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? :)

[lindapalm]

When is the last time he was seen by a vet?  Have you mentioned the problem to him?

[scootaru]

He has not been to a vet for a long time as I don't think he needs to. I really don't believe he is sick as he is eating his dinner, playing with us and doing everything normal.

All that has changed is that he cries all day long for no apparent reason other then attention.

[TwoBitsMom]

Hi...
If he doesn't start crying until AFTER he goes for his walk, maybe the walk is aggravating his hips or leg joints. He is an 8 year old Big Dog, which does mean that he has entered his senior years.
I do think he should be checked out by the vet. He may have some arthritis, or hip dysplasia going on.
Best Wishes
Connie

[tonyb286]

Hi and welcome to the forum. I absolutely agree with Connie and Lindapalm ... your dog needs to be checked over by a vet. It could be several things and it would be impossible for anyone to tell you which ailment is affecting him on a forum like this, it really needs a hands-on professional. If he hasn't been seen by a vet for some considerable time, then even a routine check-up is warrented. At 8 yrs old, he is approaching old age, and there are lots of things that could start interfering with his normal wellbeing.

Dogs cry either from pain or due to psychological anxiety. As Connie has said, it could be his joints are aching or are painful, which is why he needs a vet to check them out and administer pain-relief if needed. Older dogs can also suffer from various other problems, such as the start of hearing-loss or sight-loss - both of which could make a dog nervous and fearful as (sadly) they don't understand what is happening to them. Again, these need to be checked by a vet.

Please let us know what the vet tells you, once you have seen one. Tony

[Leasa1005]

Hi was looking for some advise please , I have a staff he is 16 years old he crys all the tim , walk round in circles in the house is losing his hearing and I think he is not seeing to good at the moment we have had to put him on dry food and is till pooing in the house I hate to say it but is it time , vet will not tell me to do it just in case I blame them I feel so bad

[Dr. Carol Osborne, DVM]

Hello
I am sorry to hear about your dog. In my experience, having a crying giant breed dog who is also a senior and ages more quickly than smaller breeds is reason enough to visit your veterinarian. This will help you to resolve this issue sooner rather than later.
Thank you
Dr Carol Osborne, DVM

[scootaru]

Thanks everyone for the replies - I took him to the vet and it turned out to be arthritis in his back leg.

The vet put him on a drug called Metacam and he has been acting like a puppy ever since. He no longer poos in my house, only limps about when he first gets up, no longer cries all day long and is up and ready to go for his walks.

He is like a new dog, although he has to take this medication for the rest of his life, it is a small price to pay to see him acting like a puppy again

Thanks every

[staceybeck01]

I'm glad you posted this! My mid-age golden retriever is doing the same thing and I don't know if it's a mid life crisis or what!  I'm glad you were able to find out what was wrong with your dog, I think I'll go ahead and take mine to the sudbury animal hospital to make sure it isn't something serious. http://www.baxterah.ca/

[Trishula]

My border collie is 15 years old.  He has lost most of his hearing and has shown signs of poor mobility in his hind quarters for some time.  I have had him to the vet's, he is on Metacam but he still whines all day, even with a full bowl of water, food and after a walk.  He holds his water all night, doesn't pee or pooh in the house.  His whining is making me crazy because I can't do anything to make it stop.  Could it be time to say good bye?

[snoofdog]

I bet the metacam is costing a fortune. I get a prescription from my vet for about180 .ml bottles and get them from a trusted company on the internet at a third of the price.

[el_em_en_oh]

My 7 year old English Mastiff (Condi) started that, at the age of 6.

Turned out to be caused by pain resulting from osteosarcoma (bone cancer).

Don't mean to alarm you with the "C" word, but as everyone above me said, go to the vet and have him checked out.

Massive-breed dogs hide pain VERY well, and if he's crying, then he's in A LOT of pain for some reason.

Good luck.

[Natasawin]

hi,
i have a 1year old male westie nad he cried all day long without reason!Vet said he is fine but I don't really understand the reason.We walk him twice per day and has a lot of toys to play with but after a while he stops and cries again.Can you please help me?Can it possibly be because of a female dog he might smelled?
Regards,
Natasa

[Jerry_NJ]

Our 9 year old Westie, neutered male (was done when he was about 8 years old), is a barking dog, but not crying.  When we adopted him as a rescue he had an abscessed tooth which could have caused a lot of pain, still he would eat his kibble, even dry - but he had almost starved to death before rescue.  So I think it strange that a Westie would cry - have you considered getting him neutered?

To scootaru, I'd go easy on the walks, pain relief doesn't prevent physical damage.  

