Doggy Dementia (CCD)

It has been a longgg time since I put anything on my blog, but felt this was the appropriate place to post this information.

We recently shared on social media that our 13-year-old basset, Willow, has CCD (Canine Cognitive Disorder), otherwise known as doggy dementia.  Due to the number of people who have commented and messaged, so many others are experiencing similar issues and we felt it was important to share our journey so far.  First, a little background into how this began.  

Our first sign that something was wrong was late last summer when Willow would occasionally stare into a corner for seemingly no reason. She then started getting up between 4:00 and 5:00 in the morning.  We would let her outside to go to the bathroom and attempt to go back to bed.  Once back in bed she would be restless and within 30 minutes wanted to be up again.  We assumed this was an attempt to try to move breakfast time up as Willow loves mealtime!  Willow has lost her hearing so I didn't feel I was able to effectively communicate to her that we needed more sleep.  We reached out to an animal communicator, thinking it was a behavioral issue, and that by working through her we could relay to Willow that after going outside we needed to go back to bed and sleep more.  Starting my day at 4 a.m. was taking its toll on me and I was ready for a quick fix!  

In our animal communication session (done by phone), she relayed that she was getting that Willow might have dog dementia. That was not what we expected to hear!  Following that session we contacted our veterinarian, Dr. Liz McClure in Boone, who assessed Willow and agreed that her symptoms were consistent with early-stage dog dementia. 

Please note that while I am typing this as it relates to dogs, cats can have dementia too. These are some of the signs and symptoms of dog dementia and I noted what we have experienced so far:  

- staring into a corner (Willow's first noticed symptom last summer)

- acting confused (daily for Willow, but very off and on)

- spatial confusion (Willow doesn't always realize the space she takes up and how it relates to us moving around her)

- seeming uninterested in food (Willow eats well at times, other times hardly eats)

- looking for you (yesterday Willow went to the door looking for me - I was sitting on the sectional and when she looked at me I smiled and waved at her and she ran over to me, she just forgets where she saw us last)

- twilighting or sundowning - restlessness at night and sleeping more during the day (definitely experienced this as above)

 - going outside and forgetting why they are out there or going out repeatedly, forgetting they were just out  

- soiling in the home

 - forgetting who you are at times  

 - getting stuck in places they typically would be able to get out of 

 - barking for no reason at all

I know I am missing other symptoms so don't consider this a complete list.  Symptoms of CCD can mimic other health issues, so work with your veterinarian to rule out any other underlying causes.  

Dr. McClure gave us a list of things to do and I wanted to share those with you.   Just a reminder, none of these are going to reverse the dementia. The goal is to slow the progression and give your pet the best quality of life possible for as long as possible. Here are the recommendations we received:

 - Omega 3 fatty acids - they do so much for our pets in so many ways!  (Think Fish Oil.)

 - Food games and puzzles for mental stimulation

 - Walks for mental stimulation.  - slow down and let your dog sniff everything it wants!

 - Senilife - a brain supplement.  We could not find access to this locally or for wholesale.  We ordered this from a pet pharmacy.

 - Adaptil collars or diffusers - a pheromone based calming product (we brought the diffusers into our store as well as the feline version Feliway)

 - Gabapentin - a prescription to help with anxiety and pain (age related in Willow's case) 

 - Melatonin (OTC) to help with better sleep at night - ask your vet to get the correct dose

 - Selegiline - a prescription to reduce stress.  This is the generic of Anipryl. We got this through our regular human pharmacy.  While that would be my preference (always support local as much as possible) we will likely need to order this from the pet pharmacy going forward.  One month was $107 through our pharmacy and through the pet pharmacy it will cut the cost in half it appears.  Again, the above modalities will not reverse dementia, but hopefully slow the progression.

In the last 6-9 months Willow has lost her hearing.  In researching as much as I could about CCD it was interesting to read that pets who lose their hearing can be more prone to CCD.  Is it because they are processing less by not hearing?  We use a lot of hand signals with Willow.  Because of her hearing loss, if she wakes up and we aren't in the room OR if we get up for any reason, she follows.  She wants to know where we are all the time, not knowing makes her very anxious.  

Our goal as a business is to help our customers' pets live longer, healthier lives. Our goal as Willow's people, is to do the same for her.  In my opinion, as we continue to do better for our pets nutritionally and see them living longer, we will likely see more cases of CCD.  By making Omega 3 fatty acids a regular part of your pet's diet, mentally stimulating them with walks and enrichment toys throughout their life, we can hopefully delay dementia in more pets going forward.

As always, when you know better you can do better.