7 year old St. Bernard - emotional changes

Question
My Saint is experiencing a sudden need for continual attention, is excessively panting through the night, wants everyone in the house to be awake. Once we get up and are in our designated spots in the house (I work from home so this is usually my office) then she quiets down. This has been going on for about three weeks now and is driving the household nuts. For the past week she is also now exhibiting "fear" signs, we live in the country so there is often random gun fire from hunters. On one occasion she ran to the bathtub to hide - a spot she usually hates to enter. Are these changes typical as a pet ages? I have owned several large breeds and have never had this issue before. Any ideas what might be wrong? She is very healthy, good diet, no changes in any other way.

Answer
It could be a hormonal problem,such as hypothyroidism,cushing's or addison's disease,which is common in dogs,esp older females,so asking your vet about having our dog tested for these might be a good idea,as it does make dogs act weird for no reason-so i would have that checked out first

Also has anything changed in her life just before this started? ANYTHING,even small can make a dog act differently,such as a new pet or person moving in,or even you leaving for a few days may cause unusual anxiety-what you can do for that is to go to your local health food store and look for something called 'rescue remedy' and you can put a few drops of it in her water and that will often calm dogs down-although it is a good idea to try to find out why she is like this,sometimes there is no clear answer-but first do hve her tested at the vet then once thats ruled out you can even ask your vet for more advice