Canine senility/dementia

[Scuttlebutter]

I'm posting this on behalf of a friend who's not online much. She has three greyhounds, all elderly. Her twelve year old is a dear old boy - his sight is poor, but he is still enjoying walks, exercise etc. However, she has noticed that he seems to be displaying the signs of dementia - he'll often just stare into space, get confused about where he is, and occasionally will have a poo or wee inside the house, often without really realising. He's very fortunate in that one of the other dogs acts as his "minder" and guides him out on walks, looks after him etc. My friend is due to visit the vet for a consultation in the next few days.

I'd really appreciate hearing from others who've managed/lived with this condition and ideas/suggestions - meds that work, coping strategies etc.

To be clear, simply suggesting PTS won't be welcome - my friend is committed to helping her dog as much as possible though of course would always take welfare advice from a vet. She's retired herself, so is around most of the day and is looking for ways to make his last few years more comfortable.

We had a PBGV who was like this in his last couple of years. it was very like Alzheimer's in people, he was disorientated and didn't know whether it was day or night and would demand feeding at 2am! There is a medication that improves blood supply to the brain, that helped our dog for a little while. The condition changes over time. For about 6 months he would wander up and down the hall as if he was lost or trying to go somewhere, then that stopped. For a while his skewed body clock was at the right time, but it soon changed. All we could do was live with it, though mopping up every morning was a bit of a pain. he lived to be 15 and died in his sleep, we loved him very dearly.

There are several different drugs in the market that may help so it is worth talking to her vet.

My old boy reverted back to puppyish behaviour, weeing and pooing in the house, chewing, rifling through the bins. He also used to wander off as if lost even though you would probably find him in the playroom staring at the sofa! All this coincided with a rather rapid decline in his physical health so after a few months we made the decision to pts.

Has to also be mentioned that our other dog also became much more protective of our old boy, would walk with and sleep with him, let other dogs know not to pester. He did become like a full time carer, always there to provide reassurance for him.

Last year, our elderly greyhound bitch was prescribed Vivitonin after her stroke and it helped, and I've read it can be helpful in dementia cases in dogs, and this will certainly be something she'll be discussing, as I've already mentioned it to her.

Lonecat - my friend is seeing her vet next week and is very open to the idea of medication, but as with so many long term conditions (e.g. arthritis) it's also very helpful to know about the day to day management as well - hence my query about other people's experiences.

Cathpip - it's actually rather lovely to see the way that the other greyhound has taken the old boy under his wing - he guides him on walks, and looks after him, and they are always snuggled up together. My friend also took on a foster bitch recently and it's so nice to see the three of them together.

Vivitonin- that was the stuff - it worked wonders for a couple of months, but then the effect reduced.