Wednesday, November 4, 2015
Doggy Dementia
While we have referred to Henry's brain and cognitive issues as Doggy Alzheimer's, there is no officially recognized Canine Alzheimer's disease (at least that we know about). However, we have been researching cognitive disorders in dogs as we are starting to notice more and more oddities in Henry's cognitive behaviors. For some time, Henry has been suffering from sundowners. By definition, sundowning is a syndrome in Alzheimer's patients of recurring confusion and increased agitation in the late afternoon or early evening. A sundowner is one who sundowns.
Henry expresses his sundowning by the nightly routine of pacing, needing to go outside to potty (or pretend to potty), wandering and "staring" at walls. He started doing this around the time he lost his siblings, lost his vision, had cancer and then his day of seizures. We can't peg exactly when it started, but it did start slow and got progressively worse. However, we made accommodations that helped him improve a lot in some areas. Even though he still sundowns, he is not as bad now as he was in the beginning.
In our research, we have discovered an acronym that helps owners recognize cognitive issues with their dog. The acronym is DISH.
- D: Disorientation. Getting stuck behind furniture, trying to get out wrong side of a door or appearing confused.
- I: Interactions as in altered social interactions. Dog appears out of it, doesn't respond as well to commands.
- S: Sleep disturbances. Increased sleep during the day and decreased sleep at night. Pacing, unexplained restlessness, especially in the evening or at night.
- H: House soiling
For us, it is hard to confirm these elements where Henry is concerned. This is mainly due to Henry's blindness. Henry gets stuck behind doors and furniture all the time. How do we determine what is caused by blindness vs cognitive disorder? For social interactions, what is to say he is not responding to commands from stubborness, dull hearing or dementia? He has separated from us in the sense that Henry could literally have been pet for HOURS and now we are lucky to get 5 minutes of cuddling at a clip until he becomes fidgety and antsy to escape the love. The study indicated that like Alzheimer's in humans, the canine version can leave the dog not knowing or recognizing his pack (dogs or humans). When this is the case, the dog can then become aggressive since he/she feels as if he/she is surrounded by strangers. That is probably the scariest aspect that we have "to look forward to" should Henry live long enough to get to that point.
#WorstNightmare #TearyEyed
As for the house soiling. We can knock on wood for that one! So far, so good. He is still diligent about going outside. Should Henry lose this function due cognitive or medical means we will manage, but we will know that he did all he could to do his business outdoors. He is a master in the potty department. He has always outshined his brother Ben in that area!
To see in print that we are not alone in this and seeing that there is research behind it feels so validating. I am sad for the other dogs and dog owners, but I think that there is a huge world out there that doesn't believe any of this and thinks that we are crazy.
Our research has turned up a few different medications and herbal remedies that have been shown to help. But it is so tricky with Henry and his multiple conditions. For example, one treatment is in a oil based form. Well, the oil version is not good for his IBD and poor protein absorption. Another medication has had good results, but is only effective for up to 6 months then it stops working. That seems good but then we wonder after the 6 months does the dog just revert all the way back to what he would have been without the meds? That must be a shock to the dog and the people.
We will do some more research and talk to our general vet and try to contact his Neurologist. Our neurologist has a really strong understanding of side effects of certain meds and interactions with other meds. We want to be sure to give Henry the best he's got left. And we know first hand how degenerative Alzheimer's is in people. It would be tough to watch Henry go through each phase of the disease. For now, we will continue to study up and consult and see if there is something better than what we are doing. We just try to keep him on his routine, keep him calm and give him the things we know make him happy (especially car rides!)
Have any of you experienced this type of scenario in your dog? Seen doggy dementia? Have any advice? Here are the links for further reading:
http://thebark.com/content/sundowning
http://www.holisticanimalmedicines.com/store/cognitive_relief_old_age_dementia_relief_100ml.html
No matter what.....#HenryStrong
Martha
11/04/2015
There is so much excellent information here today. And it’s new to me and so interesting!
I think with Henry, it sounds like in treating this problem you kind of have your hands tied, not wanting to risk making his other problems worse. And I think you do great in helping Henry with all of the hardships he has to face.
As I was reading all of this, I was remembering a beagle we had years ago, and I wonder if this is what was going on with him. We coped with what behaviors that cropped up the best we could. But we never could understand what was going on.
#DogsArePeopleToo