I would be interested in chatting about this with other dog lovers. Our 15 year old rescue is exhibiting all the signs of dementia. Has anyone tried the drug Anipryl with good results?
No, I haven’t tried that drug. What symptoms are you seeing?
When my old shepXcollie got kind of “out of it” the last year of her life (also 15 btw) I just dealt with it. Made her life very easy, just did what she seemed comfortable doing. Like, we stopped going for walkies as walkies seemed to scare her, going for rides in the truck got scary etc… I could tune out her barking at the wall LOL. Her hearing really seemed to go that year. I would come home, shut the house alarm off, and she would still be sleeping. She would wake up later and seemed VERY suprised to see me. So after that had been going on for a bit, when I got home, I would go to where ever she was sleeping and wake her up gently so she wouldn’t get so suprised.
I had a dog with dementia and tried anipryl with no noticeable results. As Judysmom did, I just treated her as a senile dog and tried to make things easier for her. She didn’t know where our house was anymore, she’d run to the neighbors front door instead of ours, or she’d get stuck on the wrong side of the doors. She didn’t recognize us anymore, or at least didn’t show signs she did. She was no longer housebroken, would go outside, spend a little time, then come inside and pee. It was sad, since we had had her since birth, but by then she was about 15 and had lived a good long life. We finally put her to sleep when her arthritis could no longer be managed by acupuncture or drugs anymore and she had difficulty walking. She had dementia for over a year.
My old Sheltie had it the last year of his life (he was ~15 when it started). I didn’t try any medication, but made some changes around the house to make things safer for him. He would get himself stuck in odd places - behind the sofa, under the coffee table, etc - so for the first time in the 15 years that I had him, he had to be crated when unsupervised.
He also had vestibular disease but thankfully didn’t have an acute flare up at all that last year when the CCG started and worsened.
It’s so hard to see an old friend ‘loose it’ with CCG. {{hugs}} to you.
So far, we have confined her to one area of the house so she doesn’t get “stuck” in corners. She exhibits signs of sundowners where she will pace and paw at her beds all night long. Some nights she will sleep peacefully through the night, other nights she is up all night pacing and panting. I have a call into our vet to ask about the Amipryl. The receptionist said they have many patients on it and have had good results. I will follow up with how our dog does.
Thanks for all the comments, much appreciated.
Pacing and pawing
The pacing and pawing you are describing is a symptom of discomfort and/or pain. The fact that the dog does this occasionally but not consistently leads me to think Most likely from arthritis, but could also be internal factors.
Please ask your vet for pain meds and perhaps a CBC update as well?
Many of my oldies present this symptomology, and the above is what my vets have always recommended.
HRMT
No, pacing and pawing is a major symptom of dementia. She has been evaluated thoroughly from full body xrays to a complete blood panel. We are starting her on Amipryl tonight.
Good luck, I hope the meds help your pup.
Many people have had success using Melatonin for the night issues.
My 12 year old Sharpei is showing signs of dementia. I took him to the vet last week because I was sure his kidneys were starting to fail but all his blood and urine work came back great…the vet said it sounded like his issues were a result of aging and dementia. He is having panic attack issues at unexplanable times. He has always been petrified of storms and has been known to tear up my doors (trying to claw his way out) when it thunders but this is happening at random times…no thunder to set him off. I came home once last week and again last night to shredded door facings…something had to be done so I called my vet today and he is going to put Bailey on an anti-anxiety medication (I can’t remember the name right now) but I do not think it is the medicine you are discussing. I am going to try this medicine but will be very interested to see what happens with your dog as well. Please keep us updated!!!
