Hi folks, don`t know whats going on with 1 of my oldies but heres the story.
About a month/6wks ago Bonnie started being unsettled during the night, she`ll be 12 in October & is blind. I have beds in the main hall & beds in the bedroom so the dogs can sleep where they want but for the past year or so she`s decided to stay in the hall, she always slept at the side of the bed before she went blind tho.

Anyway she started barking during the night, I`d let her out but thats not what she wanted, she`d walk in the bedroom & settle for a while, then want to go to the hall. This went on for a few wks but she then settled, either in the hall or the b/room. So alls ok there, I think for now.

But last night Toffee started the same thing, only she`s never slept in the bedroom, always in her bed in the hall. Well bit of a story here. We only moved into this house 2 yrs ago, our old house is a few paces away which I still use for the dogs, their kennels are out the back of that one. Well Toffee always slept in her bed in front of the fireplace, her choice as the bedroom door was always open. But when we moved into this house she wouldn`t move in & styaed sleeping in the other house. She was happy so that was ok, she`d come in here in the day then back over there in the night 

Then last August she just one day decided she wanted to live here 24hrs, so no probs, another bed went in the hall. Everything was fine till Saturday night, but she just wouldn`t settle & kept us awake on & off nearly all night.

She was quite clingy yesterday & wouldn`t settle, I`ve checked her over a few times & doesn`t appear to be anything physically wrong. Last night I went for a shower, 9.30ish & she kicked off again :rolleyes:Went to bed early & barking started again just after 1am, just sitting on her bed barking walking back n forth to b/room. So I put a bed in b/room & put her on it. Nope still wasn`t happy & she kept coming to side of bed, got up yet again & put it against side of bed & she finally settled down 

This is something to do with Bonnie &/or me & wanting to be where B or me are all the time. Don`t know why she`s acting like this or what else to do besides what I`ve done

Could it be something in the garden that she is hearing. Our dog woke us up barking and growling - he never barks at anything normally not even the doorbell. I let him out into the garden and he set off the outside light which lit up a fox  just disappearing over the back fence.

Hi H, no don`t think so cos my other dogs would hear it, they`re younger & usually more alert. Forgot to say Toffee will be 12 in Oct :)

At about 5.45am the past two mornings my two old girls (13 and 11) have woken us up howling like wolves. I don't know which one starts it or why, but it's a real pain.

Hi J/G no reason for it, have they ever done it before? Toffs never done this before

Think I could stand 5.45, not far off when I get up anyway (but don`t think neighbours`d appreciate it) you can see from the times she`s doing it its not long after we go to bed & thankfully the others ignore her!

Yours could be the dawn chorus?, you know, wolves in the wild waking up :D

It's only the past two nights/mornings they've done this, so it's definitely out of character. All we can think is that there's a bird that's learned to sing like a phone ringing (probably a blackbird, because they're notorious for mimicry) and that's setting them off, because the only time they howl otherwise is when we don't answer the phone quickly enough!

Maybe your blind oldie has gone deaf now too!  My two old SWD's went the same way.  Lydia is only deaf but she'll just lie there and bark.  I thought that she was going senile at first but the vet says that it's just due to the deafness.  Thankfully her eyesight is still good even though I've been told by eye specialists that she should be blind by now but she still can see wonderfully.

Yes she has a bit D, but its not her barking now, she was doing it awhile back but settled down, its my other one now doing it :rolleyes:

Tell you I`m feeling bit ragged round the edges today, think I might have to go sleep in the empty kennels tonight just to get some sleep :D

Funny enough Toffee barks when the phone rings J/G :D

this may sound silly,as you say she is blind, but when one of my goldies was blind and very elderly I used to to put a low light on for her. It seemed to help her and again with my old lad whom we lost last year- a low light during the night. the other one may be just joining in! Just a thought that may help.

Best wishes
Linda

Hi L, no its not blind one doing the barking now, its my other oldie Toffee.

Interesting about the light, Bonnie has absolutely no sight at all now but I`ll give it a go for Toffee, thanks :)

She`s been really good today, slept for most of it :rolleyes::D

Probably because she was awake barking in the night :)

>>>Probably because she was awake barking in the night <<<

Absolutely H, little madam

Anyway vet couldn`t make it last night, he had an emergency op but he came this afternoon. He didn`t find anything wrong with her. Gave her the once over, took temp, listened to her heart, had a good feel all over her, mouth, ears, eyes checked & said she seems fine, so no further on

She kept us awake last night, only not much barking but trying to get on the bed with us & nudging me awake  I gave up just after 3am & put her & her bed back in the main hall with the others & shut the door. Didn`t her peep after that  Its not something I like to do tho, like to be able to hear the dogs if anything is wrong but I need some sleep! After I`d done them this morning I went back to bed & thats mostly all I`ve done today, sleep, get up, do a bit & back to bed.

Maybe she`s just feeling old & wants some extra attention