Hello everyone.
I don't post much anymore but Parker's recent change in behavior has lead me back since I am a little stumped as well as concerned. (Posting in this section since he was cleared of any health issues)
About a month ago, a relative of mine passed away. The weeks leading up to it, Parker started occasionally urinating ONLY on wet towels, dish towels and face cloths. He was much more vocal and night and extremely clingy with me. (I thought maybe he sensed something.) I had plans to take him to the vet anyway, but the passing of my uncle sort of pushed the issue out of my head for a while. About 2 weeks ago, Parker urinated on 3 towels in a week, even pulling them out of the bathroom and off of the oven door. I made an appointment and took him in. The vet immediately guessed it was a thyroid issue, since he had lost just under 1lb too. She did a full senior and wellness panel (urinalysis included). I waited for the results and everything came back spot on, except his blood sugar and heart rate were elevated but I am attributing that to stress because there were several dogs there at the time and an extremely angry cat, which got Parker very agitated. I am taking him back next week to check his blood sugar again though, just to be safe.
So all that aside, could his weight loss and urinating out of the box be stress related?
I ask because I have been neglecting him a little more attention-wise lately because of my own mental health issues and with the death, I have been pretty stressed out too. So could he be feeling this and acting out? The vocalizing has stopped and he hasn't urinated on any towels, although that might be because I am making sure not to leave anything that is or was wet within reach but he is kind of mopey still.
His weight is my biggest concern, so I am going to ad an extra meal in during the day. Is that ok, or should I feed him smaller, more frequent amounts? Keep in mind, his appetite has not changed at all during this whole time. I am also trying to spend more quality time with him, in hopes he settles but at the end of the month, one of my roommates is moving out and I am concerned that will set him back too. Can I prepare him for that somehow?
I apologize for all the questions, I am just not sure how to go about all this. I am used to his plethora of health problems but never have had to deal with stress or depression with him.
Thank you for reading my lengthy post.
I don't post much anymore but Parker's recent change in behavior has lead me back since I am a little stumped as well as concerned. (Posting in this section since he was cleared of any health issues)
About a month ago, a relative of mine passed away. The weeks leading up to it, Parker started occasionally urinating ONLY on wet towels, dish towels and face cloths. He was much more vocal and night and extremely clingy with me. (I thought maybe he sensed something.) I had plans to take him to the vet anyway, but the passing of my uncle sort of pushed the issue out of my head for a while. About 2 weeks ago, Parker urinated on 3 towels in a week, even pulling them out of the bathroom and off of the oven door. I made an appointment and took him in. The vet immediately guessed it was a thyroid issue, since he had lost just under 1lb too. She did a full senior and wellness panel (urinalysis included). I waited for the results and everything came back spot on, except his blood sugar and heart rate were elevated but I am attributing that to stress because there were several dogs there at the time and an extremely angry cat, which got Parker very agitated. I am taking him back next week to check his blood sugar again though, just to be safe.
So all that aside, could his weight loss and urinating out of the box be stress related?
I ask because I have been neglecting him a little more attention-wise lately because of my own mental health issues and with the death, I have been pretty stressed out too. So could he be feeling this and acting out? The vocalizing has stopped and he hasn't urinated on any towels, although that might be because I am making sure not to leave anything that is or was wet within reach but he is kind of mopey still.
His weight is my biggest concern, so I am going to ad an extra meal in during the day. Is that ok, or should I feed him smaller, more frequent amounts? Keep in mind, his appetite has not changed at all during this whole time. I am also trying to spend more quality time with him, in hopes he settles but at the end of the month, one of my roommates is moving out and I am concerned that will set him back too. Can I prepare him for that somehow?
I apologize for all the questions, I am just not sure how to go about all this. I am used to his plethora of health problems but never have had to deal with stress or depression with him.
Thank you for reading my lengthy post.