending on what it is.  Personally I'd want to run it by the vet with that strong a reaction, but I've lost two dogs to cancer that was rumbling away with no signs or symptoms until their last days.  If I could have caught it sooner, I could have kept them more comfortable than I was able to.

Brief interim update on this.
I had a telephone follow-up with the vet about Mr Oldie’s ear infection and also told them about this episode with Junior, as well as some other concerns of my own. They will see him in person next week, and check him over. I will provide documentation of my concerns.

Since Mr Oldie seems content and comfortable, inputs and outputs are normal, and Junior has had only occasional episodes of full-body sniffing without crying or great anxiety (which I am attempting to video) I will go with this. (I can worry about my dogs at Olympic level, and if I think necessary I will get him seen, or consult about him, sooner.)

Nikita, thank you. I’m very sorry about your two dogs.

Junior’s reaction hasn’t been so strongly repeated, is not daily, but body-sniffing still occurs sometimes after main meals.  I’m filming it if and when it occurs.

I meant to add in my update post, the vet has suggested actions to take for the things which I had noticed. I shall follow this up, as it will contribute to diagnosis.

I know how symptomless cancers can be, as a friend has recently lost her greyhound to an osteosarcoma which was unsuspected until his leg broke. It’s my worry that something of the sort is happening here (possibly involving internal organs) but he seems happy and content at present, and with the current situation has all the company and physical contact he wants.

Belated update to this (result of vet check-up).

The episode has never been repeated (thank goodness). Mr Oldie had as full an examination as was possible without sedation or anæsthetic, and the vet found nothing of note. He is still with me, sleeping with his head on my feet at this moment, and as contented as before. I am still watching for any signs of things amiss, but Junior hasn’t indicated anything again.

*Wipes sweat from brow"  I have been hoping for an update and also praying for a good update.  Tick on both counts. Happy days.

I've got three generations currently, with my oldest being 14 years old and her granddaughter just over 1 year of age.  Branta (granddaughter) goes over Grandma Tau on a regular basis, fussing her, and I'm sure she knows when Tau's not feeling that brilliant.  Tau has mild laryngeal paralysis so has bouts where she coughs, and Branta is always fussing around her when this happens.  I am sure she senses something, the two of them are pretty close and play so nicely together.