Does anyone know anything about doggie dementia?

[Doggiedementia]

Just that really. My old boy has been diagnosed and out on tablets 2x a day.

He’s still in good enough form just gets a bit confused sometimes and does a lot of looking at walls 👀. He’s gone from being independent to needing to be beside me all the time and sleeping in my bed which he never did. And he’s having poo accidents (which I don’t mind cleaning up)

Does anyone know how likely the tablets are to make an improvement? I didn’t think to ask the vet

My 16 yo dog doesn't seem to have dementia - he occasionally looks a bit lost but often I chalk it up to him being deaf. However he does poo inside and I don't think you'll stop it as it's to do with their muscle control more than anything else. We had to move to keeping him in a part of the house that has hard floors only.

That’s the problem. He won’t settle at night unless he’s in with me and I can’t sleep on the sofa as I’m disabled

I’ve put down the sticky stuff on a roll you get in b and q for when you’re getting renovations done to protect the carpets as best I can.

Yes it's tricky. In some ways the fact ours is dead had helped as he senses us less as tends to sleep a lot whenever he's in the house so moving him from being in our bedroom at night to downstairs hasn't been too traumatic.

He’s still keen to go for a walk, although he can’t go too far due to arthritis. And some days are better than others.

But I’m worried.

DEAF.

We do not keep a dead dog

Lol (sorry)

Many dogs get canine cognitive decline from about 8 years old and the signs you describe are classic - especially night time restlessness and toileting. It's massively underdiagnised as it's often chalked up to 'ageing'

A medication called selgian is particularly effective but other meds can help too

todaysveterinarypractice.com/management-of-dogs-and-cats-with-cognitive-dysfunction/

This actually came into my inbox yesterday. I don't know if this is any help. www.countryliving.com/uk/wildlife/pets/a37508363/dog-dementia/?utm_source=crm&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=CNL_N_20210909_WEEKLY&utm_content=na&utm_term=na&HearstNode=1425355A616986B7F5C6AE21BC9FAF0C128793B96F58263E3DA56CCA6B32EBAB

Yes, my mums dog was diagnosed with dementia (and sight and hearing loss) in the last 18 months of his life. She lost him last month at 16. He spent a lot of time walking round and round in circles in the last two years, and by the end was doubly incontinent. She took her bed apart and slept on a mattress on the floor for the last 18 months as he couldn’t be without her. But he wasn’t medicated at all for it.

Thank you everyone.

The vet has put him on vivitonin and he already gets supplements and is on a high quality food as my other dog has allergies and I’m not faffingnwith two different feeds so they both get the same.

He has puzzles for treats and a sniffle mat and lots of toys to play with.

I work from home and he has plenty of opportunity to get out during the day. The pooing happens at night sometime before 6am.

He’s walked twice a day for approx 20 mins as he can’t go further due to his arthritis (which he gets metacalm for).

His teeth are fine - he had 3 out last year but the vet checked today and the remaining ones are still ok.

He’s 14.

He’s also regularly wormed. And his jabs are up to date and there’s nothing wrong with kidneys or heart or anything like that that the vet can find.

He can’t really jump up anymore so I just lift him onto the sofa when he wants up and on to my bed. He has a special orthopaedic bed but he seems to want to be beside me all the time so it’s a bit of a waste right now.

Oh. And the boyfriend raised an eyebrow and said “you’re bringing him into bed every night?”

Yes. And if you don’t like it go to the spare room, or there’s the door. Don’t let it bang your arse on the way out.

For nighttime restlessness I like melatonin as well, it is available in the U.K. for dogs as the non-prescription supplement Melacutin 3mg chocolate flavour chews, they’re marketed for hair loss issues, but can help with the evening/nighttime restlessness you can get with cognitive behavioural dysfunction as well.

I’ll try that too thank you.

How do the vets diagnose, is there a blood test or something? I think my 13 year old is showing signs. I want to be prepared so this thread is a great help.

No they didn’t do bloods just took a history from me and then said they’d check everything else and of course I can’t go in at the minute so they just brought him out and said they thought it was dementia, given what I’d described.

Ok, I suppose that makes sense. If the boyfriend doesn't like it then tough, dogs come first 🤷‍♂️

Oh for sure. Dog before boyfriend.

One of our dogs got this. She became upset and frantic many times during the night, waking me often. I had to take her out each time. I was exhausted.

She was prescribed selegeline and it worked well for about a year. Then she started the nighttime thing again. In the end, we had to get her put to sleep. She was a big dog and lived to 14 so a good long time.

I have read that Purina is making a dog food called Bright Minds that
Might help.

Our 17yr old boy had cognitive degeneration/dementia for his last 18 months.
He went from being perfectly house trained to completely incontinent, even standing right by an open door to the garden.
He stared at walls a lot and did things like stand at the hinge end of a door when previously he just knew which end to wait at. He also walked into things (quite deaf/cataracts.)
He was always anxious to know where we were (rescue boy from horrible circumstances) but this escalated and he would get quite stressed in the moment when checking where we were, especially if we were in different rooms. I remember seeing his anxious little face appear when I was in the bath!
We didn't go down the medication route, just tried to make him comfortable and feel safe.
His appetite did go and we had to tempt him with treats to keep his energy up.
Lots of luck and hope it all goes ok. He was my most wonderful companion for many years and a really lovely dog - you need those memories I think to help you nurse them in their twilight years.

I just wanted to say you all sound such wonderful dog owners, the love and care for your dogs really comes through on your posts, and yes stuff the boyfriend! Dogs first!

Selgian is the licensed and most effective medication but it is expensive.
It also has anti anxiety effects so really helps them to feel better and more relaxed

I’ll ask the vet for it. Thank you.

I really do appreciate everyone taking the time to reply.

It's a few years ago now so medication may have changed. My dear boy was also on Vivitonin. I think it maybe slowed down the deterioration for a bit.

He was happy in his own bed but I had to move it into my room beside my bed for him to settle.

There was something wrong with his back which became very painful and painkillers that were strong enough had a terrible effect on him on the first day we tried them so I made the decision then that enough was enough. In all honesty it was almost a relief to have the decision made easy for me as with the dementia I didn't know.

I had decided though that if he became agitated or distressed I wouldn't let it go on as I felt he would be very unhappy.

It's not easy. I wish you happy times for as long as you have left with him.