Canine Cognitive Dysfunction and Epilepsy
All dogs pictured in this post have or had epilepsy and lead (or led) enriched, active lives. Only one of the dogs also had CCD (and also had an enriched and active life). Thank you to their guardians for allowing me to use their photos. Credits are at the bottom of the post. Is there […]
Stages of Canine Cognitive Dysfunction
Canine cognitive dysfunction is a disease that is caused by brain changes in aging dogs. It’s similar to Alzheimer’s. A recent study identified three stages in canine cognitive dysfunction. Stage 1, MILD: Changes in sleep patterns and slight changes in social interactions with owners. Stage 2, MODERATE: Hyperactivity at night, starting to lose house training, and […]
Life Expectancy of Dogs with Dementia
"What's the prognosis? How long does he have?" This is one of the first questions we usually ask when we start to recover from the shock that our dog has something akin to Alzheimer's. The good news is that there is some evidence that dogs with canine cognitive dysfunction live just as long, on average, [...]Is There Such a Thing As Doggie Alzheimer’s?
Dog owners sometimes refer to their senior dogs as having “doggie Alzheimer’s” but it’s more accurate than most people know. Veterinarians have known about a similar condition, canine cognitive dysfunction, for several decades. A study in 1996 established a relationship between certain behavioral changes in senior dogs with physical brain changes. Some of the behavioral […]