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Post by pollycrystal on Nov 25, 2012 16:46:50 GMT
Our rescue terrier is we think about 10 now, we have had him for about 5 years. H e hates being shut in a room or the lorry if we are at a show etc, and will bark constantly for hours. We understand he must have had a bad time in the past and try to accommodate him as best we can. Due to this barking , he sleeps in his bed in the bedroom , and is no trouble at all, until about a month ago when he has become very restless at night. He won't settle in his bed and prowls round the room, he can be put back in his bed lots of times and just gets up again. The only time he will settle is if he is on the bed, almost as if he can't bear to be parted from us. He has also started this in the evening, instead of lying quietly on the floor, he has begun to jump on the sofa to be next to me, he has never been allowed on the furniture before. This is very annoying as my( not very animal oriented ) husband will put up with so much but doesn't want a rather smelly little terrier sharing his bed! So to get some sleep I go in the spare room and let him on the bed, yes I know its a mistake but I need sleep, its that or continuous barking if he's shut in somewhere else. Any suggestions? Do dogs get dementia?
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Post by lucynlizzysmum on Nov 25, 2012 16:49:08 GMT
I believe that dogs do get dementia - might be worth going and having a check up with the vet. Have a look www.my-old-dog.comHope that helps
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Post by gillwales on Nov 25, 2012 17:27:12 GMT
he could have suffered a blow to his head prior to you getting him which could account for him displaying this sort of behavior, if you can trace back through his past it may help
good luck
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Post by pollycrystal on Nov 25, 2012 17:39:38 GMT
Thanks very much, it was really interesting, I think he does have a lot of the symptoms, such as staring into space and getting stuck in corners, pacing about etc. I will take him to the vet and ask about the medication, many thanks x
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Post by pollycrystal on Nov 25, 2012 17:43:12 GMT
Gillwales, its possible that something happened to him as a youngster, unfortunately it would be impossible to know as he came from a rescue centre. This strange behaviour is recent though, I think he is a bit demented, poor old lad!
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Post by gillwales on Nov 25, 2012 18:03:08 GMT
can he see?
I hope your Vet can do something to help your old boy
good luck
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idalia
Junior Member
Posts: 82
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Post by idalia on Nov 26, 2012 13:54:13 GMT
I'm inclined to agree with lucynlizzysmum, it does sound rather like dementia. One of mine had it towards the end of her life, but she was about 14 at the time and only lived for another six months. Her sleep patterns were very disturbed, she would sleep a lot during the day and be awake and often barking at night. She occasionally would get into a corner and seem totally confused about where she was and how she could get out of it, house training became a thing of the past and she would often just do it in her crate, she'd slept in a crate at night for her entire life and dogs usually hate to mess in their bed. We put her on a supplement called Aktivait which supports brain function in dogs with the symptoms of dementia. I must say we didn't really notice much improvement, but she was already quite bad when we started to give it to her, she also had lymphoma which was what lead eventually to her being PTS
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Post by nia2311 on Nov 26, 2012 15:28:59 GMT
Agree with Gillwales - a sight problem could cause this type of behaviour. He may be seeing shadows instead of having clear vision and this may result in his growling and pacing. If his sight is affected he may also feel more comfortable closer to you and your smell, as he associates you with comfort and safety.
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Post by pollycrystal on Nov 26, 2012 18:04:34 GMT
I shone a light in his eyes and they do look a bit opaque, maybe he has the beginning of cataracts. I am going to take him to the vets anyway, keep you posted. Thanks for all the advice x
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Post by Em5 on Nov 26, 2012 18:38:40 GMT
Problems with the liver Can also display these symptoms. May be worth having a blood test done.
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Post by pollycrystal on Dec 14, 2012 11:46:25 GMT
I took Harvey to the vet, he does have some senile changes in his eyes, but can see ok, had a very expensive blood test , which was all fine,so he's now on some tablets called Selgian. Apparently they take about a month to have any effect, so watch this space! He hasn't been too bad, glad he is physically healthy anyway.
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Post by nia2311 on Dec 14, 2012 13:34:52 GMT
Glad he's getting some treatment and he's been better recently, hope it continues!
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Post by PrincessP on Dec 14, 2012 14:11:30 GMT
Hope he gets better soon x
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Post by pollycrystal on Jan 1, 2013 9:59:27 GMT
Harvey has been much better while on the tablets, although I think the vet overdosed him as he was practically comatose after a few days, he was completely zonked and quite unresponsive, so I reduced the dose, and that seems to have worked. My husband is a GP and said the dose he was on is for an adult person, let alone a small dog! Poor old boy!
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Post by lucynlizzysmum on Jan 1, 2013 10:18:00 GMT
That's great news Pollycrystal.
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Post by pollycrystal on Jan 7, 2013 18:18:10 GMT
Thanks, he really is much better, sleeping well all night, now we have got the dose right hopefully all will be well
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