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My senior dog is shivering and acting strange. Is it age or pain?

Updated on September 23rd, 2025

Pet's info: Dog | Mixed Breed | Female | spayed | 12 years and 1 month old | 28 lbs

My dog is quite old and is showing weird behaviours and I’m not sure if she needs help or it is simply her age. A few days ago I woke to her shivering quite hard and she spent the day shivering on and off, she wasn’t following me around as much and didn’t seem enthusiastic to run or play. This is very unlike her. We took her on a walk the next day and she was her usually happy self but she is still being strange in different ways and shivering every so often

1 Answer

Most Helpful Answer

Tomasz Wnuk

Answered By Tomasz Wnuk

Veterinarian

Published on July 16th, 2021

Hello and thank you for contacting Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach. This behavior could be due to older age and brain senile problems but also shivering and lethargy could be caused by arthritic pain.
A visit at your local vets is recommended as Carly will probably benefit from medications to treat chronic pain or from medications that help for dementia.
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