Senior Golden acting strange

Question
Our golden retriever is 11 and has suddenly begun refusing to use his doghouse.  We live in a climate that is warm enough most of the time, with only a few short periods of bitterly cold weather, so we had not pushed the issue.  Tonight, however, we have a snowstorm blowing in and are expecting temperatures below zero.  Our dog was just sitting against the fence in the blowing sleet and snow and refused to get in his house!  He was covered head to toe in ice.  I ending up dragging him into the garage, drying him off and setting him up in there for the night, but he wasn't happy about it.  

He is in excellent health and while he doesn't get around as quickly as he used to, he still is very spry and playful.  The only other recent changes in behaviour have been an onset of excessive digging all over the yard and pulling bites of lawn out in big chunks.  This is annoying, but not life threatening like the other problem!

Any insights?

Answer
Hi Shelly,

Sometimes when a mouse or (other small wildlife) is living in a dog house, or eating out of the dog's bowl, the dog will avoid using whatever the wildlife has taken over. You should thoroughly clean out the doghouse, and inspect it for signs of mice.

The other new behaviors (digging and pulling chunks out of the lawn) sounds like boredom behaviors. You should take your dog for at least one walk a day. Given your dog's age, walk slow and gradually increase the distance that you walk, watching for signs of lameness.
If your dog seems stiff after the walk, you can give him a buffered aspirin (not on an empty stomach). Exercise is important for elderly dogs. Moderate exercise can help to delay degeneration of joints that are affected with arthritis, and your elderly dog's mental health may also benefit from exercise. Activity keeps oxygen and other nutrients like glucose (blood sugar) at optimum levels in the brain. The brain is like every other organ in the body in that it requires good nutrition.
Exercise will help stimulate him mentally, and you probably will see less of that boredom behavior.

No dog, especially an elderly one that's 11 years old, should never be left outside during a snowstorm. It's your job to monitor the weather and know to bring your dog inside. I am of the firm belief that a dog's place is in your home, with the rest of your family.

I hope that helps.
Best of luck,

Patti