dog behaviour

Question
our dog constantly paces around looking dejected with tail hanging down.   he seldom settles.   he seems to need to keep one of us always in view.   if we put something in the way so he cannot stare at us he whines.   if we try to reassure him by paying him attention he just gets worse.   he is driving us crazy!   he has regular walks, am and pm and regular meals.   water bowl is kept full.
what do you think is the matter?   what should we do?   very grateful for some guidance.

Answer
Hi again!

From what you have told me in the comments section, I am sorry to say that it is very hard to change his behaviour now. You are saying that he is 18 years old! Congratulations for that, you have obviously taken very good care of him. But it would be very hard to change his behaviour after such an age. You also said that his behaviour kind of changed after your mother passed away, which is a great reason for her behaviour now. Since he was your mother's dog mostly, he obviously feels left alone, rejected somehow, and trying to deal with the effects of losing your mother himself. What you need to do is give him lots of attention and love, trying to keep him reassured that you will be there for him always, and that you will not leave him. About the mealtime problems, again he was used to eating with mommy, so it's very hard for him to leave that behaviour now, he is too old to be re-trained. So you will probably will have to put up with that. But his constant need of attention and odd behaviour can be treated with some anti-depressant drugs, if it gets worse. But for this, you have to consult a veterinarian specialised in animal psychology also, and he/she can decide on the use of these drugs after an examination, since his age is quite a lot too. I hope this helps, if you have any further questions please do not hesitate to contact me. I'll be very glad if you could keep me informed on how it goes.

Kind Regards,
Caglar Kondu Erkip, DVM