Mal x Lab (mainly mal) suddenly changes his behaviour & I need help understanding

[julieandsteve]

Hi Thanks for the welcome. I am so worried about my 8 year old malamute cross. I thought this would be too early for him to be getting any sort of dimensia but he is just out of it. He went for a walk with me today and everything was fine. But of a night, he seems scared to come into our bedroom. (his usual sleeping place) and wanted to go outside. But when I took him out, he just sat on the ramp. I know this sounds stupid, But he is just as important as a child. This is tearing me apart and it has only happened a couple of times. Right now, he is lying down in our toilet room. And I am just a bit worried that he might turn nasty (never happened in 8 years) when my wife goes to the toilet in the middle of the night if he is startled. I can't draw him away from there because he just keeps returning to there. We have a holiday here so I can't get him to a vet. But I had him there last week and they were not even able to handle him as he got scared. He had something in his foot and has been on antibiotics for the week. And he is shaking his head as thought there is something wrong with his ear but, again, like the foot, when anyone, (including me) goes near it, he pulls away with fear. This is so upsetting  ((( But then again today, he's OK, he was interested in coming in the car to drive to the front of our property. (pretended to need to go to mail box to see his reaction. But of a night his behavious has changed. He seems disorientated and even in the day, he sometimes seems to be standing there wondering where he is. This is so upsetting!  Has anyone else had this experience with their beloved 4 legged mate and if so what did you do? What was the outcome and all of that type of stuff please?

[ginger899]

Oh dear...I can understand your concern, as this is out of character for his "normal self". I am sorry because I can't give a personal answer as I never had a dog with these same issues.
Poor guy. He must feel mighty strange.

I see that you are on holiday somewhere at the moment, and can't get to a vet. Could that be a part of it? That he is in an unfamiliar place? Obviously I don't know your exact circumstances or how remote you are etc.
But nevertheless it's not his normal self.
How long is your holiday to last?

My advice would be to just "stay with him" as much as you can until the holiday ends; go with the flow as much as you can and manage as best as possible.
But schedule a vet visit as SOON as you get back. I would call your vet now to make an appointment.

It is just possible the antibiotics could have caused side effects which have made him feel weird or unusual...?
Why would he camp out in the bathroom? Do you think it's because his guts don't feel so good; maybe he feels he might have an "accident"? Or is it cooler in there? If so he may have a slight fever. There might be some sort of logic to it.

But of course I don't know. He does need to be seen by the vet as soon as possible. Sometimes disturbances like this aren't always dementia. Dogs can behave weirdly when they aren't feeling so good physically for one reason or another.
Definitely make sure a full blood-work is done on him. That will show up if there are any imbalances or raised values anywhere (kidneys, liver, thyroid, sugar levels etc)

I know this may sound mean as you love him very much, but if you and your wife are the slightest bit concerned that he might suddenly "turn" on your wife if startled in the night, then buy a soft muzzle and put that on him before you all go to bed. Then you know that no bad accident can occur.
Alternatively, if you have a half-bath or other bathroom anywhere then use that instead. It should only be for a few days? Until you get him to a vet and check out from the bottom line what might be happening to him.

[ginger899]

P.S. Don't put a muzzle on him if he has been vomiting. Usually a soft muzzle will work for the dog to be able to drink water but I am not sure how safe it would be if the dog vomits.

[julieandsteve]

thank you for your caring answer. no, we aren't on holidays. It was the Australia day weekend. It has been extremely hot where we live and I'm thinking that this could be part of the reason. But he seems to have decided either the toilet or the laundry rooms are where he "just wants to stand". I was aso thinking that if his hearing is affected (because of his head shaking and scratching at his right ear) that possibly the change in ability to hear as well might be making him feel scared. You are right, there are so many possibilities. But I just used all of my spare "3 months" worth of savings (we are on a pension) So I can't afford another trip just yet. On Feb 6th, we have a surgeons appointment (for me to have a bad C removed from my back) so I will have to wait. He has not got worse. If anything, he has once again showed his normal "happy enthusiasm" for our afternoon walks (well drags as he pulls me to his next new adventure) so it's a case of maybe me just being a worry wort. But this sudden, marked, disturbing change in his behaviour really had / still has me worried. Money means nothng to me, but it's needed to ensure that my best mate is cared for. But again, wow, thank you so much for caring.
Regards
Steve