My old dog is panting, scared, and acting strangely. What's wrong?

Any abrupt change in behavior without a known cause should be investigated by your vet as soon as possible. Sometimes this is the only sign we get of a medical condition. The behavior could be due to feeling ill, being in pain or may be because of a developing neurological condition. Your vet will do an exam, labwork and possibly some diagnostic imaging, x-rays or ultrasound to determine the cause for your pet's change in behavior and, based on the results, will be better able to advise you on treatment options.

Pacing and panting could be a sign of discomfort/pain but it may also just be a sign of old age. Dogs often get a type of dementia that can cause this type of behavior. I suggest you take Mali to your vet for an exam. There are medications available to treat for both things if needed. Best wishes.

Hello Paula, thank you for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach. It does not sound to me like she is just trying to assert dominance over you. That would be very odd for a 6 year old dog to just start acting like that out of the blue. Her symptoms, to me, sound more like she has pain somewhere like her back. When dogs are panting excessively it is most often due to pain and/or anxiety. I suggest you get all her blood testing results and copies of her X-rays and go to another vet for a second opinion. Hope this helps. Best wishes.

Panting heavily when it is not hot in the environment is usually a sign of pain or discomfort. If Mia has had a poor appetite for a few days, it is possible that she has a chronic condition such as liver or kidney disease that can be diagnosed on routine screening bloodwork. Unfortunately at age 12, especially for a large breed dog, serious/not curable conditions such as cancer (usually diagnosed on chest/abdominal X-rays) is a possibility as well. Less scary possible causes of the panting could be discomfort from pancreatitis which is often caused by table food and treated with fluid therapy +/- anti-nausea medication, or pain from arthritis which can be treated with pain meds pending screening bloodwork to rule out pre-existing liver/kidney issues. Especially since Mia seems uncomfortable, it would be best to bring her to your vet for an evaluation. Good luck!

These types of behaviors could be caused by pain, anxiety, internal medical issues, cognitive dysfunction from old age, seizures, etc. Without seeing a vet, it is hard to tell what could be going on and I can't really make any specific recommendations. Be available to comfort him. You can also try doggie pheromones like Comfort Zone or Adaptil.

Poor Gibson! As dogs age, they can develop canine cognitive dysfunction (similar to dementia in humans) or decreases in their hearing and sight, which can result in anxiety and behavioral changes. Restlessness, panting and sudden jumping could also be a sign of pain. At this point, your best bet is to take Gibson to his vet for evaluation to determine if he has any apparent sources of pain, which could be managed with pain medication. If not, your vet will be able to discuss some of the different medication options to try to manage cognitive dysfunction, but these are not always overly effective. I hope that all goes well!

These can be symptoms of many serious medical issues, anxiety, fear, pain, neurologic disease, infection, etc. I would recommend that you have him checked out by a vet to see what could be going on. After a thorough physical exam and discussion of his recent history, the vet may recommend diagnostics, such as blood work, x-rays, ultrasound, etc. to diagnose the cause.