Dementia?

[AnneGTS]

Not sure if this is the right category..

 

Tibbie (not a Greyhound) is 15 years old. She was always very cuddly and loved to run and play. The last couple of years her hearing and eyesight are declining.

 

Lately some things happened that made me think she has dog dementia. For years, every evening when we were watching tv, she used to sleep on our lap or the couch. Suddenly she didn't do that anymore and all she wanted to do is sleep under the couch! And then there was a period of a couple of months she would only sleep in the computer room (all alone). And the last couple of weeks she has a new habit: every evening she will sit in front of the door to our yard. When we let her outside, she comes back after a couple of minutes. When she's back inside, after a few minutes she will go sit in front of the door again. This will contintue the whole evening. If we don't let her out, she will just sit there, staring at us. She doesn't do that during the day, so I don't think she really has to go.

 

Also, she now hates to go on a walk. We've always walked our dogs 2 or 3 times a day. She will happily go for a walk in the morning, because she knows she will get her breakfast after that. But in the evening when we take her for a walk, her tail will hang low and she will pull the leash, not wanting to go. As soon as we turn around to walk back to the house, she starts pulling to get back asap.

 

So she doesn't want to go for walks anymore. She doesn't play anymore (I think because she can't see well). Now her days are filled with sleeping, sniffing around / searching for food, and in the evenings waiting at the door.

 

Now I'm not sure what we should do. Should I just let her stay at home when I take Spriet for a walk in the evening? I'm a bit worried that if we don't keep her busy she will only sleep, eat and stare at the door the whole day. But what can I do to keep her busy? She doesn't play anymore, I can't do any tricks/obedience because she will get hyper when treats are involved.

 

Any experiences?

[JohnF]

Almost certainly she has some form of dementia. She doesn't sound like she is in the acute confusion state yet, so as with humans you need to kind of go along with them and jolly them out of it. If the short-term memory is going and she doesn't remember what part of the routine has just happened and what might come next, or if she is upset because she feels the routine is broken, just take her out from time to time for short walks with Spriet and then give Spriet longer walks.

If you can go out in the car and park in shady areas then Tibbie can still come along but stay in the car while you take Spriet further.

The sense of smell is often the last one to become disabled, so try hiding some tasty treats around the room and encourage Tibbie to hunt for them. Youn might need to encourage when she starts to get close to one.

 

We had a cat that went like that at age 18, she took to sleeping in the garden hedge even in the rain. All you can do is monitor quality of life a day at a time and euthanase when you feel they're not enjoying being here any longer.

Edited February 21, 2015 by JohnF

[FiveRoooooers]

My first impression is that Tibbie is just growing old. She is old At 15 she's entitled to slow down, choose where she wants to sleep and for how long, etc. *I* personally think that when they stand at the door like that and want to go in/out, they are working on a higher plane. There is so much that they understand that we just can't or don't. Sure, she could have some doggie dementia, but from your post it just sounds to me as tho Tibbie is looking forward. I know I'll get slammed for it, but that's just what I've seen with my seniors. If she doesn't want to walk in the evening but still enjoys her morning walk, that's what she gets. She's still eating and with the seniors that is huge! Please give that sweet girl a hug from me.

[heartdogs]

Our poodle lived to 21 & as John said the nose is the last to go! Tuffy was blind & deaf but he always knew when the pizza man came or the tuna can was opened. His sleep was longer & deeper the older he got & I always wished he would just go to sleep & not wake up but he didn't. Also the fact that Tibble doesn't want to go out at night may have to do with his eye sight going. It is harder for him to see when it's darker out. Just love him for as long as he's content to be with you & then give him the hardest gift you can, which is to let him go. Sending hugs to Tibbie & you, I know how hard this is.

[Guest normaandburrell]

Our cocker beagle mix was blind, deaf, and incontinent. He had dementia and at the end became snappy at times, which was not his nature. We finally had to let him go because he had pain from arthritis. We wondered if the pain was what made him snap. At any rate, I know what you are going through. All you can do is love him. My opinion is at that age, let them do what they want to do.

[AnneGTS]

Thanks for the replies!

Other than getting medication for heart problems and incontinence and being almost blind and deaf, she is physically still in pretty good shape. Spriet and Tibbie are two opposites: Spriet loves to walk, but is physically not able to go on long walks. Tibbie could easily walk a few miles, but doesn't want to.

