We have a 13 year old white lab that listens very well and has never been on a leash (we live in the country on a lot of land). She is very well trained and has some arthritis so she has slowed down, but that’s the only health problem we know of. She has never barked in her life.
In the middle of the night last night, we woke up to her howling, barking and crying, pacing and RUNNING around the house frantic. Urinated in the kitchen during all of this.. and continued to freak out, howling and running. She would not come to us, or look at us-so we let her outside thinking maybe she needed to use the bathroom. She bolted out the door (keep in mind, she moves slow and doesn’t run much due to her joints). She ran and leaped off of our porch skipping the last 2 steps and ran faster than I’ve ever seen her run crashing into limbs into the woods (that she never goes to). We ran after her with a flash light- found her in the road and she was still trying to run but her back legs had gave out and were dragging. She still did not look at us - it was like she didn’t even know we were there. We had to carry her back in the house and she proceeded to pace and pant for an hour and wouldn’t drink water - before laying back down and going back to sleep.
Any ideas? Could this have been pain related? Could this be cognitive decline disorder? My understanding is cognitive disorder would come on slowly... we haven’t noticed anything prior to this.
In the middle of the night last night, we woke up to her howling, barking and crying, pacing and RUNNING around the house frantic. Urinated in the kitchen during all of this.. and continued to freak out, howling and running. She would not come to us, or look at us-so we let her outside thinking maybe she needed to use the bathroom. She bolted out the door (keep in mind, she moves slow and doesn’t run much due to her joints). She ran and leaped off of our porch skipping the last 2 steps and ran faster than I’ve ever seen her run crashing into limbs into the woods (that she never goes to). We ran after her with a flash light- found her in the road and she was still trying to run but her back legs had gave out and were dragging. She still did not look at us - it was like she didn’t even know we were there. We had to carry her back in the house and she proceeded to pace and pant for an hour and wouldn’t drink water - before laying back down and going back to sleep.
Any ideas? Could this have been pain related? Could this be cognitive decline disorder? My understanding is cognitive disorder would come on slowly... we haven’t noticed anything prior to this.