Dealing with Doggy Dementia

My husband and I have a 12-14 year old English Bulldog/Boxer mix, named Knuckles. We found him in 2002, not long after our beloved Chihuahua had died from Cushing's disease. We were walking around downtown Pasadena, CA and this pathetic, skinny, scarred bulldog walked up to my husband and leaned into him while we waited to cross the street. We tried to find him a home, to no avail. He has become my guardian angel, my little trooper.

Anyway, about two years ago, he started doing some funky things: he'd walk up to a wall and scratch on it, thinking the door was there. He was developing cataracts, so we chalked it up to blindness. Knuckles acted normally: he greeted us when we came home, went on his rampages (anyone who's ever had this particular mix knows they love to spend about 5 minuts sprinting in circles around the house), he still ran the fence and played with his brother dog. Anyway, then we moved and he started having accidents in the house: peeing, even after just having been taken out. Pooping in his sleep for no apparent reason. Now, he gets trapped in the bedroom, trapped in the bathroom, stuck in a bookcase. Yesterday, I woke up to him having pooped in his sleep, and then he rolled in it; needless to say, I got up to a poopy dog. Bathing him was a treat, because his left leg has become extremely weak over the past few days. As I write this, he is manically pacing the house, occasionally crashing into stuff.

I know what I have to do...but it's very sad. He barely acknowledges my presence anymore. :(

:hug:

He had a good life he knew you and your family would take care of him to the end. He found you....he knew...may he RIP!

I wish you peace.

...it's still one of the hardest things to do. :hug:

But at 14 now, her world has been getting smaller and she's been showing signs of dementia for the past couple years. It's mainly a surprised forgetfulness of things around her, but we have to keep an eye on her.
Have you checked with a vet yet? There could be other issues (tumors or nerve degeneration in the hind area?) as well as his anxiety over blindness that could be affecting your poor dog's actions.

I'm sorry to hear he's fading like that. My parent's last dog, a 13 year old dalmatian with hip dyspepsia, started having problems with control and sight; after about 6 months of it, he finally just lay down in his favorite beanbag and stopped even trying any activity, wouldn't eat or drink, waiting for them to take him on that last trip to the vet.
It sounds as if your Knuckles is still trying to figure out what is going on in his doggy brain, and he can't quite come to grips with it. A vet could figure out if it's physical or mental and if it's treatable, or if it's a matter of the end of life.
14 years is starting in on the higher end of longevity for a medium sized dog. He should let you know when it's time.

:hug:

Haele

We'll be going in to talk to our vet later this week. It's so heartbreaking, but watching him suffer is torture for us. I'm not sure if there's much in his doggy brain anymore to process what's happening.
I'll keep you all posted.:grouphug:

.... I have 2 seniors, a 13 year old Beagle and an 11 year old ACD/Beagle mix, and I am just dreading the day when I start to see those things happen.

Its little consolation but know that you gave him the best life he could have ever hoped for, and that when he crosses the bridge, you'll be there to comfort him and send him on his way to where he can run and play and he his young self again.

:hug:

just as you describe. One of his symptoms was pacing. He would tire himself out and just curl up in one of our laps and fall asleep. They put him on Anipryl per the vet's advice and it did help with some of the problems. He lived to be 20 years old. While he became a different dog with the dementia, he still had flashes of the same old Peabody.

We'll be putting down our precious Knuckles tomorrow. I'm ready...he's ready. I've very sad, but I'm keeping him alive for my selfish reasons-he hasn't been the same dog for over a year. I knew that the day I came home from Mexico after 4 months and he didn't even acknowledge my presence.

Wish me luck.