 

I guess we will let her do what she want's to do. She's still a happy dog, she loves her food, naps and likes it when people come over to visit. I guess when spring will come she will be in our backyard a lot, which she enjoys.

 

And while I type this she's sleeping next to me, snoring VERY loudly

Edited February 21, 2015 by AnneGTS

[Guest Amber]

Both my old greyhounds went senile, this generally showed as confusion, lots of indoor toilet accidents and yes it's sad to see, loss of their previous character and habits, to some extent.

 

Vivitonin from the vet helped in the early stages, it increases blood flow to the brain, if i remember right. A check up at the vet for your oldie might be a good idea.

Edited February 25, 2015 by Amber

[mom2four]

Hi Anne,

 

Our Black Lab, Heidi would isolate herself at the end of the hall as she was getting older. What happened with her and this is why we decided she had dementia was that she circled round and round in our small kitchen for over two hours late one evening. She did not know where she was. She was 14 years and 2 months when we did put her to sleep, the dementia and her physical condition all contributed to our decision.

 

Good luck with Tibbie

[GreytNut]

They do sometimes get what appears to be dementia. Raven started acting confused in her advanced old age, like she wasn't quite sure where she was or where she was going. One night during a horrific blizzard she wandered out the pet door and walked aimlessly in circles in the dog run until I woke up, realized she wasn't in her bed and went out to rescue her. She would have gone in circles until she froze to death. When she started to appear frightened and confused all of the time that was a factor in deciding to euthanize her. She also had incontinence, severe arthritis and hind-end weakness.

 

I'm glad Tibbie is still happy and enjoying life despite her challenges.

[silverfish]

Both my old greyhounds went senile, this generally showed as confusion, lots of indoor toilet accidents and yes it's sad to see, loss of their previous character and habits, to some extent.

 

Vivitonin from the vet helped in the early stages, it increases blood flow to the brain, if i remember right. A check up at the vet for your oldie might be a good idea.

 

Jeffie is also on Vivitonin. It has helped him amazingly, so please don't discount medication.

 

There are at least two types of CCD drugs, which work in different ways: Vivitonin, I'm told, works at capillary level. It has taken him backwards in time so that he appears to be a couple of years younger (not physically, obviously, he's still a skinny old moth-eaten dog!) and he plays, eats 100% better, and is generally more engaged with us and with the world. He still has his confused moments, but he no longer poops in his bed.

 

To be honest, I wasn't expecting it to work, or if it did, to not work very well. It has exceeded our expectations, so if a year or so down the road it stops working ... so be it. If he declines and dosage can't be adjusted or a different drug used, well, it will have given him over a year of quality life and saved a lot of work of changing his bed.

 

I would suggest you get Tibbie to the vet for a good check-up including geriatric blood panel, and see if they think she's a good candidate for a trial of medication to help with this. Good luck with her - it's not easy to watch them decline, is it?

[AnneGTS]

Thanks everyone. Reading these replies made me realise that Tibbie, even though she confused sometimes, is still a happy dog. We're letting her stay at home during the evening walks now. Since then her behaviour of wanting to go into the yard several times in the evening stopped. She is more relaxed now and even stays in the living room with us. We're also trying to do some fun games (searching for treats) with her. If it seems to get worse we'll go to to vet to see if there's anything we can do, but for now she seems quite content.

[FiveRoooooers]

Tibbie

[CharlieRhea]

Hi Ann-i am going through this with my 13 yr old German Shepherd. They call it Sundowners in ppl but canine cognitive dysfunction in dogs. Rhea started acting spooky at night, noise, anything. She was on Zylkene which worked wonders but only lasted for 4 months. Now she is on Alprazolam (Xanax) It helps a little. I hate seeing her so uncomfortable mentally. Today i am cleaning out my closet in my bedroom and putting a dog bed in there. She seems to like small spaces now. I thought of a puptent but don't have enough room in my house. Thinking of you and you pup!

[Guest IrskasMom]

Tibbie and Spriet are one of my Favorite GT Doggies . Like People , our Doggies decline with Age to. We can only keep them Comfy and as much Pain Free as possible . Love them and give them Hugs from me .

[krissy]

You might consider a supplement for cognitive dysfunction. I'm using one preventively with Summit. It's called Novifit and you should be able to pick it (or something similar if you don't have it in Europe) up from your veterinarian. Sounds like Tibbie is still a pretty happy girl, but of course her humans are going to worry... it's what we do!