Aging Dog Behavior

Question
Hi there,

I have a 12 going on 13 in April Australian Shepherd female.  She is fixed, and has been since she was 1 or so.  She has been hard of hearing for awhile, and it has gotten worse in the past 2 months.  She digs at the ground a lot, not outside so much, but before she sits down (particularly at night) she starts scratching at the ground.  I know that female dogs before delivery have nesting behaviors, but do dogs before death do this as well?  

Thanks for your time,

Katie

Answer
Nesting is very common in many dogs as they try to "fluff" their bedding before lying down... even if that bedding is carpeting or a wooden floor. It can get very annoying with some dogs as they dig and dig, and here, particularly when I am trying to sleep at night, I often end up hollaring at someone trying to rearrange our bedroom floor... "IT DOESN'T FLUFF!!!!"<G>

I would say that old dogs, particularly as they get more infirm and nearer to the end of their lives, do NOT exhibit nesting behavior. It requires a lot of effort, and just getting up and down is hard enough for them. Digging requires good balance and a fair amount of skill which really old dogs simply no longer have.

While yours might have lost her hearing, it sounds like she still has lots of time left yet.