Cognitive Decline In Senior

[IndyandHollyluv]

Last year I adopted a a very sweet old senior boy. He will be 13 in a few weeks. Physically, he checks out fine other than a wonky hind end. But I have increasing concerns about his behavior (as in cognitive decline) at times.

 

He is a "me first and only me" kind of hound who has zero interest in his two houndmates. He is a big resource guarder and over the past few weeks has started to short-circuit over food bowls -- meaning he will guard his bowl after meals (when it's empty) so the others can't lick it. My two boys quarreled over my female's empty bowl (she is fed in a crate) and the old guy got bit, so now I have to pick up all bowls promptly.

 

Overall, I believe his vision and hearing are decent. Sometimes he just zombie stares, sometimes he's bright and lively. But certain behaviors are starting to become problematic (meaning I'm a little concerned for his safety and that of the others).

 

For those of you who have/had old hounds - just interested in your take on old puppers who start to lose some (not all!) of their marbles.

 

Have you ever said "goodbye" due to old dogginess dementia or cognitive decline?? Thanks!

 

ETA: My old houndie is a total velcro dog and my constant shadow. Poor soul!

Edited November 16, 2011 by IndyandHollyluv

[dante2zoe]

My whippet will be 15 in January. I got him when he was 11. There is a questionnaire (for the life of me I cannot recall where i saw it) for canine cognitive dysfunction. Poor Boo has it. He gets lost in the house sometimes and forgets what he was doing. He tends to sleep A LOT. He doesn't seek the greys out, but he has no fear of them and usually walks underneath them. However, he is happy and eats like a champ. I have him on Cholodin, which seems to help. Anipryl (I think that is the medication - it is used primarily for Parkinson's in humans) is recommended but is very costly. I also had him try ProNeurozone (you can get that from Amazon) but I didn't see any improvement.

 

Several times I think he is getting ready to go, but he has yet to really give up. Winter is really bad for him. Not the weather so much, but that it is always dark when I can get them outside. He does sundown, so I have lights on timers to go on and keep the house lit. I also have a dog door, which has helped a lot. He tends to forget that he needs to go and, therefore, would constantly have accidents. He goes outside to do his business, forgets why he was there, comes back in, remembers, goes back out.

 

Can you tell I love my little old man?

 

Good luck and you can pm me if you have any other questions or need to commiserate.

 

Cindy

[Guest mariah]

I'm sorry you have to go through this. It's very hard to see a friend go into a state of mental decline. While I don't have any experience in this area, I know there are drugs used specifically to manage cognitive dysfunction in older dogs, deprenyl is one.

[Guest madredhare]

My Tom will be 12 next March. We are currently using Prozac for his issues of sudden separation anxiety. My vet said sometimes "elderly" dogs develop mental issues as they age. Not sure if this is of any help or not.

[Tallgreydogmom]

We have a couple of 13 and 14 year olds. We just point them in the right direction, it's usually potty or bed. They love to be loved and held. We help them just like we have helped our elderly relatives. In fact, they are a lot easier to handle than the relatives.

[FiveRoooooers]

I'm sorry you are facing this with your old boy, but I also wanted to say thank you for adopting him last year at *12*

 

I will be watching with interest the answers here, as my Pal is showing a bit of cognition-challenge; not a lot and it is subtle, but I see it. He is 13.2.

 

Good luck to you, and thank you again.

 

We have a couple of 13 and 14 year olds. We just point them in the right direction, it's usually potty or bed. They love to be loved and held. We help them just like we have helped our elderly relatives. In fact, they are a lot easier to handle than the relatives.

I love this

[cleptogrey]

i went thru this w/ willie wonka. on top of doggie dementia he also had cataracts. what made life difficult was the fear that he developed. it was a matter of isolation(even w/ 2 other dogs and people in the house)and not knowing where he was caused by general disorientation. some days were better than other, but he used to get lost trying to go outside and lost in the yard. when he was crated(and my dogs LOVE THEIR CRATES) he started to flip out and knocked it over! he started peeing in his bed every time he went to lie down, marking it. he couldn't be left in the kitchen either and paced at night- days and nights were getting mixed up. yet, he ran after the soccer ball, barked at brooms, hoses and the vacuume cleaner- his favorite recreational activities. he was the only dog that i could not take to the vet for euthanisa, it was super sad to see the mental decline rathar than the physical decline. i had tried sedatives to get him to sleep at night, but we had one stoned puppy pacing and crashing into things at night- it was jut time for him to rest in peace.

