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Growing older can be tough – and that goes for all species. When it comes to age-related illnesses, dementia and Alzheimer’s disease are some of the most notorious and least understood human afflictions. But did you know that man’s best friend can suffer from very similar ailments?
If you’ve noticed your senior dog has been increasingly irritable and disoriented, having sleep troubles (including sleeping all day) or having frequent accidents inside the house, he or she may be suffering from a disease that manifests very similarly to dementia and Alzheimer’s disease in people. All of these signs and more can add up to a diagnosis of Canine Cognitive Dysfunction, or CCD, an age-related neurobehavioral syndrome that leads to a decline in cognitive function, and may affect anywhere from 14 to 22 percent of senior dogs.
Although CCD may be inevitable in some dogs and there’s no known cure, there are actions pet parents can take to stave off the heartbreaking and frustrating process of deterioration. PEOPLE spoke to a handful of experts on the issue so you can learn to recognize the symptoms in advance and hold your best friend’s paw as he navigates his golden years with strength and dignity.
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“First, understand that the changes are not the pet’s ‘fault’ when they start to house soil,” Bain tells PEOPLE. “They can’t help it. Medically, there are diets and supplements available that slow down the progression of the disease. These have ingredients such as antioxidants that can help with brain health. There is one medication licensed to treat CCD, Anipryl, that has some success in decreasing some of the signs that dogs demonstrate.”
(Selegiline, or Anipryl® Pfizer Animal Health, is a drug licensed for the treatment of CCD in dogs in North America.)
Dr. Patrick Mahaney, Certified Veterinary Acupuncturist and Certified Veterinary Journalist with California Pet Acupuncture and Wellness (CPAW), Inc., often treats CCD from a holistic and Western (conventional) perspective. Mahaney tells PEOPLE that he recommends supplements having an antioxidant and/or anti-inflammatory effect, such as Silybin, S-Adenosyl Methionine (SAMe), omega fatty acids (primarily omega 3 and omega 6 faHy acids) and Vitamin E. He also recommends herbs that have an antioxidant and anti-inflammatory effect, like turmeric, ginger and others.
“Foods that are rich in nutrients appearing similar to how they do in nature should be fed to CCD dogs,” Mahaney tells PEOPLE. “Cooked, human-grade, whole-food diets are those I primarily recommend for clients to purchase or make home-prepared versions. I recommend cooked-meat diets, as many senior patients could have comorbidities (cancer or other conditions requiring immunosuppressive treatment, immune, kidney, liver and other diseases) that could make feeding a raw-meat diet less ideal. Human-grade diets generally have higher-quality ingredients than feed-grade diets and can have lower levels of mold-produced and other toxins.”
Finally, Dr. Mahaney says that dogs with CCD have altered patterns of wakefulness, sleeping, eating, drinking, urinating and defecating. “As a result, they also have altered time frames when it comes to attending to such otherwise biologically ingrained habits,” he explains. “If owners create structure and habits around their CCD-having pets as pertains to exercise, play, meal, elimination and other habits they can counteract clinical signs of the disease.”
Dr. Bain concurs, telling PEOPLE, “The big takeaways are that owners should seek help from their veterinarian to rule out other treatable problems, keep the dog comfortable, and enjoy the journey.”
source: people.com
