Dog Diseases Common With Older Dogs - Canine Cognitive Dysfunction
Canine Cognitive Dysfunction is an age-related mental degeneration in dogs which is the equivalent of Alzheimers disease in humans.
Affected animals suffer from a lack of dopamine (a neurotransmitter) and parts of their brains are destroyed by the deposition of a substance called amyloid.
Gus wandered out stiffly into me courtyard and stood staring into the distance.
After five minutes.
he turned and walked up to the wall surrounding the garden, where he stood unsure of where to go next, apparently having lost his bearings.
The owner of Gus, Sylvia, noticed him from the kitchen window and went outside to him and gently led him back inside.
She had just spent mast of the night getting out of bed to see what was wrong with him as he paced up and down the hall.
Twice she had left him out into the garden and he had stood looking vacant for a while and [hen wandered back inside.
Sometimes Gus would stop in the middle of eating and stare into space for five minutes.
Twice in the last month, he had seemed confused about where the floor ended and the yard began and had soiled on the hall floor Sylvia had recently begun to consider having Gus put to sleep because at rimes he seemed to have very little quality of life.
It was a hard decision because at the age of 14, this lovely old Golden Retriever was still physically fit apart from slight arthritis in his left hip, which was medically managed.
He still had some good days, when he seemed totally normal and aware of everything around him.
After a complete medical examination and blood profile, Gus was put onto medication known as selegiline hydrochloride which has multiple benefits.
This drug is also used to treat Alzheimers disease in humans, it increases dopamine and reduces the number of oxygen free radicals which are known to damage brain tissue.
Within a month his behaviour was radically changed.
He slept through the night, was well aware of his surroundings, ate all his dinner immediately, and was playful and keen to go our for walks.
He still asked to go out and sometimes seemed to have forgotten what he wanted to do once he got there, but these episodes were much less frequent and shorter in duration.
Affected animals suffer from a lack of dopamine (a neurotransmitter) and parts of their brains are destroyed by the deposition of a substance called amyloid.
Gus wandered out stiffly into me courtyard and stood staring into the distance.
After five minutes.
he turned and walked up to the wall surrounding the garden, where he stood unsure of where to go next, apparently having lost his bearings.
The owner of Gus, Sylvia, noticed him from the kitchen window and went outside to him and gently led him back inside.
She had just spent mast of the night getting out of bed to see what was wrong with him as he paced up and down the hall.
Twice she had left him out into the garden and he had stood looking vacant for a while and [hen wandered back inside.
Sometimes Gus would stop in the middle of eating and stare into space for five minutes.
Twice in the last month, he had seemed confused about where the floor ended and the yard began and had soiled on the hall floor Sylvia had recently begun to consider having Gus put to sleep because at rimes he seemed to have very little quality of life.
It was a hard decision because at the age of 14, this lovely old Golden Retriever was still physically fit apart from slight arthritis in his left hip, which was medically managed.
He still had some good days, when he seemed totally normal and aware of everything around him.
After a complete medical examination and blood profile, Gus was put onto medication known as selegiline hydrochloride which has multiple benefits.
This drug is also used to treat Alzheimers disease in humans, it increases dopamine and reduces the number of oxygen free radicals which are known to damage brain tissue.
Within a month his behaviour was radically changed.
He slept through the night, was well aware of his surroundings, ate all his dinner immediately, and was playful and keen to go our for walks.
He still asked to go out and sometimes seemed to have forgotten what he wanted to do once he got there, but these episodes were much less frequent and shorter in duration.
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