My old dog (10 years) has been behaving strangely over the last year or so, and I've been to the local vet several times, however she's never been diagnosed with anything. I have finally hit upon 'Canine Cognitive Dysfunction' after trawling the internet for answers, and she seems to tick all the boxes with symptoms and behavior. Has anyone had experience with dogs with this here? If so, were you able to treat your dog with a medication available in Switzerland? I've noticed that there is a drug called 'Anipryl' on a US site and was hoping there might be something similar here. I'd like to stop her suffering and have my happy dog back
www.cpvh.com/Articles/4.html

My little Susie, shown in the picture above, had CCD in the latter part of her life. She was originally wrongly diagnosed as having seperation anxiety - symptoms can be similar - but having read an article about CCD, I realised that dementia was her problem. Her vet prescribed medication for her - sorry I cannot remember the exact name, but it could have been Anipryl (there are not many meds around for this type of problem) - and it was very beneficial. Talk to your vet, it's worth trying treatment if it gives your dog better quality of life. Good luck to you both. I would be interested in hearing the outcome of any treatment you may decide upon.

One of my collies spent a fair amount of time 'away with the fairies' towards the end. Some degree of CCD is fairly common in older dogs.

Before going down the CCD route, however, it is important to rule out other possibilities - the most common in older dogs being loss of hearing or sight, resulting in diminished awareness/responsiveness that one might interpret as CCD.

Also be aware that pain can cause diminished awareness/responsiveness, which might also look at first glance like CCD. A dog in pain - from arthritis, for instance - can appear somewhat shut-down, may apprear forgetful, etc.

Infections can cause confusion, resembling CCD as well. I saw this with a UTI in an older dog once. Once the infection cleared up, her mental fuzziness did as well.

So a thorough check up, including blood work, is often recommended as a starting point to investigating CCD.

That said, when my collie began exhibiting classic signs (getting stuck in corners, pressing his head against a wall, night pacing, etc.) we put him on Karsivan (active ingredient: Propentofyllin, similar to the UK drug Vivitonin.)

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/9931990
http://www.karsivan.de/

I saw improvement in the first six months on Karsivan - however, I would caution against expecting miracles. After about 8-9 months he reached a plateau, and then started to decline again. The rate of decline seemed a bit slower, though.

Several posters on a dog board I frequent have reported good results with Aktivat; I don't know if that is available here, nor do I have personal experience.

I don't know if Anipryl is available here, but you should have a discussion with your vet as to what options would be appropriate for your dog.

Some additional things I did to support my guy:

- First, sticking to a routine seemed to help.
- TTouch was a great calmer during the nighttime pacing incidents, as was an anxiety wrap.
- The presence of my other dogs was the single biggest help - my oldie oriented himself to the others, they seemed to reassure him - and my Hooligan in particular really did look out for her brother when he was lost in confusion. (She was already trained to assist my deaf dog.)
- I put babygates up at all the stairwells, as sometime he would forget where he was - I didn't want him to fall.
- When I had to leave the house, I put him in a safe room where he could not wander or hurt himself.
- I kept him on lead when walking - but I felt that daily walks were very important. He needed to be out and about, I felt the sights, sounds and smells kept him stimulated.

Also - I had him on Vitamin B shots for another unrelated condition, but noticed that his mental clarity improved markedly after the shots. My vet was a bit mystified by this, but nonetheless...

The 'away with the fairies' incidents came and went, especially early on. He'd be fine for days on end, then have a bout of confusion, then fine again for quite a stretch. I found it helpful to keep a diary, so that I had a non-emotional record of his progress (decline, really).

Bottom line, my guy remained happy until the end, even if in his own little world. I understand that some dogs can become quite distressed, but I didn't see this at all. It is important to keep your dog's quality of life foremost in your thoughts (hence my diary), and keep your veterinarian appraised of your thoughts and concerns.

And, it's important to be patient with your old friend, and keep your sense of humor.

Sending lots of understanding cyber hugs your way.

