https://www.certapet.com/dog-dementia/#What_is_Canine_Cognitive_Dysfunction
Short answer, “Yes.”
Short answer, “Yes.”
Longer answer: “Not exactly, but pretty close…though it may be masked by other things or mask other things…”
We had to put our dog down this past week.
While this is hard ANY TIME it happens, this time, for me, it was doubly hard. What my seem like a non-sequitur: My dad passed away in February of this year.
He died (officially) from complications due to stroke.
As you know by this point, he was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s in 2014, five years ago. We eventually got him into a Memory Care facility not far from where I live (the closest of the siblings), where the staff took over the majority of his care and I supplemented and became the primary care contact with them.
All of the experiences with Dad came rushing back as we made the final decision to put our dog down. All of the similarities between our dog’s behavior and health and my dad’s behavior and health made me back away from her in horror.
Both had cancers, both skin.
Both had joint pain.
Both wandered aimlessly at times, sometimes forgetting where they were.
Both had dramatic changes in personality (though our dog’s changes were less pronounced.
Both had vision problems that led to bumping into objects and a decrease in mobility.
Both had times where they simply stared into space as if unaware of their surroundings.
Both had wildly changing sleep patterns – our dog had started waking at random times and asking to be let out, then coming in, expecting to be fed. Her pattern since we got her from a dog rescue organization had been to wake at a VERY specific time and follow through easily with a morning toileting and feeding routine, retiring until my wife got up and we prepared for work.
Where these symptoms add up to something in Humans called Alzheimer’s Disease (“…progressive mental deterioration that can occur in middle or old age, due to generalized degeneration of the brain. It is the most common cause of premature senility.” (https://www.alz.org/alzheimers-dementia/what-is-alzheimers), named in 1901 after “German psychiatrist Alois Alzheimer identified the first case…”.
In dogs it’s: “…known as canine cognitive dysfunction syndrome (CCD). Roughly defined, this cognitive disorder tends to affect the perception, memory, and general awareness of a dog.”
Alzheimer’s is diagnosed by particular cognitive behaviors, which I’ve detailed here: https://breastcancerreaper.blogspot.com/2019/01/guys-gotta-talk-aboutalzheimers-21.html
CCD is diagnosed by particular cognitive behaviors, which are detailed below: “[An] acronym used to diagnose dementia patients is DISHA. Where D denotes disorientation, I denotes to social interaction changes, S denotes to changes in the sleep cycle, H denotes to house soiling, and finally, A would stand for changes in activity.”
The similarities between the two were freaky at best. Even theoretical causes for both are alike enough to give me pause. Similar enough to make my heart flip flop a bit considering that as of yesterday, both are gone from this world – and I recall both of them fondly, and loved both in unique ways…
Resources: https://www.alz.org/
Image: https://c2.staticflickr.com/6/5527/10893068965_1d328e8f71_b.jpg
We had to put our dog down this past week.
While this is hard ANY TIME it happens, this time, for me, it was doubly hard. What my seem like a non-sequitur: My dad passed away in February of this year.
He died (officially) from complications due to stroke.
As you know by this point, he was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s in 2014, five years ago. We eventually got him into a Memory Care facility not far from where I live (the closest of the siblings), where the staff took over the majority of his care and I supplemented and became the primary care contact with them.
All of the experiences with Dad came rushing back as we made the final decision to put our dog down. All of the similarities between our dog’s behavior and health and my dad’s behavior and health made me back away from her in horror.
Both had cancers, both skin.
Both had joint pain.
Both wandered aimlessly at times, sometimes forgetting where they were.
Both had dramatic changes in personality (though our dog’s changes were less pronounced.
Both had vision problems that led to bumping into objects and a decrease in mobility.
Both had times where they simply stared into space as if unaware of their surroundings.
Both had wildly changing sleep patterns – our dog had started waking at random times and asking to be let out, then coming in, expecting to be fed. Her pattern since we got her from a dog rescue organization had been to wake at a VERY specific time and follow through easily with a morning toileting and feeding routine, retiring until my wife got up and we prepared for work.
Where these symptoms add up to something in Humans called Alzheimer’s Disease (“…progressive mental deterioration that can occur in middle or old age, due to generalized degeneration of the brain. It is the most common cause of premature senility.” (https://www.alz.org/alzheimers-dementia/what-is-alzheimers), named in 1901 after “German psychiatrist Alois Alzheimer identified the first case…”.
In dogs it’s: “…known as canine cognitive dysfunction syndrome (CCD). Roughly defined, this cognitive disorder tends to affect the perception, memory, and general awareness of a dog.”
Alzheimer’s is diagnosed by particular cognitive behaviors, which I’ve detailed here: https://breastcancerreaper.blogspot.com/2019/01/guys-gotta-talk-aboutalzheimers-21.html
CCD is diagnosed by particular cognitive behaviors, which are detailed below: “[An] acronym used to diagnose dementia patients is DISHA. Where D denotes disorientation, I denotes to social interaction changes, S denotes to changes in the sleep cycle, H denotes to house soiling, and finally, A would stand for changes in activity.”
The similarities between the two were freaky at best. Even theoretical causes for both are alike enough to give me pause. Similar enough to make my heart flip flop a bit considering that as of yesterday, both are gone from this world – and I recall both of them fondly, and loved both in unique ways…
Resources: https://www.alz.org/
Image: https://c2.staticflickr.com/6/5527/10893068965_1d328e8f71_b.jpg
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