Canine Dementia — Signs, Symptoms, Treatments

The Bark ^ | By Susan and Michael Cain, October 2017, Updated February 2020

[mountainfolk]

I can empathize with your wife. We think of pets as family and it hurts to part with a loved one. Our Collie gradually slowed down, walking any distance was hard for her and we had to lift her into the van and out. Various other physical evidence of her just aging. Sometimes had to turn her around and other times needed to help her stand. At the last, sixteen yrs old, we reluctantly said goodbye and still miss her and feel her presence when driving on trips. She loved to travel with us but the last years we did kennel her as it was just too much for her.

[Lurker]

Try Lapoflove.com.

We have them 3 times.

It’s the best way to deal with a sad situation.

L

[null and void]

In before the dog-faced pony soldier comment...

[reformedliberal]

...have her put to sleep, but my wife will not hear of it.................
_________________________________________________

Our beloved Akita, Bo had all these symptoms. At age 12, likely deaf, with a failing rear end, he mauled me when I tried to help him up. Since he couldn’t move easily, I rolled out of the way, but he did a number on one arm. (Never approach one of these guys from the front! My fault.)

He had to be put down and it was because we were just too selfish to let him go sooner.

Sometimes it is not kind to keep them after their best days are gone.

We still miss him, after 8 years.

[pax_et_bonum]

My little Lucy was twenty when she died almost two months ago.

She displayed your list of symptoms for about two years before she died. (She was never aggressive in any way.)

She had become blind because of cataracts but wasn’t a candidate for cataract surgery because of a long-term heart condition.

Sometime in late February or early March I came across Can-C eye drops for dogs. There was nothing to lose so we tried them and I will always be thankful that I found them when I did.

Once we began treatment Lucy’s cataracts slowly diminished and for the last few weeks of her life she began to look around when I held her, much like a newborn baby gazes around at his surroundings.

She also began to gaze into the face of whoever was holding her, as if she could see us. She had long before stopped doing this.

We began to see the outside of her pupils, especially on the side in one eye where the cleared away part was bigger.

Also, she stopped walking in circles. We think that maybe the last direction she could see well was to her right so she got into the habit of turning right when she walked.

During the last few weeks of her life when we took her outdoors we had to run after her several times because we had gotten used to her walking round and round in the same area instead of going straight up the sidewalk!

No doubt, these drops helped her to see us before she died.

I’m not endorsing, just sharing. But I do know that these drops worked on Lucy.

[Jewbacca]

Refusing to leave the basement

Inability to read a teleprompter

Calling Arizona a city

[shotgun]

We have an elderly terrier breed that has doggy dementia and is deaf as well. She is perfectly fine in her own world.

We sometimes look at her and wander if she even realizes she is a dog.

As she is not in any pain or suffering, we see know reason for her to go to the vet.

[Hot Tabasco]

Back in the 70's dad had an elderly German Shepherd that was loved by the entire family but had developed severe hip dysplasia.

Just prior to the annual 4th of July weekend get together at their cabin in northern Michigan, dad had me take Zarek to the vet to have him put down.

Dad was afraid that the young grandkids would pat him on his hind quarters and feared that Zarek would turn on them and bite them.......

That was the hardest thing I have ever done in my life and today I still can't get out of my mind the look he gave me as I turned him over to the vet............

As much as I love Shepherds and would love to own one, I can't bring myself to owning one knowing that eventually I would have to put them down...........

[ConservativeMind]

“Had a 14 year old that started crapping randomly around the house and other issues. Like he had forgotten how to be a house cat.”

No, your cat just took ownership of your home the next logical step forward.

[cgbg]

Joe is doing a nationwide search for a senile b&^%$, so yeah, this is a Joe Biden thread!

[cgbg]

Biden—Barking at anyone asking tough questions and threatening to beat them up...

[V K Lee]

Thanks for posting. We had a dog who suffered dementia after a seizure and (possibly) a stroke. Nicky would walk around in circles, just as you described. Broke my heart when we had to put him to sleep. Nicky now lies with his running buddy, Nora, who preceded him with Lyme disease. Two very good friends which are greatly missed.

[Chickensoup]

Casey had dementia for almost a year. He had to be tied out...the Casey who ran free and with such joy.

He was disoriented evenings and nights. My son didn’t think I was telling the truth about his failing. I had to send the dog home with him for the weekend. They came back the next morning. Son realized his responsibility. Tough ride to the vets that afternoon.

[doorgunner69]

No, your cat just took ownership of your home the next logical step forward.

By acting like a dog as in "the world is your toilet"??

[CatOwner]

Soiling outside of a litter box in of itself can be many things. We believe our 12 year old cat has been slowly exhibiting issues for over 2 years despite completely normal blood and urine tests.

Beside urinating over the side of the litter box, he was initially howling in the middle of the night somewhere in the house as if disoriented. Our vet questioned whether there were vision issues, but that doesn't appear to be the case. The howling now can take place at any time of day, and that's been the case since the beginning of 2020.

He's been getting into some pretty nasty altercations with our 13 year-old. Usually, the "fights" would end quickly, but the 12 year-old now just leaps out of nowhere and makes these interactions rather ugly.

Also, his sleeping patterns have changed. Whereas he could sleep for several hours at a time, he doesn't seem to be able to remain at rest for extended periods of time.

The weird one involves the guest bedroom. We normally do not have guests often, so the bedspread is left in the closet to keep it clean. What the 12 year-old does to the blanket on top of the bed is odd. He we straddle the blanket at one of the edges of the mattress (either side or the end). His belly in on the edge, with one side of his body on the top of the mattress, and the other side of his body on the side of the mattress. It is almost like he is clawing the blanket, but it also involves going after his tail and other parts of his body.

When he leaves, there are tuffs of his hair on the area he was straddling. The even stranger part is neither the vet nor us can figure out where the hair "loss" is coming from. He has no bald spots or signs of infections, bacteria, or fungi.

It is really tough watching him slowly loss his ability to live a comfortable life.

[LakeEffectLad]

Thank you very much for the referral.

LEL

[Babba Gi]

Our Welsh Terrier went full Biden at fourteen. He remained loving and never got grouchy. He slept all day and in the evening he was a “sundowner.” He was confused, we would find him just standing in a dark walk in closet. The sad part was most of his personality was gone. One day he squatted in front of me gave me a pitiful look that said “sorry I don’t know what I’m doing” and peed on the living room carpet. I took him to be euthanized an hour later.

[Diana in Wisconsin]

Losing a beloved pet is so hard, but that was a HUGE kindness you gave to your Father. *HEART*

[Bon of Babble]

Causes of this form are thought to include hyperadrenocorticism (such as Cushing’s disease) and long-term steroid therapy. Hyper-aggression.

Thanks for posting. I had to put down my 10-year old shih-tzu last week and it was quite traumatic. He had Cushing's Disease and was on long-term steroid treatment for torn CCLs. I swore he was getting dementia - staring off into space, barking at things that weren't there.

A few days before the end, my husband tried to get his meds in him the usual way by opening his mouth and tossing in the pill. He bit my husband's finger hard, through the glove. Little bit had never, ever shown that kind of aggressive behavior before.

Dog dementia explains a lot of what went on at the end. Finally, all his little systems crashed and the vet could no longer save him. Very sad! But we had 10 wonderful years together. And today, I've got a rescue dog ready to go home from the shelter and a new pup that will be ready in mid-August.

Can't imagine my life w/o dogs.