9 year old jack russell dementia- tips?

[silvercurls]

vet thinks my JRT has dementia- has anyone any tips on how to help/ manage this? also having blood tests to rule anything else out.
gave us some supplements for cognition and some for anxiety, but really expensive! any recommendations ?
have an adaptil plug in, got a couple of "puzzle toys", I'd like some more as I'm out of the house for 8 hours and JRT is alone.
heartbroke

I found this website helpful when my dog started showing signs. Did the vet do a full check for signs of pain, as pain can look very like dementia in some dogs, so you need to rule out things like arthritis. It’s good that they are doing bloods.

We now think at least some of my boys symptoms were down to pain, as a comprehensive plan for managing his arthritis, alongside taking Aktivait (which is expensive, but cheaper online than from the vets) for improved cognition resulted in a big improvement and we are now over a year on with no signs of further decline. There are specific vet medications like selegiline for dementia though and the sooner they are started the better. I believe you can use selegiline alongside Aktivait.

We use snuffle mats and licki mats for my boy, as well as regular brain training games that we do with him.

I’m afraid I don’t know what to suggest if you have to leave him regularly, as we are with my boy 24/7 and even take turns to sleep on the sofa so he doesn’t get anxious at night. I assume he’s used to it as his normal routine and they do thrive on routine so he may be ok with it. If your dog is anything like mine, he may well sleep through most of the day, so perhaps you could invest in cameras with an app to help you work out his routine while you are out and arrange for someone to go in at strategic points that he regularly wakes or seems anxious?

Thank you. Yes the vet did a thorough check up, said in fact he is in great shape physically.
The routine of me going to work has been this way since he was about 3.
Will have a look at aktivait and the mats too, thanks. Also getting a camera.

What is he doing or what behaviours is he showing?

8 in a terrier is quite young to have dementia. I would maybe also look at behavioural reasons as well.

he is 9.5.
I thought this was young too, vet says otherwise.
he's sitting outside , looking like he doesn't know where he is, doesn't bark at the postman like he always did, scratching at doors and washing machine, bedding down in unusual places. anxiety.
He has wee'd in the house occaisionally recently, never done that before.
He's eating and drinking normally, running around on his walks, seems in greta physical shape.

Dementia would not be my first thought but I am no vet. Has he had bloods taken?

I wonder if @LonecatwithKitten is around? to give their views

Are you leaving him daily for 8 hours? If so, I'd explore behavioural type issues as that's just too much time alone on such a regular basis

Has he been checked for high blood pressure (hypertension) we are starting to recognise that a reasonable number of CCD cases are hypertensive and lowering their blood pressure can improve signs.
I also agree he is young for CCD and actually I would be concerned about a space occupying lesion so a head CT would be indicated.

Hello - don't wish to be unkind but in my experience (have had a Jack Russell for 17 years) they don't like being alone for long stretches - they get quite anxious and basically bored. Mine developed dementia at 15 and it was obvious he had it - walking in circles at times, barking at his own noises, forgetting why he had gone into the garden etc. I bought him a soft pet toy from a pet store. He 'cuddled' it all the time and it became a friend. Yours is a younger dog so if you get one make sure the eyes don't come out etc as he might shred it. Other options we used were leaving the radio on if we were out , offering him a couple of bed choices and I started leaving him a piece of my clothing in his bed and he found this very comforting. Also a light on so he wasn't ever in the dark. The vet gave us tablets to improve blood flow to the brain and they were very good and did help but not a cure I'm afraid. I'd start with the potential anxiety/boredom issue and see how it goes.