I have an almost 8yr old, 60+, (we think) Anatolian mix that was diagnosed last Jan with Canine Cognitive Dysfunction. Vet did a full physical workup (blood, stool, urine, thyroid, eyes, ears, checked for pain, etc).
His symptoms/behaviors:
-Barks at things none of the other dogs hear.
-Appears to forget how to exit/enter rooms.
-Stares into space for long periods.
-Forgets/doesn’t eat at times. He has lost weight twice, but never enough to be concerned about (vet saw him both times). Still at a healthy weight.
-Misreads other dogs body language. My parents pit mix signals he wants to play, and Deputy will cower in fear. He also tries to break up the others when they play roughly.
How long did your dog live past the date of diagnosis? Was this the cause of them being put to sleep, or was it something physical? The last two who we put down (cancer at 12 and really bad health overall at 10+) had he beginnings of this, but never progressed this far.
I had a schnauzer that developed dementia. The first symptoms started around age 12, and had gotten pretty noticeable by age 14. He died at 15 1/2. By the end, he seemed to have very little short-term memory at all - couldn’t remember if he’d gone outside to do his business, and was demanding to be taken outside every 10 minutes. And then would still have accidents. Poor fellow.
He also had vision problems towards the end, and would occasionally bump into walls and doorways, but he tended to walk slowly and follow carefully in the wake of a human. His frisky days were well behind him by then, since he’d had some arthritis for awhile.
We affectionately referred to his condition as “dogzheimers” and while it was upsetting to the family at first, by the time the symptoms had reached their peak, we were all pretty much at peace with it. It’s just how he was. He still enjoyed life, wanted to be petted, loved to get treats and praise. He knew his “favorite” family members, and would snore blissfully at their feet. We learned not to wake him from a sound sleep by petting him, as he would wake up disoriented and might snap at us in the confusion.
He was rather eccentric for those last couple of years, but still had a good quality of life until he passed in his sleep.
Our springer spaniel Phyllis started showing signs of dementia around age 13. She also had reduced vision, hearing, and mobility, but was otherwise happy and healthy. She was often distracted at mealtime and lost a bit of weight, but the vet said she was fine. In her last year or so she developed fecal incontinence, which wasn’t really as bad as you might think. The vet said she probably had reduced nerve function, and the poop would just fall out of her, apparently without her realizing it. It was normal, solid poop, so we would just pick it up. She never soiled her bed or anything like that, and she rarely had pee accidents. Usually the dementia just manifested as slight confusion. We got a puppy when she was about 14 and 3 months, and she loved it, tolerated Josie’s antics like a champ and often slept next to her crate. She also was “meh” about the four kittens we rescued last summer (and kept them all). The kitties loved her. Basically, as she got older she just got sweeter and sweeter.
Twice she developed a cyst on her back leg. It popped open once and healed up. But then it grew back to the size of a tennis ball. The vet was reluctant to do surgery because of her age, as long as it was not bothering her. But then it broke open (on a Sunday morning, our wedding anniversary, on a weekend when we had no water because our well pump had died. Yeah, that was fun) and it was a huge open wound. Again it didn’t seem to bother her, so we called the vet, who agreed that we could keep her quiet and watch her till Monday, then bring her in. We decided to risk surgery, because now something had to be done. And if she went down during surgery, we were okay with that, as by now she was nearly 14 and a half. Surgery was scheduled for Wednesday, but Tuesday morning she was weak and unable to stand. So we and the vet decided that she was not strong enough for surgery and we put her down.
Sweet baby. She was happy and calm through her very last moment. Mr. S shared a last breakfast of toast and jam with her (their daily ritual). The vet came out to the van to do the deed as we both held and petted her, and we had Josie in her crate nearby. We couldn’t see her, but the vet said that as Phyllis’s head went down as she left us, 5-month-old Josie laid her head down too. Aren’t dogs just amazing. We think she still misses Phyllis, 4 months later.
Before I put my English Setter, Pat, down, he’d lost quite a bit of cognition. He’d go to the wrong side of the door to be let out (the hinge side), even though he’d spent probably 8 years going through that door (He was about 5 when I got him from the pound). He’d walk into corners and not be able to get out, or he’d stand in the yard like he couldn’t remember why he was there. If I talked to him, he’d come on into the house.
But still, through it all, he seemed content. He was a little more snappish at the other dogs if they got into his space, but he had his pick of dog beds and still ate readily at mealtimes (I feed my dogs twice a day and mentally note how much each dog is eating) and was ready to nuzzle me and to be petted.
He also had spondylosis, spinal arthritis, and finally couldn’t hold himself up any more and it was time.
My Stella had dementia, we just let her go a few weeks ago. It seemed to come on very rapidly, within a few months she went from adorably bumping into things to barking at nothing and never really settling down because she couldn’t quite figure out where she was or what was happening. She was 17 and had a world of other heath problems (cushings, thyroid, vision and hearing gone plus bad joints in both back legs) so the dementia moved her quality of life right to the bottom of the scale.
For years she had just been gimpy and blind and deaf and in need of multiple meds every day, and that was fine, but once she became constantly scared and unhappy, well, they say you’ll know. I wish she could have stayed forever, she really was my best friend.
Wife’s dog died soon after developing the classic symptoms. Got pretty bad for a short time, wandered off (never done that before) to a neighbor’s porch, died later that day after I went to retrieve him.
Our border collie mix began to get really bad in the last 6 months or so of her life. Apart from the obvious physical failings of being nearly 16, she forgot she was housebroken, no longer letting us know she wanted to go out. If we didn’t take her, she’d squat in the house.
Her sight and hearing had been decreasing steadily over her last few years, but suddenly she’d gotten to where she’d walk into a corner, then just stand there, nose against the wall, seemingly confused or lost. It became apparent that she was just going thru the motions - while she still liked getting skritches, the dog we’d had for so many years was gone. We had her put down rather than let her waste away. She deserved that much.
Yes, Connor, a greyhound/lab mix, showed many of the same signs. Bumping into things, scratching with great anxiety and nervousness, being disoriented. She deteriorated and had to be put down within about six months. She was pretty elderly at that point, but hadn’t had any other physical afflictions.
