Why does my senior dog sometimes yowl at night?

Hmm. That could also be for a variety of reasons. I mean, the first thing that comes to my mind is senility. I don't want to say Alzheimer's because that's not really a condition we document in dogs, but it certainly happens. It could be from being painful as well. If they're laying on a hard floor or hard surface and they're arthritic, there's not as much muscle there to provide cushion or support, so it could mean that they are in pain. It could simply be a dog that just misses you and doesn't want to be away from you at night, so it’s hard to say for sure. Definitely get the animal looked at and have some blood work run, so that way, if there is something underlying, you can catch it early and address it.

There's not just one answer to that. That could be for many reasons. Sometimes, it is because they are a little disoriented. We sometimes see some cognitive dysfunction as pets age, and they may do things that they didn't normally do. Sometimes, things bother them. Things that didn’t bother people do so more as they age, and the same thing for pets. A pet that didn't care about thunderstorms may suddenly get more excited, so the vocalization can be one way that they express that.

While we associate vocalization with pain, and that can be accurate, it just doesn't always go hand in hand. Because if you think about it, a lot of times, pets hide their pain. So if a dog's in pain, again, it may be more reclusive or stay in one area versus getting up and getting around. And the crying out or the yowling may be more of a cognitive reaction versus a pain response. Sometimes, it's attention-seeking. They may become a little bit more attached and have more separation issues.