12 year old Shitzu acting strange

Question
Hi Shelley Davis,
I am concerned about my 12 year old's shitzu's strange behavior. He constantly follows my mom around the house and will follow me around every now and then(he is primarily taken care of by my mother as I only come home during the holidays then I head back to school). He follows her around, will eat if it is hand-fed to him (or beg for our food),he sometimes does not want to sit and will just stand on my mother's lap (which I have noticed that his hind legs are shaky when doing this),he stares into space, lick his lips often and he only passed a small amount of feces yesterday. Could this be a serious issue or could he be acting this way due to pain?

I look forward to your answer,
Thanks!

Answer
Hi Kim,

Thank you for writing to me about your senior Shitzu.  This is definitely a condition that needs to be evaluated by your vet. At his age, your dog should be on glucosamine/chrondroitin for arthritis.  Ask your vet about cosaquin for your dog.

Your pooch could also be suffering from the equivilent of doggie alzheimers.  Your vet will be able to determine this and administer medication.

A dog who is 12 years old should have a full blood workup to determine the state of his health.  This will give you a lot of information to work with.

Best of luck,
Shelley Davis