Doggy Dementia: Tips For Supporting Your Senior Dog

After years of seeing your hound enjoy all the best things in life, it can be hard to see them start to struggle.

Canine  Cognitive Dysfunction (CCD), sometimes referred to as Cognitive  Dysfunction Syndrome (CDS), is a neurodegenerative disease that  primarily affects senior dogs in the same way that Alzheimer’s affects  humans.  Over 50% of dogs over 11 years old show clinical signs, meaning  that they require a higher level of support.

There  are steps you can take to support your dog’s health and brain function  as they age, but CCD has no known cause or cure.  Sadly, there is also a  lack of support for owners of affected dogs.  The availability and  accuracy of information about the condition is often inconsistent,  leaving dog owners frustrated and struggling to care for their dogs’  additional needs.

Most veterinary  practices recommend annual or bi-annual check-ups of your dog to track  your dog’s health, wellbeing, weight, and overall condition as they grow  and age.  While it may seem a bit excessive while you have a healthy  and young hound, it is a good idea!  Especially as they start getting  into their senior years.

A lot of  early behavioural signs are often overlooked.  This is because it is  often assumed that the dog is just getting old, or ‘misbehaving’ when  they start showing clinical signs of CCD.  But any behavioural  abnormalities your dog displays should be noted and tracked for  progression both regarding CCD but also as signs of other illnesses or  conditions.

In following the  recommendations from the vet, and having these regular check-ups, you  can sound board any anomalies, keep track of their condition and have  peace of mind that if anything does flag up that you will have caught it  early.  And if you want to go full gold standard pet ownership, you can  throw in annual blood tests too which some vets do suggest!  

Being able to identify any problems early is beneficial, both for their general health or for developing CCD.

CCD can present in a wide range of symptoms including:
- Disorientation (aimlessly wandering or looking lost)
- Impairment of house training or incontinence
- Impaired ability to cope or correctly respond to social interactions (irritability/anxiety)
- Changeable sleep-wake cycle
- Restlessness and vocalising at night
- Generalised anxiety
- Deteriorating memory (forgetting training, how to respond to words or their name)
- Reduced object recognition
- Reduced hearing and vision
- Reduced enthusiasm for things they previously enjoyed (playing/doing zoomies)
- Overgrooming or under-grooming
- Loss of appetite

There is no cure, but research and studies into CCD continue to uncover ways to reduce the symptoms.

Maintaining  physical and mental exercise throughout a dog’s life has been proven to  improve their cognitive function in their senior years, reducing and  even preventing CCD in some individuals.  Although that makes it sound  like it’s too late to implement if your dog is already in their later  years, studies do say that encouraging exercise and mental stimulation  can reduce the severity of the CCD symptoms over time.

Physical  exercise may be restricted due to other age-related issues such as  arthritis, but it is never too late to provide a host of enrichment  options to your dog to encourage them to use their brains.  These can be  bought or DIY.  We’ll be discussing both in a future post, so stay  tuned for that!

Mental  stimulation doesn’t have to be limited to just enrichment though, it can  be a change of scenery.  Try to keep them active by continuing to  include them in aspects of your life, even as they get on in years.   Take them down the pub, out on car rides, have play dates or down the  local part to watch the world go by.  Additionally, make sure to  regularly reinforce their learning and associations to certain words and  their name.  Using positive reinforcement, treat them or otherwise  motivate them when they respond correctly.

More  developed CCD can come with a lot of generalised anxiety, which is  stressful for them and their humans, and finding that fine line between  maintaining routine but not shutting them away from the world can be  difficult.

CCD can make it harder  for them to adapt to environmental or routine changes, which can be  exacerbated by potential vision and/or hearing loss.  To avoid  unnecessary anxiety, you want to maintain the daily landmarks of their  routine (walkies and food times) wherever possible.  

To  further support this, ensuring their safe space is stable will help.   Avoid moving furniture around, or their food and water bowls and bed…and  leaving them a little light on at night!

Nighttime  activity, restlessness and disturbed sleeping habits are all part in  parcel of CCD, especially when their eyesight isn’t what it used to be!   They can find nighttime quite disorientating if they wake up randomly.   They can forget where they are or what’s going on, vocalising or  toileting indoors in their confusion.

