Lightning&Stomps

As I've mentioned countless times, Lightning is 14 (or will be in a couple of weeks). Other than eye issues, lupus, and not too bad arthritis, he's in excellent shape. However, he seems to be getting increasingly upset when I'm not in the room with him during the day (but is happy to sleep in the living room at night.) He seems confused sometimes, not recognizing me, which is heartbreaking. He's on so many medications that I hate to add one more, but do you think I should talk to the vet about Anipryl? It's pretty expensive, and I'm currently under-employed. Does anyone have any experience with doggy dementia and/or Anipryl?

Mikey T

not sure if you are part of this forum or not but
Doggy Dementia?

fwiw I worry about this with Fischer the harrie can he off act weird and off but then again that to a large extent is who he alway has been and he has not shown any signs of the more problematic behavior ie loss of housetrain so I have not done anything hard to determine when quirky behavior is a sign of a problem or just quirky behavior.

barneysmom2510

One of my parents friends are going through this with their dog he must be at least 14 now but it has been getting mcuh worse over the last year or so. Mikey thanks for posting that forum.

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Mini daschunds Sadie Lou & Daisy dukes
Chihuahua Lola
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loopylou

My last dog, Ben, suffered with this. the vet told us it was becoming much more common as dogs are now living longer than ever before. He used to ask in/out constantly as he seemed to forget he'd just been out. Ben was on several different medications and we felt that adding one more probably wasn't for the best especially as he had kidney problems. He went on for a long time seemingly quite happy it was more difficult for us than him in many respects. I'd definatley get info on it and take it from there.

bubbad

I can't remember what the actual name is besides Dementia but my next door neighbor experenced it with his 16 year old boxer mix he found something on line that helped him(cripes what good am I can't remember the name,duh) I'm sure it is tough for you to see him like that.

Barney'spal

I went through that with my golden....very hard to watch but agree with LoopyLou in that it's harder for you than the dog. Would assume that it's like with an older person. My dog's confusion didn't seem to bother her much...she never got anxious, etc...just kind of spaced out. As long as she wasn't hurting, physically or mentally, I would just refocus her to what she wanted to do....like I said, heartbreaking to go through for you.

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Properly trained, a man can be a dog's best friend.

Mikey T

CDS Canine Disfunction Syndrome sol much more PC than dementia

if that is a criteria then fischer has had the problem since age 2

Simone's Mom

Boomer, (springer/beagle mix) our pre-Simone dog lived 17 years & 26 days. He was a fabulous dog, I thought I could never love another dog but Simone soothed my broken heart. Anyway, around 14-15 y.o. he started showing signs of canine cognitive disorder. We discussed medication, but the truth was Boomer was not in distress, I was. Boomer would stare at me, I did not know what he wanted or what to do to help him. Our vet explained part of problem was the dementia but part was Boomer's decrease in vision & hearing. He could no longer read facial expressions nor hear voices very well. He was part hound so his nose worked until the very end. We found that toys with food in them helped ground him, gave him something to focus on, just like when he was a puppy. It helped on days when he was somewhat disoriented. It is hard to see them decline but the last years were still good years. I called him my "old man fur baby". How lucky are we that we had the joy of loving a dog this many years!!

Lightning&Stomps

Thanks for the link to the forum, Mikey, I'll definitely check that out. I mostly worry because he gets so worked up when I'm not in the room with him. He had separation anxiety when he was a puppy, and Stomps cured that. But Stomps has been gone for a couple of years now and it's only now that Lightning seems to be reverting. I'll check out the forum and based on what I read there talk to my vet. I'll know his time has come when he starts putting his underwear on over his pants. That's how we knew with Grandpa.

AmyB

Spencer took Anipryl for the last 1 1/2 years or so of his life. I did notice a difference after he started taking it. In addition, he seemed to decline at a less rapid rate than before. Even on the Anipryl, his dementia was still noticeable & some days were worse than others, but it did seem to even him out. He went through spells where he didn't want to be away from me & then there were times when he didn't seem to care where I was. I found it helpful to keep his days as routine as possible. Also, he seemed stressed if around a lot of people or strange people, so in the last year, he only had contact with a few well-known family members & one neighbor that he loved. His world became very predictable & small, but he seemed happiest that way. Take one day at a time & enjoy every minute of him.

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Amy, mom to
Sadie (ATB, 6/9/06) & Spencer (ATB, 8/19/10) - always in my heart
and Clifford (gotcha date 7/2/11).