Dog anxious when time to go to bed, but then settles

For the past couple of months or so, my dog (around 9 years old) has been avoiding coming to my room to go to sleep. For context I was away at college for around 3 years so for that whole time she would sleep in bed with my mom. Now that I’ve come back she’s been sleeping with me. She was fine up until a couple months ago. Here’s what usually happens: 1. My mom and I walk up the stairs and she follows 2. She seems to be able to sense it’s bed time so she will start panting a little 3. My mom will have to walk over with her for her to come to my room and even then she will either stop at the laundry room (this is where she gets her treats) or she will make a b-line for the bathroom that’s right next to my room 4. We end up getting her into my room and I will close the door (my mom wants me to do this because she says it’s safer if there’s ever a fire in the house) and she immediately starts panting and pacing around and shaking. She’ll jump on and off the bed, she’ll walk up to me in bed and get on my lap and shake and pant and then she’ll walk away and jump off the bed. It’s a cycle. 5. Then about 10 minutes later she finds a spot and she lays down and is calm and goes to bed. I seriously don’t know what is up and I’m worried. She’s completely fine during the day. She lounges around and she plays with the cat. The only new things that have changed in my room have been my new furniture and new mattress, as I’ve redecorated, but even when those things got brought in she was still find sleeping in here. I’ve tried looking EVERYWHERE for answers, but no one seems to have the same exact issue as me. Please help, I love her so much and I want to know if there’s anything I can do.

I forgot to mention, whenever she goes to sleep in my mom’s room if I’m out late or if my mom goes to bed earlier than me, she’s completely fine. My mom says she doesn’t do any of this.

Hello! - I'm sorry to hear that this is going on for your dog.  Panting can be a sign of breathlessness, stress (anxiety) or pain (eg arthritis, pancreatitis) and I can't rule any of them in or out from here.   I can't rule out underlying heart disease (your vet would do tests if suspicious) or hypothyroidism  (signs might include obvious weight gain, for example, but they might not - this is ruled out with blood tests).  Other causes can include changes to the red blood cells, liver and internal lumps and bumps I'm afraid.  Arthritis can also cause panting, particularly after an animal has been lying down for a while.  Arthritis signs are felt differently at different times - by people, as well as dogs - so lack of consistency would not rule it out. Panting can also be a sign of anxiety - and it sounds as though, over three years, your dog has become used to sleeping next to your Mum and now faces a huge change.  But then it occured to me that they may simply have an extra staircase to climb in order to reach you.  I also wondered about the heat control in your house at the moment, as its very hot where I am. In short, lots of things - or a combination - can cause panting.  Treat this as an early warning sign.  What would your vet like to rule in or out in your dogs' specific case? It sounds to be well worth making an appointment.

Hello! - I'm sorry to hear that this is going on for your dog.  Panting can be a sign of breathlessness, stress (anxiety) or pain (eg arthritis, pancreatitis) and I can't rule any of them in or out from here.   I can't rule out underlying heart disease (your vet would do tests if suspicious) or hypothyroidism  (signs might include obvious weight gain, for example, but they might not - this is ruled out with blood tests).  Other potential causes can include changes to the red blood cells, liver and internal lumps and bumps I'm afraid.  Arthritis is sometimes overlooked in these cases, but is felt differently at different times - we know this from people, as well as dogs.  So a lack of consistency would, quite honestly, not rule it out. Panting can also be a sign of anxiety - and it sounds as though, over three years, your dog has become used to sleeping next to your Mum and now faces a huge change.  On the other hand, I wonder whether they might have extra staircase to climb in order to reach you.  I also wondered about the heat control in your house at the moment, as its very hot where I am. In short, lots of things - or a combination of them - can cause panting.  Panting is a symptoms of many things, and potentially, a warning sign.  What would your vet like to rule in or out in your dogs' specific case? It sounds to be well worth making an appointment.