Peculiar behavior in older dog

Question
Hello there!  

We have an 11 year old shepherd mix who has developed a strange behavior lately. For all his life, he has slept on his bed near the front door. He has never been allowed to wander throughout the whole house as we live in the country, he comes in pretty muddy, and he sheds a great deal. Lately, he has begun wandering about the house at night after we all go to bed and I sometimes discover him in the living room, or another bedroom (one son is away at school). When I place chairs or other objects to keep him in his area, he becomes frantic to the point of climbing up onto the chairs and trying to get over everything just to be able to wander around! Very much out of character for him.  He never does this during the day, only after everyone has gone to bed and the lights are out. He gets a decent amount of exercise as he roams about our 5 acres all day long. Any suggestions or thoughts on this?  My concern is, if he is "forgetting" all the rules, he may soon starting peeing in the living room in addition to wandering around in there.  Thank you!

Answer
Hi May May,

A good place to start would be with a vet exam.

Older dogs can develop a condition called Cognitive Dysfunction Syndrome, which is often compared to Alzheimer's Disease that people can develop. Dogs over 8 years old who develop changes in your their life-long habits or behaviors should be examined to rule out CDS.

You can read about Cognitive Dysfunction Syndrome here:
http://www.cdsindogs.com/CDSInDogs.aspx?drug=CC&country=US&species=OO&sec=000

If caught early, there is medication available to help with this condition.

If CDS is ruled out as the cause for your dog's behavior, you need to look at other medical conditions that would make your dog restless, causing him to roam the house. Joint disease and heart disease are two that come to mind. Again, a vet exam is needed to rule these out as possible causes.

Best of luck,
Patti