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ETA:

Curious about Anipryl, I did a little googling around. Anipryl is the veterinary tradename for selegiline hydrochloride - while Anipryl is not listed on the UniZH Vetpharm database, Selegilin is. The names it might go under are L-Deprenyl; Levodeprenyl; Eldepryl; Jumexal; Antiparkin; Jutaqilin; MAOtil; Movergan; Selemerck; Selepark; Selgimed; Xilopar. (I have no idea if any, or all of these are licensed for veterinary use - nor is it entirely clear to me if the drug is licensed at all in Switzerland.)

http://www.vetpharm.uzh.ch/wir/00001461/1519__F.htm

You might refer your vet to this site if he/she is unfamiliar with the drug.

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FYI for all pet owners, the Vetpharm site is a fantastic resource when you wish to learn more about the drugs your pet is taking.

Thank you so much for caring and giving me the information I needed. I did take her to the vet on Tuesday for blood tests, etc. He will find something to put her on after checking with colleagues and waiting for results of the tests. She is otherwise incredibly healthy, too healthy for her own good. She can dig her way out of any garden and break out of any lock-up, so I'm hoping whatever drug she gets put on will calm her down. Yes, she gets stuck in corners and spends hours panting and terrified of nothing. Her anxiety is heart-braking, the vet briefly discussed euthanasia, but I couldn't do it if there is something that will calm her down. On the upside, I have been taking her for walks more often to exhaust her and she has enjoyed them and been more relaxed after. FYI she is a 10 year old 52kg Akita, I used the dog age ready reckoner that MelonCollie had on another post (sorry can't find it now, but very interesting) which makes her 86 in dog years. Fingers crossed she gets at least 100... I'll update again after the vet gives me results and meds.

I am so glad you have spoken to your vet, and sincerely hope that he is able to prescribe medication which will help your dog. I can understand your concern - our pets are family members after all! My little dog Susie, a teckel/yorkshire cross, lived until just six weeks before her 17th birthday, thus I am so glad I was able to ensure, despite the ravages of old-age, that she still had quality of life. Once again, my very best wishes to you and your "best friend".

I'm glad to hear that you've seen the vet - hopefully he will be able to suggest options to help your girl, or at least be able to give you ideas to make management easier.

I've looked back through my diary, and thought I should mention that it took a while on the Karsivan before we saw definitive improvement; results were not instantaneous, but rather more a gradual increase in awareness. (Karsivan works by increasing blood circulation to the brain.) So you may want to speak with your vet as to expectations, should he recommend going down that path.

I've also spoken to rescue colleagues back in the US who have used Anipryl with their seniors, and they have reported good results in most cases, especially those where anxiety was one of the prominent symptoms of CCD.

As long as there are no other health issues contraindicating use, it certainly sounds as if giving either drug a trial would be a good idea.

I know this is a distressing time. Looking back to when I was standing where you are now: take each day as it comes - try not to look to far ahead.

All the best to you and your girl.

I have just returned from the vet and I am ecstatic! My beautiful girl has been diagnosed with Hypothyroidism, which means she has an under active thyroid and her hormones were very low. This resulted in depression, anxiety, hair loss and general all-around misery. I think she has a little bit of brain atrophy still as she has done some very strange things lately that I can't attribute to her thyroid dysfunction, however I have just given her the first pill of her twice a day medication and will report back in a couple of months. The medication is Forthyron 200. Thanks again to Meloncollie and Merrylegs who have been so kind with their replies, big hugs sent via internet to you both.

I am so pleased that your dog's (what is her name?) illness has been diagnosed, and that she is now receiving the appropriate treatment. I sincerely hope she will soon respond to the medication. I look forward to receiving an update in due course if possible. Once again, good luck to you both.

Well, she's an Akita, which is the national dog of Japan, so we called her "Sushi"!

By the way, the last time I took her to the vet was only six weeks ago and that was primarily for a skin disorder, she had blood tests done then but they did not pick up the thyroid issue as they were looking for signs of cancer. Four weeks prior to that I took her for her anxiety issues, but the vet came up with nothing and the anxiety, etc. would come and go over several days. The persistence certainly has paid off!

This thread has been great. It's definitely had me digging about looking for more on the topic. My old senior seems to show some signs of this as well, such as staring off into space, and forgetting that he was just fed his dinner a half hour ago. I'd include barking at familiar people and objects, but he has cataracts so I chalk it up to that instead.

Thanks for sharing all of this with us.

Oh, this is much better news!

We'll keep all our fingers and paws here crossed for Sushi, and will look forward to your updates.