My senior dog has dementia, paces, cries. What can I do to help her?

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.)

Dementia is easily treated. You should make an appointment with your vet to rule out other diseases. Should the diagnosis be that Betsey suffers from dementia (typical signs are pacing at night, crying, not knowing where she is , needing you to "save" her from loneliness), there is a medication that can be given which will alleviate all those signs. The medication is called Selegiline (generic name) or brandname Anipryl. In the meantime you can leave a small lamp on at night, and leave the radio on(unless she is deaf). That often helps, too.

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!

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 are correct there could be something else going on. In senior dogs like Molly, they can develop a condition called canine cognitive dysfunction. This is similar to dementia in humans, and it would cause her to behavior strangely at times. I would have Molly seen by a vet. The vet can diagnose if she does have cognitive canine dysfunction by doing a physical exam, blood tests, urinalysis, and x-rays to rule out any health problems that could potentially cause her symptoms. If canine cognitive dysfunction is diagnosed, the vet can discuss treatment with you. While it cannot be cured, it can be managed with mediations, behavioral therapy, and special diets.

Poor girl. I am not sure if this strictly behavioral due to old age and a bit of senility or if she has an underlying issue. It would be worth while getting her examined by your vet to have a health profile done via bloodwork to ensure everything is normal, especially since this behavior is happening in consecutive days. If she is having senility issues, then that can be addressed with medication (i.e. Reconcile) or with a prescription diet (ie Hill’s B/D). Another possible cause for sudden whimpering in older pets is arthritis. This can be helped with joint supplements (ie Dasuquin, Cosequin, Rejuvenate) in mild cases or prescription pain control medication (ie Rimadyl, Galliprant) through your vet in more moderate to severe cases. I hope that things are well for your pet Mimi moving forward! Take care.