# Doggie dementia



## lhowemt (Jun 28, 2013)

HI Everyone- I have a friend with a lab that is experiencing some problems. I'm wondering if anyone has any advice for her? I have absolutely no clue, but bet some awesome GRF people have run into this.

Thanks!

Here is what she posted:

Okay, I need elderly canine advice--specifically any good input and/or resources for dealing with canine cognitive dysfunction (AKA doggie dementia). 

This is SO hard to deal with as I am getting little to no sleep some nights. AnnaBelle is otherwise very healthy but at night she is too anxious to settle despite an entire tool bag of tricks and for the first time in her crate-trained life my non-barking dog BARKS. 

She has had full medical work ups, is on anti-inflammatory and nerve pain and mild sedative medications (these are not new so should not be the cause), has a Thundershirt, we've tried doggy pheromones, homeopathic tinctures, I take her with me as much as possible to keep her stimulated/awake more during the day now that the summer heat is gone, etc...

She is not herself. She gets confused and anxious, especially at night, and then she ends up licking or whining and barking no matter whether she is in her favorite bed next to mine or in her crate. If I feed her early or again (she forgets that she has already eaten) or let her out to do her business and put her in her crate after she whines loudly and barks. I thought a new pheromone formula was helping along with the Thudershirt but that only lasted a few nights and there was still night waking--I only had to get up with her once in the middle of the night. During the day she is sweet and loving and my and Estella's best friend. 

I don't know what else to try. I have spoken with countless animal care workers/vets and pet shop EEs and have searched and searched online. ANY advice/suggestions would be much appreciated. She is 12.5 and otherwise a very healthy old lab aside from arthritis. Thanks in advance!


Also:

She has had far more than blood panels. Vet has worked her over and over and she has classic dementia. It is just like a human with dementia. She is quite comfortable from what we are able to tell most of the time (pain-wise). Her issues are with cognition/anxiety/situational awareness and horrible insomnia and of course her fading awareness makes her susceptible to being afraid of things that never bothered her before and also to depression. Just like in people, illness and disease that you can't "see" on the outside is so so so hard. Hard to know what to do and how to be supportive and not get overly frustrated with her. 

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I can find all sorts of stuff pointing out the obvious symptoms, but little in the way of things I can do to cope and help AnnaBelle. The household needs sleep or we'll all end up losing our marbles. Hard to know how to help.


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## Ljilly28 (Jan 22, 2008)

I don't have advice, but I do have lots of sympathy. My golden Joplin lived to be nearly 16, and the last 6 months of his life he had sundowners syndrome- the pacing at night, panting, even eating socks and objects which he had never even done as a puppy. I had a high stress job then, and never getting to sleep when I needed too was brutal, even though I adored him and was grateful for every moment. Outside, he would stop to sniff something, and just stay there for 30 minutes sniffing the same spot. It is such a tough issue. I feel for your friends. Looking back, I wish I had maybe tried sedating him with something gentle like diazepam at night so we could both have rested.


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## Bentleysmom (Aug 11, 2012)

Just a thought, has your doctor checked for Cushings yet? I had a Golden a few years ago with it and the symptoms sound familiar. Toward the end my gentle giant became vicious


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## GoldenCamper (Dec 21, 2009)

Have your friend ask their vet about choline supplementation if they have not already tried it.


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## Tennyson (Mar 26, 2011)

I'd say the last 6 months that Mick was here he developed CCD.
Got very restless at sun down. I used liquid melatonim (sp?) on 2 unsalted crackers for his night time snack. Along with a lot of massages and Bach, Wagner and Brahms he would relax and sleep through night.


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## Dallas Gold (Dec 22, 2007)

I was just talking to our vet today about senior care and she pulled out a whole host of new supplements for aging dogs and some of them are geared towards those with cognitive issues. these are new to me but here are the links to some of them: 

Senilife Veterinary Information from Drugs.com She recommends this for senior dogs, especially before the sundowning and other symptoms begin. Supposedly it's supposed to help protect the brain from starting the cognitive decline (again, I don't know if this works or not, just what she reported). 

Virbac Animal Health — ANXITANE® (L-Theanine) Chewable Tablets | United States This is to calm anxious or fearful behaviors.

For dogs who are not on a long term NSAID or pain med that has potential damaging effects on the liver, she recommends this: Virbac Animal Health — NOVIFIT® (NoviSAMe®) Tablets | United States. This is the commercial form of Sam E. If the dog is on a NSAID or other medication with potential for liver side effects, then she recommends Denamarin: Denamarin Veterinary Information from Drugs.com 

There is also the old anipryl, which may or may not be effective.


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## MarieP (Aug 21, 2011)

My old mix breed had the exact same problems. She was put on xanax and did well on it for about a year. It helped all of us finally get some sleep at night. It was our last resort. She was much happier too. She was a bit wobbly for the first week, but once she got used to it, she didn't have any issues. Good luck to your friend!


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## lhowemt (Jun 28, 2013)

Thank you everyone. I've passed all of this information on to her. Hopefully AnnaBelle gets some relief soon.

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