Doggy Dementia

[MyChiwawi]

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Hello
Our darling little dog has just been diagnosed with the above.
He has good days and not so good.
Any help with his restlessness in the mornings rather than at night please?

 

[arealhuman]

Welcome to the forum, sorry to hear of the diagnosis. As a relative novice, the only thing I can suggest is perhaps some calming scents such as lavender or one of the sprays you can buy (sorry, I forget the name). Someone much more experienced will be along shortly.

 

[JoanneF]

There are supplements you can get that help with focus - Aktivait is one. Adaptil is a calming pheromone product, it comes as a spray (for bedding etc), a plug in, or a collar.

I don't know about dogs but in humans, having a quiet calm environment and a predictable routine is helpful.

 

[JudyN]

Welcome to the forum, sorry to hear of the diagnosis. As a relative novice, the only thing I can suggest is perhaps some calming scents such as lavender or one of the sprays you can buy (sorry, I forget the name). Someone much more experienced will be along shortly.

Bear in mind that some essential oils are unsafe for dogs, so do your research if you try these.

Mychiwawi, I'm sorry to hear this. My dog (now gone) had dementia, and it's a cruel disease I wrote a long article about what can help, both from reading online and my own experience: Canine cognitive dysfunction (dementia in dogs)

My dog started off being restless at night, and OK in the day, and it was only after several months that his anxiety got bad in the day as well. What worked best for him was gabapentin - it really made a difference, so you might want to research this and speak to your vet - it's prescription only.

When he first started getting anxious in the day, he was much better outside on walks, so we went out a lot, despite his wobbly joints. He also wanted me to throw tennis balls for him to catch (mostly he missed) for ages, and dug holes all over the garden - we let him do it, and it ended up like the Somme. This really is a time to indulge your dog - give him as much attention as he wants/needs, and don't hold back on the treats and indulgences. Every quality moment you have together is worth it.

 

[excuseme]

I don't know what you would call this.

One of our old ladies "Mattie" who was PTS back in 2011 at 13 years of age.

She was sometimes doing strange things after bed time and we never knew exactly where we were exactly going to find her come the next morning.
I once found her fast asleep in a pile of cardboard boxes, another time I remember her again fast asleep in one of our sheds, again on top of some junk etc. She was always in a very deep sleep and never heard me calling for her, there were times when her breathing was so shallow and her body so cold that that I had to be quiet firm when touching her to wake her, (that was if she was not already dead). Once awake she would get up and go about life like as if there was nothing wrong. Huh strange girl

I was worried about where she may sleep the next night and this is where we discovered the "Equafleece" dog coats,. We used to put her Equafleece coat on her (we called it her pyjamas) at bed time knowing that where ever she may decide to sleep, she was going to be warm. What a strange little dog.

Mattie was eventually PTS for other reasons that were not connected to the above at the age of 13..

 

[excuseme]

Have a look at "Bach" rescue remedy. (helps with comfort and reassurance)
Suggested by my homeopathic vet but I can not remember what the problem was!!
Totally safe.

 

[arealhuman]

Adaptil is a calming pheromone product, it comes as a spray (for bedding etc), a plug in, or a collar.

That's what I was thinking of!

 

[Flobo]

I'm a fan of Bach Flower remedies, as @excuseme suggests, but make sure you buy the one for animals as the human ones are infused in brandy.
My old boy also had this condition, I can only second what @JudyN says above. He was also on gabapentin and I used to use 'pet remedy' natural de-stress and calming spray, which may have helped a bit. But it is very much a case of going with the flow really, a heart breaking condition...