My dog keeps crying?

[scootaru]

Hi I wonder if anyone could shed some light.

I have an 8 year old Neapolitan Mastiff. He has always been a happy dog and he is very active for his age. He goes for walks once a day and cant wait to get out - He wakes me up every morning for his morning walk.

I have had him since he was a puppy and nothing new has changed in his lifestyle.

Over the last year though he has started to cry all day long for no apparent reason. He is not sick (as far as I can tell) he is not in pain anywhere, he wants to play all the time, nothing has changed from his daily routine and nothing new has been added to our home (kids, animals or anything else)

He just spends the day crying while laying in the hall way. He will come in from his walk, sleep for a couple of hours and then when he wakes up he will just cry all day long until he eventually goes to sleep in the evening. He then starts the process all over the next day.

When one of us gets up to rub him, he will stop and wag his tail and be all happy again but then when we leave him to carry on with our stuff he starts to cry again.

I really don't know whats up with him - Is he depressed? Should I start taking him out more then once? He does have a bit of a wobbly leg which is why he only gets one long walk a day but ever since he was a puppy he has got one walk a day. Someone is ALWAYS home with him, he is never alone.

Is he to dependent on us? What should I do?

Thanks for reading and hopefully I can get some kind of help - Do they do doggy shrinks? :)

[Maddies_Mom16]

Did you realize that A) the OP posted this 2 years ago, and B) DID take the dog to the vet in a post later on in the conversation?

We try to not judge in this forum, it's not our place. If you are relatively new here, welcome to the group and I hope you can be of help to others and gain help as needed.

[arunda100]

U think this is the right way.

[kmfnp]

How irresponsible can you be?  You have an old, large dog whose leg is unstable and he cries all day and you don't think he needs to see a vet?  How selfish, insensitive and CHEAP can you be??  You don't deserve that poor dog!!

[tonyb286]

Hi. Meant to add but got sidetracked ... if the only issue with him is getting in the bedrooms, can your other sharers put locks of some kind on the doors to stop him getting in there? Alternatively, the round door knobs are better than the handle types, as dogs cannot usually open round knob style handles ... this could be the easiest 'fix' to the problem and worth talking to your sharers about. Are they not happy with sharing the house with your dog? Do you rent this house or is one of you or all of you the owner/co-owners? Tony

[tonyb286]

Hi. Weather permitting, him being outside is probably better (not ideal) than being locked up for that length of time. I am assuming he has some kind of warm dry and sheltered kennel to go in when he needs shelter from the rain/sun - and a comfy bed to sleep in. Also, most important, does he have access to clean water?

I would try the Kong. They are useful and some dogs do enjoy them. They can throw and bounce them around and chew and sniff whatever is put inside, much like a bone.

Obviously, there's no big deal about him whining and barking when you get home, because all he wants at that stage is to greet you and play with you - all perfectly natural from a dog's point of view - but what's he like when he's in the exterior part for the other time when you aren't there? Ask neighbors or someone that can approach your home a couple of times in the day, just to see if he's settled or barking/whining.

Lab/beagle mixes usually howl rather than bark/whine, so I am guessing he's lab/pit, which means he will be very single person orientated. It is extremely important you keep him well socialized with other humans and other dogs, otherwise you could have a problem later on if his singular focused intuition kicks in.

The other issue is a lab/pit mix means he is likely to be a) very intelligent and b) in need of lots of interaction/play/walks. They are amongst the more active of the breeds, so a 20 minute walk is probably not going to be enough. Two 20 minute walks might just ease things, but can you get someone to do the other walk for you or can you get home mid-way through the day to do it.

And the other issue is he is a rescue dog ... and good on you for taking him from a rescue shelter. However, almost all rescue dogs have 'issues' because of the often poor background, and sometimes early puppyhood abuse and/or neglect. If he was neglected or abused in some way, this would explain a great deal about his current behavior. He is desperate to please you and be with you, and while this can create huge problems, it is something worth appreciating and doing your level best to help him get over the 'issues' he may have.

Back to you Suzee ... let me know how you get on. Tony

[SuzeeQ1243]

in there*