Help! My 16yr old Corgi boy personality changed! :(

Before: Happy go lucky, independent, loves to play tug and run around outside.
Past year:

• pre-move: started to whine increasingly more, to the point we no longer knew what reason he had for it. physically not as strong. we lived on the 2nd floor. he had fell down the stairs a few times. we had started to carry him up and down. was better when we gave him gloucosimine, at least enough to go down the stairs ok, just slowly. started to wait at the door to go inside.
• post-move: started peeing and occasionally pooing in the house, mainly over night as he has a tenancy to pace around alot now and if he does it in the am, makes him pee/poo. decided to have him wear a diaper in the day time then cage him at night (also figuring that when it is his time to go, it will make it easier on her as she has separation anxiety when alone, i wanted her to feel comfortable with a cage, so I cage them both) to minimize the pacing. but now he whines when he is in the cage for a while and that gets my other dog going too sometimes and so it has driven me crazy being woken up at night by whining from one or the other. I thought i made headway as they let me sleep through a few nights as I also aimed to be consistent wake up to let them out at about 6am every morning, then it started again, then it didn't quite stop but not as incessant. i guess perhaps I just slept through it, as this morning i woke up to seeing a corner of his bed chewed up. oh one more thing, to try to get them used to the cages, i took away their other beds leaving the only comfy places to be in the cages. it worked on my other dog as she would go in during the day and nap, but my corgi refuses to go in to nap, in fact today he ended up going in her cage to nap, which is much smaller. Also, he no longer enjoys being outside. I had hoped that before he went he would get to enjoy a big yard. But now after he does his business, he just paces in a clock-wise formation (making his lead tie up in knots) and whines to go inside. Even when we are out, he aims for the front door.

I want to have a trainer, but as we just moved and have renovations to do, we can't afford to. anyone have any suggestions as what i can do as, i am afraid the situation might decline. i feel bad that he is so unhappy, but at the same time so infuriated that I can't get a good night sleep.

Any help would be greatly appreciated!!!

 

More often than not when our dogs pee and poo indoors we always assume that it is a behavior issue. You might however want to make sure it is not a medical concern. First off your pet is quite old at 16 years. It might have a medical condition that is causing all these changes. Your pet could have a bacterial bladder infection which is known to make a pet pee more often. Some older dogs poo inside the home because they have a hard time moving about or they could have IBD (irritable bowel disease). It would be best if you consult with your doctor to make sure he/she is ok physically before you start any behavior modification training.

 

I also think that it could be because of his age and health issues. I used to have a dog that pees on the rug in the front door. She just do it when she aged and I cannot do nothing about it since she sleeps indoor.

 

I have taken him to the vet and he gets a clean bill of health after he had an episode of whipworms which is controlled now (switched from heartguard to sentinel). As for the peeing, he still has issues but not as bad as when he had the whipworm issue, I blame it more on whatever the reason is he whines at night. That is my biggest issue right now is how to calm him down at night. he is fine with the cage during the day now after I bought him a new bed yesterday. But I don't think I solved the problem as he still whines at night, just not as bad. Not sure if is separation anxiety now or just him not wanting be in the cage. And why does he pace around in clock-wise circles???

It is undoubtedly age related on some level. Thank you both for your responses.

 

I understand that you've moved. Is the place where you are currently living at colder than your old place?

When was the last time he had a vet check. Since he does have a clean bill of health, and since you are assuming that it's age related, have you considered that it might be arthritis? Arthritis hits bad when it's cold... or usually, during night time.

Incontinence can be caused by old age. It could also be caused of having been neutered. I have read recently that some neutered dogs have had issues with incontinence. I guess it's just something you should consider.

Sixteen is old, perhaps he might also need a change in diet and some supplements.

Pacing can be a sign of discomfort. He might be experiencing something painless but annoying.