my dog is restless

[baremission]

can anyone help me? I have a 12 year old border collie and recently he is very restless wherever he is in the house. If he is in one room and the door is shut within a few minutes he is barking loudly at the door for it to be opened, but then once let out he barks to come back in again, then out again and so on. Is this just his breed and his age or is there anything i can do to train him not to do this?

[loopey]

i think it may be a breed thing my old border collie was the same, they are really outdoor farm dogs mine was at his happiest and most relaxed in the agility training classes, psycho anywhere else.

[WendyS]

Is it possible that your dog is suffering from deafness and beause he can't hear and is shut away from starts to feel insecure? Or possibly suffering from a little dimentia which again is making him feel insecure. I only say this because I'm convinced an elderly cat of mine started to suffer from dimentia and howled loudly in anguish whenever I disappeared from his view. The moment I returned he would be fine again.

[barb1314]

Hi

I have a 17 year old Border Collie and she hates having the door shut on her although she has been left regularly since she was a pup...she has always done this but soon calms down..the deafness thing may be true as well..my vet told me this. I have no solutions for you though. They are a funny breed but wonderful and intelligent. I have had 2 scares with mine in the last 2 months..a stroke and severe arthritis...but she still acts like a 6 month old puppy...AMAZING. I love her to bits as I'm sure you do!!

[Eels]

It may be a touch of senility, but please see your vet as there may be things that can help him out. It's also always worth getting any dog checked out when they show behavioural signs in case there's a physical problem.

[woofgang]

It does sound like aging. My beloved weimaraner loses us around the house and doesn't bother to come looking, just stands and howls till we respond. Can you leave the doors open for him?

[deemartin]

I found a very interesting article on old dogs atwww.pedigree.com.

[funnywebsite]

Are you giving him enough exercise? Dogs hate to be shut in a house they are outdoor animals and love long walks where they can sniff everything to their hearts content. I was watching that dog training series recently and some owners were so lazy they just let the dog out into their own garden and expected it to exercise itself. I am not saying you are lazy but I know myself if I sit around too much I get restless, it is hard to come back off holiday and have to sit at a desk all day in an office. I keep stretching my legs every few minutes.

[baremission]

wow thanks for all the advice!!

barb1314- your dog sounds exactly the same as mine, old but acts like a puppy still!

woofgang, i'd love a weimaraner perhaps in the future but i've heard they are reknowned to have bad temperaments, is this true?