Why is my senior Chihuahua barking constantly after her friend died?

Question

I have a 15 year old female Chihuahua. Her companion, another Chihuahua, died a year ago. Over the last couple of months she has started to bark for attention constantly...a single bark about every two minutes. We live in a two story and we don't allow her upstairs but we cannot go upstairs without the barking starting. We have tried sitting with her for while but it starts as soon as we leave. Wondering if she is lonely? Would getting another dog help with this? Pet's info: Dog | Chihuahua | Female | spayed | 16 years and 1 month old | 6 lbs

Lauren Jones VMD · Accepted Answer

I'm sorry to hear that Seraph lost her friend last year. It's certainly possible that she's experiencing some loneliness, but I would have expected the behavior changes to start right after your other dog's passing. Given her age, the other thing to bear in mind is that she may be starting to develop some cognitive dysfunction, vision loss, or hearing loss. Any of these changes can manifest with some degree of separation anxiety and barking changes. If you're planning to get another dog, I doubt that it will make matters worse for Seraph, but there's certainly no guarantee that it will help her barking and anxiety either. These articles have a lot more information for you to consider: https://www.petcoach.co/article/4-signs-of-cognitive-dysfunction-in-dogs/ https://www.petcoach.co/article/aging-gracefully-6-things-to-know-about-canine-cognitive-dysfunct/ https://www.petcoach.co/article/is-my-dog-experiencing-hearing-loss/ https://www.petcoach.co/dog/condition/acquired-deafness-and-hearing-loss/ I hope this helps a bit and that everything goes well for Seraph!

Why is my senior Chihuahua barking constantly after her friend died?

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