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Doggie Dementia/ccd?


westiemum
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She is 12yo. She was on vivitonin for a while but then it stopped working. She is currently on ginko and omega 3 plus the Hills BD food.

kirty when was the last time she had a thorough vet check? If it was awhile ago, I think I'd head back, get them to do a full review including bloods (to check there's nothing else brewing , particularly in an older dog) and see if any of the other dementia drugs or anxiety drugs might help? kayla mentioned selegiline or fitergol, back on p24 so they might be worth discussing with your vet?

Up until this last crisis last Sunday we were trying a human generic prozac called Lovan for Mac (the dog one is ridiculously expensive - Reconcile?) - but he'd only been on a the Lovan a couple of days before his surgery so I'm not sure how well it was working. But that might be worth considering too and at least its affordable long-term.

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Yes she'll be going to the vet very soon. I'm a vet nurse so normally I just take her to work and they check her out for me, but we are an ophthalmology only clinic so not really up to date with any general vet stuff. So I'm going to go to my local vet and get a full work up done.

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For the first time in a couple of weeks, Mac slept soundly all night in his bed next to mine until he got up for a wee at 6.30 this morning. He took himself off to bed last night and was perfectly happy in his bed next to mine all night. He's happy and trotting around with ears forward and his tail up.

All good! thumbsup1.gif

Very good news for Mac :thumbsup: Do you think that the trachea problem may have been the reason for his night-time troubles WM?

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I haven't read all the thread.... but I wonder if corvus gave a link to a practical paper on doggie dementia that came from Sydney University?

She gave it to me when I was asking on behalf of US tibbie people who were looking for information. They found it great.... as it referred to diet, supplements & medications. It was also great in sorting thro' what's the usual declines from ageing... & what is actual dementia. I'll see if I can find it again....

Good to see Mac being more comfortable at night, westie.

FOUND! Go to the 'Discussion' section on the last page because it has a summary of the key behaviours and also a listing of what diet & supplements have best helped:

http://rng.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2012/07/2010-The-canine-cognitive-dysfunction-rating-scale-CCDR.pdf

Edited by mita
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Yes she'll be going to the vet very soon. I'm a vet nurse so normally I just take her to work and they check her out for me, but we are an ophthalmology only clinic so not really up to date with any general vet stuff. So I'm going to go to my local vet and get a full work up done.

That's a good idea. But do bear in mind that this area of diagnostics IMO is a very inexact science. So one of the things I'd do before you go is keep some accurate notes for a week or so, so you can accurately report to the vet how Maisie's going and what you are observing. 'Cause you can bet your bottom dollar she won't exhibit the symptoms of concern when you're at the vet. I was really embarrassed I was such a poor reporter for the vets on Sunday night during Mac's crisis. Yes I know it was sudden and I was under pressure but I really didn't report well and a few accurate notes would have been really really helpful. Will be really interested to hear how you get on. smile.gif

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For the first time in a couple of weeks, Mac slept soundly all night in his bed next to mine until he got up for a wee at 6.30 this morning. He took himself off to bed last night and was perfectly happy in his bed next to mine all night. He's happy and trotting around with ears forward and his tail up.

All good! thumbsup1.gif

Very good news for Mac :thumbsup:Do you think that the trachea problem may have been the reason for his night-time troubles WM?

Thanks Rosetta. That's a really astute interesting question - and one I've started asking myself now the dust is settling. I think you're right - it's quite possible that his breathing difficulties were gradually worsening and the cause of the increase in frequency of his night wanderings and real inability to settle overnight over the last couple of weeks. I still think he has dementia - those symptoms I think were obvious prior to this recent episode - but I am wondering if he has an additional underlying neurological disease which has just become clinically more obvious? GOLPP? I guess time will tell.

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I haven't read all the thread.... but I wonder if corvus gave a link to a practical paper on doggie dementia that came from Sydney University?

She gave it to me when I was asking on behalf of US tibbie people who were looking for information. They found it great.... as it referred to diet, supplements & medications. It was also great in sorting thro' what's the usual declines from ageing... & what is actual dementia. I'll see if I can find it again....

Good to see Mac being more comfortable at night, westie.

FOUND! Go to the 'Discussion' section on the last page because it has a summary of the key behaviours and also a listing of what diet & supplements have best helped:

http://rng.org.au/wp...-scale-CCDR.pdf

Thank you thank you thank you! I've been waiting to hear of the results of this study and didn't realise it had already been published. Mac was part of this study (I think!) as Hannah, the main author was a DOLer but haven't seen her around for quite some time. This is one of the best pieces of work that I've seen on canine dementia. It makes so much sense and shines a lot of light on the confusion around symptomatology (IMHO). Thanks very much for posting Mita.

Mac is doing really well. He's bright-eyed and trotting around - albeit slowly. He's snoring (loudly!) in his Mac cave (a big cushion between the bureau and the lounge in the lounge room) at the moment.

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Well its a week ago today since Mac's respiratory crisis. And thank God he's a different dog. He's moving around much more easily, his back end is much less unsteady, he's bright eyed and interested in his surroundings and eating like a horse! There's still no sign of coughing or spluttering after eating or drinking. His surgical wound is neat and clean. He's happy and smoochy. He's still sleeping through until about 6 am which means i'm doing much better too.

I'm sure there are some who would question the wisdom of operating like this on an almost 14 year old dog. But as a dear friend and I discussed yesterday, he was a fit and well oldie with a perfect blood panel to prove it up until this crisis - and he still is. He had nothing wrong with him that couldn't be managed and he had very good quality of life. And once I knew there was a relatively simple surgical solution to what was essentially a mechanical airway obstruction it quickly became an issue of 'why would you not do it'? (costs aside).

I'm just soooo happy to still have him and that he still has a really good quality of life. The age of miracles is not over. smile.gif

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Happy to oblige!

Here's a shot of Macs surgical wound to give you an idea of what the poor little man has been through...

post-11746-0-41293100-1372574193_thumb.jpg

And one of Mac and Sarah cuddling up on the lounge earlier this afternoon - Mac facing the camera...

post-11746-0-26990600-1372574220_thumb.jpg

Will try and get one of him up and about later (he's snoring at present... laugh.gif)

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It's good reading Mac's updates WM, especially as he now has a new lease of life...what tough little dogs they are.

GO MAC! :thumbsup:

This may cover his naked neck until his hair grows (Pers has put ideas into my head)

post-26505-0-90799000-1372624244_thumb.jpg :laugh:

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