My senior dog has dementia. What are ACP alternatives or CBD risks?

I recommend Hills b/d diet and you can give the supplement senilife. It’s specifically for cognitive dysfunction in dogs. Anapril is a prescription drug for cognitive dysfunction that I’ve used on my geriatric dogs with good results. You will need to get this from your veterinarian. I would continue also with the CBD oil. Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach to help you care for Koda.

With canine cognitive dysfunction (dimentia) night waking is really common. I have used an anti anxiety medication called alprazolam with varied success. Also melatonin can be helpful. It seems some patients respond nicely, while it doesn’t seem to affect others at all. However, it is worth a try. I would recommend calling your veterinarian and discussing if a prescription for these would be ok for Kimi. Best of luck and thank you for using Pet Coach.

Thank you for submitting your question regarding Coco. Canine cognitive dysfunction is common in older animals. It is somewhat similar to Alzheimer's disease in people. It is characterized by anxiety (especially at night), panting, pacing, becoming stuck in corners (due to disorientation) and accidents in the house. If these signs sound familiar, it would be best for her to see her veterinarian. There are prescription medications that can be used in some cases. At home though, you could transitioning her to Purina ProPlan Bright Minds. It really does seem to help these patients. I hope this information helps!

Hello. Actually, we do see a type of sundowners in elderly dogs. We call the canine cognitive dysfunction. Some dogs do quite well on a medication called selegemine, others do well on Trazodone, while others need Xanax & melatonin. You will need to visit with your veterinarian who can recommend the best options for Cinnamon. Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach.

I am so sorry you are having to go through this with little Chili. Neurologic disease in elderly pets can be difficult to treat, understand, and very hard to watch, just like with people. It sounds like her seizures are well-controlled with the Keppra, but she is displaying additional neurological symptoms: pacing, circling, confusion. I am not entirely convinced these are all due to anxiety though. Usually neurologic disease in elderly dogs is due to only a few things: metabolic disease (liver, kidney, or diabetic issues), vascular events (strokes), or a brain tumor. If you have ruled out metabolic disease, which I'm sure your vet has, the other two diagnoses carry a very guarded prognosis. My concern is that the symptoms you are seeing are likely the result of progressive disease due to one of those two possible causes. While anxiety medication might help some, I fear that it's not going to give you or Chili the results for which you're hoping. In this case, it's important to think about quality of life for Chili: what's fair to her? If adding in an anti-anxiety medication helps her resume normal activities where she goes back to being Chili and doing the things that make her "Chili," fantastic. If not, it may be time to make some difficult decisions about what's best for her. If you do decide to pursue an anti-anxiety medication, your vet might consider Selegiline (specifically for cognitive dysfunction in people, not a lot of reported success in animals), Clonazepam (in the valium and Xanax family, but slightly different), or Clonidine (a blood pressure medication, also used to treat anxiety) in combination with an anti-depressant, such as Prozac. All of these would require careful monitoring and consideration in combination with the Keppra. Whatever you decide, best of luck to you and Chili!

This could be anxiety as you suggest, or it could be canine cognitive dysfunction (doggy dementia). CCG often includes restless/wakeful behavior at night and sleeping during the day. It can also include loss of house-training, failure to recognize family members and confused or wandering behavior. Melatonin and/or Benadryl are considered generally safe medications to give before bed to help promote sleep. There are also medications and prescription diets made especially for CCD if that is what’s happening to Sherwood. Talk with your vet to see if s/he agrees and to discuss options and doses.

You will need to take puma to a veterinarian for an exam. He may not want to lie down due to arthritis pain. So this needs to be assessed and treated with pain medication. As for the dementia: Once dementia (canine cognitive disorder) is diagnosed, there are several possibilities to make him happier (and you too...): 1) leave a night light or small lamp on in the room where he spends most of the night. 2) Unless Puma is deaf, you can leave a radio on (quietly playing) 3) Ask your veterinarian about prescribing Selegiline, a drug which helps dogs, cats and humans with dementia. It does work very well relieving the signs of dementia (pacing, crying, not lying down, confusion, etc.)