In  providing enough activity and enrichment during the daytime hours, the  hope is that they will be tired out and able to get through the night.   To help avoid nighttime activity (and your own sleep deprivation), make  sure your hounds sleeping arrangements are comfortable, warm, and away  from drafts.  A nice thick padded and supportive bed, or memory foam  bed, can help with any joint pain that could potentially wake them up in  the night and putting them in PJs can help to keep them cozy, hopefully  leading to more restful nights.

If  you are finding it difficult to support your hound with the behavioural  implications of CCD, there are anti-anxiety medications that the vet  can prescribe to calm them and help them cope.  However, this may not  work for every dog.

An  alternative to medication, is to nutritionally supplement your hound to  aid their cognitive function.  Studies have found that altering their  diet can improve some aspects of CCD, such as providing a diet rich with  medium-chain triglycerides (MCTs).  These are added to neuro-support  prescription diets for dogs with epilepsy and other related conditions.

MCTs  are fatty acids found in vegetable oils, like coconut oil.  There is a  lot of research going into how they support brain function with a lot of  promise being seen.
Many higher quality dog foods  will already contain a host of nutritional supplements such as coconut  oil, herbal mixes, seaweed, and joint supplements.  If you are already  providing a food with coconut oil, you do not want to be adding extra as  it can have negative implications on their digestive system.

If  your dogs good does not contain coconut oil, talk to your vet about the  appropriateness of it for your hound and choose a good quality  unrefined, virgin, or cold pressed version.  Make sure to introduce it  into your dog’s diet slowly to prevent digestive upset.

There  is dog safe CBD oil.  There are numerous studies coming out in support  of CBD for dogs with epilepsy, and implications for its support of dogs  suffering from CCD, but it is still largely unsupported by the  scientific and veterinary community through a lack of data.

CBD  oil is freely available online, but it is not strictly regulated.   There are no guarantees of any medicinal or therapeutic benefit as it is  not classed as a veterinary medicine.  It is important that if you are  to seek CBD oil for your dog that you get an organic oil from a  reputable supplier, that also provides correct dose rates.

It  is becoming very popular with pet owners with a lot of anecdotal  evidence in support of its anti-anxiety, anti-inflammatory and appetite  improving properties.  It is suggested to help dogs in pain, having  seizures and struggling with anxiety…but shouldn’t be used instead of  your vets prescribed treatment plan.  

Or,  if you don’t want to go down route of alternative therapies like CBD  oil, there numerous other essential nutrients that can help a dog  struggling with CCD including antioxidants, omega 3, 6 & 9, vitamins  B, C and E, selenium, carotene, and anthocyanins.

Much  of which can be found in a good quality diet but can be supplemented  with using fish, eggs, fresh meat, and bright coloured fruits such as  blueberries, raspberries, strawberries, or dark vegetables such as red  cabbage, purple broccoli, or purple carrots.

To  get the full benefit of the fruit and vegetables, they need to be  provided in a fashion that is digestible and appropriate.  Cook the  vegetables where needed, and very finely chop or puree everything  together to create a kibble topper.  If your dog is a bit fussy about  eating fruit and veggies, blend them together with the meat, or cook the  veggies in bone broth…this gives them a more appetizing flavour while  also adding essential joint support!  

Like  humans, fresh foods are the best foods!  Meat, fish, eggs, fruit, and  vegetables are packed with all the essentials and can balance any kibble  into a healthier diet!

While it  can seem like a bit of a faff, batch cooking is a great way to do this.  Make up your meat, veg, fruit smoothies (yuk) and put them into freezer  bags as single portions…squash them flat, and freeze them!  That way  they don’t take up too much space in your freezer and you just pull them  out to defrost as needed!  Also, they defrost quickly when they’re flat  and thin like that!

Though, for  all the supplements and nutrients, exercise and enrichment, there is no  cure for CCD.  It is degenerative, and it will progress regardless.   While you may slow down its progression, it will still affect them more  and more as they get older and start to struggle with other old age  ailments.  It can be a long and hard road, and it isn’t always kind to  put them through it.

While we  only ever want what’s best for our hounds, when it starts getting toward  the end of their lives it is so very very easy to hold onto them for  too long.  No one wants to let them go.

Living  and existing are two very different things and when the CCD starts to  get into its later stages…it’s not fair on anyone.  If their quality of  life is compromised, if they can’t enjoy their lives and anxiety, fear  and distress is all they know…it is important to have a conversation  with your vet about letting them be at peace.

It’s  never a decision to make likely, but one of the most empathetic and  compassionate things you can do for your canine companion is to let them  go and spare them from any further suffering.