[racindog]

My first broodie Queen Aggie Desperado shared some greyhound wisdom with me that I will never forget and that has helped me immensely. I intend to apply it to myself even because I know she was right. One day she said "What's the big deal about transitioning?" in response to my concerns about her and her advancing age. When it was time she clearly stated her desire. She said she knew I wanted her to stay but that she knew I would love her as she loved me and act accordingly. She explained her position-such a wise old lady! And she said "When the body quits working it's time to go." Only 9 words but wow! I believe the brain/mind is part of the body she was referring to even though in her case it was 100% physical issues and she remained sharp as a tack mentally until she crossed over at 14 1/2. Two others have crossed over since she left and I really believe they felt this way too. Its just me but I think on some things dogs-especially greyhounds-are smarter or wiser than people sometimes. They "know" things. It even says that in the Bible. I just share what she taught me in case it might help.

[GeorgeofNE]

My mixed breed dog seemed to have some sort of mild cognitive disorder toward the end. He'd do what I called he "thousand yard stare" and just look off into the distance at nothing.

 

He had a cancerous tumor as well, so the end was near anyway so I didn't look into much.

 

Maybe you could just baby gate him into a room by himself during meal times to keep the peace?

[Guest sheila]

I agree that if he has 0 interest in his houndmates anyway, that gating him into another room during mealtimes would be a good plan. After mealtime is over pick up all the dishes so there is nothing to guard.

As far as letting a dog go for ONLY dementia or cognitive decline, I haven't done that. However those issues have been combined with other physical issues such as liver/kidney/mobility issues and the sum total of all the issues have steered my decision. My qualifier is always: 'What is his/her quality of life? Is my dog happy/content/pain-free?' along with, 'can I maintain this in my home?' and then I go from there.

My situation could be different than yours. I live alone and I work full time. There is also no way in/out of my house w/o doing stairs and all of these things get factored in when I am faced with these choices.

[heartdogs]

My sheltie/spitz was 20+ when I had to put her down due to a stroke. She had times of forgeting where she was or what she wanted but my aussie girl guarded her & would herd Lucky out in the yard so she didn't get lost & my greyhound puppy ( at the time) loved her & would play gentley(sp). I said as long as she was happy I'd let her live & then she had the stroke. I feel for you & hope his time left is good for both of you.

[linda]

I had a terrier with this - by the end we had to keep him confined when we weren't home for his own safety, and he developed incontinence, so we let him go at that point. He was always such a sharp little character, it was so hard to watch him, but in the end there was no quality of life left, and quite frankly I don't think he remembered who we were most of the time.

 

All the best to you as you deal with this

[IndyandHollyluv]

Hey, thanks everyone. I appreciate your comments and sharing your experiences.

 

My old boy has mobility issues so I cannot feed him in a crate and the floor plan in my house is "open," such that I don't have a good place to corral him at meal time.

 

Meds are probably out as he clearly traveled to another galaxy and peed in the house when I gave him Metacam and Robaxin on a few occasions. And he stared vacantly like a total zombie. Doesn't seem to metabolize or handle meds particulary well (except for Tramadol). Not going there again.

 

Well, I will just love him for the rest of his days and try to be patient when he gets goofy. My other seniors have been mentally sharp but the body gave out, so this is uncharted territory for me.

 

Growing old is such a drag.

Edited November 17, 2011 by IndyandHollyluv

[Tallgreydogmom]

We have the senior areas (rooms) lined with these incontinence pads. When I travel I also lay them down in the motel room. That's probably for me and the greyhounds.

 

http://www.jrsmedical.com/ISG12434/product.aspx

[racindog]

Hey, thanks everyone. I appreciate your comments and sharing your experiences.

 

My old boy has mobility issues so I cannot feed him in a crate and the floor plan in my house is "open," such that I don't have a good place to corral him at meal time.

 

Meds are probably out as he clearly traveled to another galaxy and peed in the house when I gave him Metacam and Robaxin on a few occasions. And he stared vacantly like a total zombie. Doesn't seem to metabolize or handle meds particulary well (except for Tramadol). Not going there again.

 

Well, I will just love him for the rest of his days and try to be patient when he gets goofy. My other seniors have been mentally sharp but the body gave out, so this is uncharted territory for me.

 

Growing old is such a drag.

 

Sounds like a wonderful plan. I believe thats what I would do too. I am so glad you're not going to fill him up with those meds. I don't trust them at all and it is a super last resort before I'd ever go there either. Give the ole gent a kiss for me!