It usually starts with sleep. A Maple Ridge dog who settled all summer is suddenly up walking the hallway at three. A cat who always slept on the bed is yowling at a wall downstairs. Owners mention it apologetically, as part of aging. It does, but it has a name, and more can be done than most expect.
The signs, and the night waking is only one
Clinicians group the changes into six areas, and it is worth reading all of them rather than stopping at the one that woke you up.
- Disorientation. Getting stuck behind furniture, going to the hinge side of a door, standing in a corner, staring at nothing or at a wall.
- Changed relationships. A clingy dog who becomes distant, or an aloof cat who becomes demanding. Not recognizing familiar people or animals for a moment.
- Sleep reversal. Restless at night, sleeping heavily through the day. This is usually what brings people in.
- House soiling, learning and memory. A reliable animal starting to go indoors, often without any apparent awareness of it. Alongside it, forgetting things they knew: the name, a command, which door they asked for.
- Changed activity. Either less of it, so not greeting, not asking for walks, not playing, not grooming; or more of it in an aimless way, so pacing, wandering, circling the same room, repetitive licking.
- Anxiety. New fearfulness, following you from room to room, distress when left.
It is common. Prevalence rises steeply with age, and by the mid teens a large proportion of dogs show some signs. Most of them are never assessed for it, because it is filed as aging.
Why it gets diagnosed late, and why that matters
Two reasons. The signs arrive gradually enough that each one is absorbed into normal, and owners genuinely believe nothing can be done, so they do not raise it.
The second belief is the costly one. This is a progressive condition, and the help available works best early, when there is more function to protect. A pet started at the point of mild confusion is more likely to do well than one started when they are circling and soiling. If you have been meaning to mention it, mention it.
The things that imitate it almost exactly
This is why it is a visit rather than a conclusion you reach at home. Several entirely different problems produce the same picture in an older animal:
- Pain. An arthritic dog cannot settle, gets up repeatedly, and is restless at night. This is the imitator we find most often, and the easiest one to miss.
- Failing sight or hearing. A pet who cannot see the room at night looks disoriented because they are.
- An overactive thyroid in a cat, which causes night yowling and restlessness.
- High blood pressure, kidney problems or liver problems, all of which alter behaviour.
- A urinary problem, which explains the house soiling without any cognitive change at all.
- Diabetes, which has the animal up at night because they need to urinate.
- A growth in the brain, which in an older pet can look identical for weeks before anything more obvious appears.
That list is the entire argument for a workup. A senior wellness assessment, which includes blood pressure, together with blood and urine panels, is what separates them. Several of those alternatives are far more straightforward to address than cognitive change is.
Where the workup comes back clean and the pattern fits, our veterinary team will talk through what is available. There are dietary approaches, supplements with reasonable evidence behind them, environmental changes and, in some cases, further options we can discuss with you. The realistic goal is slowing the decline and improving the nights, not reversal.
What helps at home
- Keep the routine identical. Same times, same walk, same feeding order. Predictability does more for a confused animal than anything you can buy.
- Night lights along the route to the water bowl and the door.
- Stop rearranging furniture. They are navigating from memory.
- Daylight in the morning, and activity during the day, to push the body clock back the right way.
- Keep the brain working. Short, easy food puzzles and gentle training. Easy is the point; frustration makes it worse.
- Make toileting easier, with more trips out and an accessible surface. Never scold them for an accident.
- Deal with the joints too, because comfort and sleep are tangled together.
- Keep a two-week diary before your appointment. It is the most useful thing you can bring.
Our hours
We are open Monday to Friday from 8:00 am to 6:00 pm, Saturday from 9:00 am to 5:00 pm and Sunday from 10:00 am to 4:00 pm. We are closed on statutory holidays, and hours can vary, so please call to confirm.
This is not an emergency condition. If an older pet becomes suddenly disoriented over hours rather than months, is circling persistently, has a head tilt, or collapses, that is a different and urgent problem. If we are closed, the nearest of the hospitals we refer to is Central Animal Emergency Clinic in Coquitlam, on 604-931-1911.
Common questions
Is this just dementia, and is there any point doing anything?
It is the same family of change, and yes there is a point. Nothing reverses it, but the trajectory can be improved, and the nights are often where owners notice a change first.
My dog paces but seems fine in the day. Still worth raising?
Very much so. Night restlessness alone is one of the most common first signs, and it is also the classic sign of pain, which is worth sorting out either way.
Do cats get this?
Yes, and it is picked up later than in dogs, because cats fail none of the obvious tests a dog does and there is simply less to notice. Night yowling in an old cat is the usual presentation and deserves a workup.
At what age should I start paying attention?
From about seven, which is when we start senior screening here, and earlier in large and giant breeds. The point is not the number, it is noticing a change from that individual’s normal.
Could a new pet help?
Usually not, and it often adds stress for an animal who is already struggling to cope with their environment.
Speak to the team at Haney Animal Hospital
If your older pet is up at night, getting stuck in corners or having accidents indoors, book a senior assessment and bring two weeks of notes. Several of the causes are very manageable, and the one that is not still responds best early.
Published by the team at Haney Animal Hospital.
This article is educational in nature and is not a replacement for hands-on assessment of your own pet by a veterinarian.
Haney Animal Hospital
#112-11865 227 Street, Maple Ridge, BC V2X 6H8
Phone: (604) 476-2525
Hours: Monday to Friday 8:00 am to 6:00 pm; Saturday 9:00 am to 5:00 pm; Sunday 10:00 am to 4:00 pm; closed statutory holidays