Fred was an older Basset Hound, a little on the tubby side, with the mournful expression of his breed. Normally, that expression doesn’t mean anything, but Fred was having behavior problems and his owner, Tom, was very anxious and upset about it. It seems that Fred had suddenly and inexplicably refused to walk down the stairs to the garage and, thus, out to the backyard to do his business. This was a pretty big deal because Fred was doing his business at the top of the stairs, and had been for a few weeks. When we met, Tom was furious. He thought that Fred was being lazy, or worse, vengeful, and was eliminating on the landing on purpose — just to spite Tom.

Dogs are pretty intelligent, but they are not usually spiteful — there had to be another reason. During our discussion, Tom indicated that Fred’s energy had been dropping over the last several months; he didn’t want to go on walks, and when he was coerced, he tried to turn around and go home as soon as he could. I asked whether Fred seemed to be in pain, but Tom didn’t think so — Fred hadn’t been crying or whining. Once again, Tom just thought Fred was being stubborn.

Dogs are stoic — most of them will not show pain unless it is intense, and then they will cry out. Otherwise, they will just favor a certain leg, for instance, or they will seem to have less energy. In the case of Fred, it was painful for him to walk down the stairs — his spirit was willing, but it hurt too much. When Tom understood that, he took Fred to the vet for a checkup and built a ramp from the landing to the ground. Fred used that with no problem.

A similar scenario had happened to me with my old Rottweiler, Jobear. All his life, Jobear had jumped into and out of my SUV with no problem. One day, while I was leaving work, we walked to the vehicle and I asked him to get in. He balked. I pushed, I cajoled, I ordered, I got angry. I moved the car. My other dogs were already in, so I let them out and asked him to go in. No go. Eventually, I figured out what was happening, so I rigged up a temporary step for him and he hopped right in. After that, he always needed a step — so I always provided it. It happened just like that — in one day.

There are other behaviors that either become more evident or just appear as dogs get older. Dogs can get very confused, for instance, and get lost in odd places — like in a room with which they have been familiar for years. Sometimes they panic when they feel lost. Some dogs develop sound phobias and separation anxiety when they get older.

It’s very important to keep monitoring dogs’ physical and mental conditions as they age. Most dogs will slide gently into old age and be wonderful until their last moments if they have our love and support throughout.

Tails of Marin appears every Saturday in the Home & Garden section of the Marin Independent Journal