I know Border Terriers have a tendency to spontaneously start "singing". Whether you consider what comes out of them as singing or just howling is a matter of opinion but mine has started howling at around 12 to 13 years old. I guess in the immortal words of Eric Morecambe, he sings all the right notes, but night in the right places! I am informed that it may be dementia setting in. He seems OK in every other respect. I tend to blame Covid. The restrictions we were faced with basically threw us all together for abnormal periods and I guess now we are paying a secondary price. Its possible it is some sort of separation anxiety, which I could sort of understand if one of us wasn't in the house. But he starts as soon as I go out of the room now. If my wife has to go shopping, and I remain behind, he starts his routine. I watch him sometimes and occasionally he actually looks as though he's enjoying his aria, but other times it sounds woeful and as though he's distressed. What do I do? Is there anyway of reducing this as its driving us crackers! Although he doesn't look his age, he can't be walked long distances anymore because of age and a previous injury. Plus he has developed a heart murmur that although doesn't need medication, we are monitoring closely.
I think you are right about age being the trigger, and lockdown having established more limited behaviour patterns. A month ago, we lost our 12 y.o. female Beagle and our 13 y.o. male is now not wanting be left home alone. It isn't a true separation anxiety, he doesn't seem anxious - it's more like he's happiest when we are in the 'right' place. Maybe it is because he feels that something is missing. If we go shopping he seems to think we are upstairs, even though he has seen us leave and heard the car go. When we return he will be standing on the lower landing, staring up and intermittently calling to us. If he goes with us, he is content to sit or sleep alone in the car for long periods without making a sound. I tend to use long lasting chews - like sinew or those smelly fish skins, (he has 'gone off' dried tripe), but unfortunately it doesn't last quite long enough!