[acrt]

I have a 1yr. old english mastiff that I rescued and know nothing about her prior home but can tell she was well taken care of and she is very loving. the only issue is she cry's if she is not right there with us or if we put her to eat then she cry's if we dont let her in right after.   she even cry's when she is with us and just stairs at us for a long period of time. she is in good heath.
  Does any one have any suggestions

[acrt]

I have a 1yr. old english mastiff that I rescued and know nothing about her prior home but can tell she was well taken care of and she is very loving. the only issue is she cry's if she is not right there with us or if we put her to eat then she cry's if we dont let her in right after.   she even cry's when she is with us and just stairs at us for a long period of time. she is in good heath.
  Does any one have any suggestions

[tonyb286]

Hi. This is undoubtedly a psychological problem commonly associated with rescued dogs, called Separation Anxiety, which will get worse if you don't act now. Managing it can be hard. Particularly on the owners of these dogs, as part of the process involves ignoring your dog when it whines and cries and making sure the time you give to your dog is strictly limited. Basically, the dog needs to understand that nothing bad will happen if you aren't around - you will always come back to the house, you will give the dog time for cuddles, you will let it back in from being outside, etc. But responding every time the dog whines or cries, simply means the dog is learning if it whines and cries, it gets attention. Even simple eye-contact must be restricted, if you are to succeed.

This is such a big subject, so please look it up on MedHelp and the Internet for advice and management plans. Good luck. Tony

[Steph213]

My dog is almost 1years old & yesterday she was being weird she was crying allday for no reason i dont know what to do.
Im 39 weeks pregnant and i dont know if its cause she know the baby is almost here or what.

[tonyb286]

You have probably got it exactly right ... dogs are very intuitive. She probably recognizes your condition, but may not necessarily know what it is that is happening to you. She will of course be too young to understand pregnancy, though some dogs instinctively recognize the signs and symptoms of it. She will also be picking up on your anxiety and 'mirroring' it (I'm assuming you are perhaps anxious and occasionally displaying discomfort signals, which of course is perfectly natural, but your dog won't necessarily understand this).

I am also assuming there are no other issues being presented by her, such as failing to eat or drink properly, vomiting, limping, etc. If there ARE other symptoms, then get her to a vet for a check-up asap.

Hopefully, things will settle down after the birth, but do keep an eye on things and try to reassure her as much as possible. Tony

[Steph213]

Thanks she also has this little squeeky chicken and she carries it everywhere she sleeps with it and if i leave the room she walks around with the chicken crying and when i go back to the room she puts it down and sleeps with it
She always lays on my belly and if i leave somewhere she cries my boyfriend says she goes under the bed and howels.

[Steph213]

She never wants to leave the room she stays in there with the little chicken

[tonyb286]

Hi Steph. This is definitely the early onset of separation anxiety, along with some anxiety about your pregnancy probably, the first of which you really need to try to sort out otherwise it could become a much bigger problem later on. I wouldn't like you to be put in a position where you had to re-home your dog, just because of sep. anxiety issues, so I do urge you to start managing this right now and hopefully things will improve.

If you can start to deal with this now, while he is fairly young, there's a chance you can help him get back to being a normal dog. But it's quite a big thing to deal with - and hard on owners too, as it means withdrawing from giving your dog so much attention. Are you up for it? If yes, I'm happy to help guide you in the right direction. Tony

[Steph213]

Yes please help

[Boone494]

Hello, I saw your post regarding your dog and ostio. I have a Saint that just had her right front paw amputated up to the shoulder and is currently undergoing chemo. Her ability to recover from the surgery was incredible. Within two weeks of surgery, she was running. She 7 yrs old. How has your dog progressed since the surgery? When we first saw her after surgery, my wife and I had serious second thoughts about what we had done. She seemed so frail. We were wrong. She is happy and playful again. I was just wandering, thats all. Hope your dog stays healthy and happy. Mastiffs are magnificent dogs

[tonyb286]

That's great Steph. Ok, first things first, can you give me lots info about her. What kind of dog is she? What is her routine during the day and night? When do you think the overt-crying/whining began? How long does she spend with you day and night (really, be honest, how much attention do you give her and how much does she demand)? When does she get fed? What do you feed her and does she get treats, if so, how much and when? Is she okay with other dogs? How often does she go out for walks and how long are the walks? Does she have her own bed area? Is she destructive at all, eg. chewing furnishings, pawing at doors, etc?

The more info you can give, the easier it will be to start a managing program. You will also need everyone's help with this, because if just one person doesn't stick to the program (including any children in the home), it will be undermined.

Chin up, we can sort this. Tony