Elderly dog with dementia?

[Halftime Hope]

I wanted to see if anyone had experience with an older dog with dementia or senility? I have a purebred mini-schnauzer that we got from the SPCA when (they thought) she was about a year old.  That would put her at 15+.  She has had trouble with bladder stones and one bad case of pancreatitis, so she's been on Science Diet U/D canned food (poor quality nutrition, imho) for several years, but at least it has kept her from reforming stones. 

 

Everything describing doggie dementia or senility on the internet is somewhat different than what we are seeing, and the most rational explanation is that we're looking at a combination of several things:  senility, neurological issues, and old age. 

 

1) She is, if not stone deaf, extremely hard of hearing.  And she is much less interested in doing what we call her to do, even when she can see that we are calling her.  It's hard to tell how much is lack of hearing vs. not wanting to come.

2) She has been acting like a puppy for about the past year, bouncing and galloping, much more "young" in her movements than in her middle age.  But then she'll zonk out for several hours or half a day to recuperate.

3) She loses her footing, as though the floor is too slick, and falls a lot. Some of this is due to her rounding corners in a full-on gallop, but at other times she'll have trouble with her feet splaying out from under her, and it's like she doesn't have the strength to hold her legs perpendicular to her torso, or to pull them back under her body.

4) She doesn't seem to remember how to back up:  I haven't seen her back up in months, and she will get herself into positions that she could easily back out of, but she can't figure out how to, so she's stuck, and she'll try to turn around in places that she can't turn, so she goes vertical and then falls over backward.  (She seems to bounce right up from falls and slips, but sheesh, it's breaking my heart.  I know it can't feel good.)

5) She'll go to a door, wanting to leave the room or waiting for someone to open the door, but she'll wait for you to open the door with her head in the corner, at the wrong side of the door. (By the hinges.)

6) Regarding the galloping, and for some other reasons that I can't remember now, dh and I feel as though she is acting out what we've seen with elderly humans, as though she has lost her filter, her restraining mechanism, and any common sense that she used to have.

 

I've not taken her to the vet in about six months, because he said there really not a lot he can do.  The meds for neurological issues cause more trouble that they alleviate, and her age...well, why bother.   When she's goes to the vet, she is a bundle of nerves even though the vet himself is fantastic, a kind and truly gentle, loving man.  I just hate to put her through going to the vet. 

 

Anyway, I'm not sure what I want from responses to this post other than to see if anyone else has experience these kinds of things with an elderly dog, and always, if you have good suggestions for keeping her safe and healthy, those are welcome.  It's kind of a JAWM post: this is stinky for her and heartbreaking.

 

Thank you.

 

 

 

 

 

[alisoncooks]

Well, our elderly chihuahua is showing symptoms 1, 3, 4 & 5 from above. But our vet thinks our fella (he's 14) has a brain tumor since he has started having seizures. :(

 

As far as safety: one thing I've done is cover sharp furniture edges with pool noodles (cut to length, then cut in half, then slip over leg of table or dresser). I did that because after a seizure, our boy has prolonged periods of manic pacing (Google post-ictal pacing in dogs). He was running into things, so we pool noodled the bedroom so that he'd be safer in case he has a seizure when we're not around to keep him safe.

 

IDK if any of that helps you, but I wanted to share and also offer my sympathies. It's tough when our furry loves reach this time in their lives.

[TravelingChris]

My poodle had canine dementia.  It didn't present itself like what you described at all.  He was getting lost in the house, doing things that made no sense,  and we gave him anti dementia medications.  They actually made him better which is more than they do with humans.  He stopped getting lost and stopped doing nonsense things.  But then he died anyway about four months later.  

[hornblower]

We haven't had true dementia here but I have one that might have a brain tumor & both my oldies are vision & hearing impaired. 

If you have bare floors, as much as possible put down rugs and mats. Make sure her nails are kept trimmed very short - I'm trying to dremel my guys weekly now because old dog nails get overgrown so fast but the longer the nail, the less neuro feedback there is from the floor. 

If she has fur between her toe pads, shave that down regularly. 

If she likes water, consider therapeutic swimming if you have an animal aqua therapy pool nearby. It can really strengthen the rear legs. 

Massage and gentle stretching. 
 

 

 

 

it's tough to know how to proceed really. Just keep assessing quality of life... hugs.

[Pawz4me]

#3 is usually due to loss of muscle mass. The old ones just don't have enough muscle any more to maintain their footing on slick floors.

 

A vet on another forum I'm on has very good things to say about cholodin for canine cognitive dysfunction. I'm going to copy/paste one of his comments here because I'm certain he wouldn't mind: "Cholodin works pretty quickly, usually within a few days. I'd say the success rate is greater than 50%, but even those that don't have total success may have some benefit in that the frequency of problems related to age are not as severe or happen as often. "

 

:grouphug:  :grouphug: 

[Halftime Hope]

We haven't had true dementia here but I have one that might have a brain tumor & both my oldies are vision & hearing impaired. 

 

If you have bare floors, as much as possible put down rugs and mats. Make sure her nails are kept trimmed very short - I'm trying to dremel my guys weekly now because old dog nails get overgrown so fast but the longer the nail, the less neuro feedback there is from the floor.  Yup.

 

If she has fur between her toe pads, shave that down regularly.   (I just touched this up today, and she fought me so much that she's been zonked out the last couple of hours.)  Grooming her and trimming her nails is a nightmare, and she hates anyone touching her feet with a purple passion.  I think the next time I'm going to have to take her in for a sedation grooming at the vet.

 

If she likes water, consider therapeutic swimming if you have an animal aqua therapy pool nearby. It can really strengthen the rear legs.  I'll have to see if I can figure something out.

 

Massage and gentle stretching.  She has thrown out her back several time in the last five years.  I've learned to prevent relapses with careful massage.

 

 

 

 

it's tough to know how to proceed really. Just keep assessing quality of life... hugs.   That's what's odd (and hard) about this. She eats with great gusto, gallops around like she's a 6 months old puppy (full steam ahead) and then crashes for a number of hours, but does these strange things, so clearly there are some cognitive changes. 

 

Thanks!

 

[Halftime Hope]

#3 is usually due to loss of muscle mass. The old ones just don't have enough muscle any more to maintain their footing on slick floors.

 

A vet on another forum I'm on has very good things to say about cholodin for canine cognitive dysfunction. I'm going to copy/paste one of his comments here because I'm certain he wouldn't mind: "Cholodin works pretty quickly, usually within a few days. I'd say the success rate is greater than 50%, but even those that don't have total success may have some benefit in that the frequency of problems related to age are not as severe or happen as often. "

 

:grouphug:  :grouphug: 

 

Thanks for the input.  I'll look at it.

Edited August 7, 2016 by Halftime Hope

[Denisemomof4]

I had a dog with dementia but only #1 applied to her. I also had a cat with brain damage. She sounds more like your dog. She would forget how to go through the cat door and sit there and wait for someone to open the door for her. She would face corners for no apparent reason. She would dig holes outside, squat, look around and forget what she was supposed to do, walk away, then dig a hole and go to the bathroom. :(

 

Try putting more area rugs down and also consider doggie booties before she hurts herself.