Doggie Dementia

[rodeo65]

Wait til ya feel the signs of agin', it's a trip when ya remember dancin' on the table doin' your Janis Joplin impression like it was just yesterday.

Give your ol' dog a few extra hugs, it'll be alright.

Oh, I'm there UncleR, I'm already there! Although for me it was a bar stool bopping along to Grand Funk. I relate to poor doggy because I also blew out a couple of discs in my back a few years back. Never been the same. Definitely lots of hugs for pupper.

Coming in a bit late here. I've posted before on my late JRT who had canine cognitive dysfunction, and why letting her go was the most difficult decision ever, in years of dog ownership. It just isn't clear cut. In retrospect, and this was 10+ years ago, I felt she did not have good quality of life towards the end and I should have let her go before I did. Hindsight is 20/20.

Having said that, CCD is not a clear cut diagnosis and I'd continue talking to your vet and exploring other causes.

Just a few thoughts and things to look for: the weakness/loss of rear end function could be pain related arthritis, or something else. Is your dog scuffing her back paws or knuckling under? (Knuckling under -- if you take a back paw, and bend it so that the knuckles are on the floor does she quickly right it? If she doesn't, this is something to tell your vet as it could be some type of treatable neuropathy.) Vet did this test on her in June but she righted ok then. I'll check now, too. Good reminder.

You might want to make a list of more "cognitive" things that are worrying you now, and add to it as other things come up. This gives you something to discuss with the vet and can be helpful in assessing quality of life. Barking at "nothing" and getting lost in the yard and house were the first signs with my dog. She actually used to be pretty yappy but with total hearing loss has stopped barking completely also. I can't remember the last time she barked - she kind of groan/growls now when she wants to play. Guess she can't hear herself anymore.

There are treatments for CCD that you can research and try. I had my JRT on a dopamine-type pill, but didn't think they helped much. Some people have tried anti-oxidants and Omega 3 diets, and some people think vitamen B supplements help. I don't know.

In the meantime, keep her safe. Getting lost is very frequent with dogs with dementia so she should be on leash walks only, carefully supervised even in a fenced yard, and watch in case she starts losing her way in the house too. You may have to confine her to a safe room at some point. She is confined to our kids' playroom with her buddy when we are not there for direct supervision since it is tile and she has found a new nifty place she likes to go under the coffee table otherwise. Our yard is fully fenced with extra rabbit fencing at the bottom because she is small, and we chipped her as soon as she started going deaf.

Thanks for taking care of your elderly pup and good luck.

 

[rodeo65]

(Knuckling under -- if you take a back paw, and bend it so that the knuckles are on the floor does she quickly right it? If she doesn't, this is something to tell your vet as it could be some type of treatable neuropathy.)

I had to try this after reading this post. On one side she immediately righted the paw, on the other side, when I picked the paw up to test this she collapsed into a sit. When I supported her under the belly, then she was able to immediately right the paw. So, that would sound structural rather than neurological?

She's been pretty good today. Much cooler for the first time than through most of the summer and she seems almost frisky. It's nice to see.