Our dogs are living more and more thanks to our care and it is not uncommon to see dogs of 18 or 20 years, but this prolongation of their life has consequences, and very few people know, dogs also suffer from a disease equivalent to human Alzheimer’s: cognitive dysfunction syndrome.
Cognitive dysfunction syndrome affects dogs between 11 and 15 years old, depending on the breed, is a progressive neurodegenerative disease, which affects various functions of the nervous system of our dogs: memory, learning, awareness and perception can be affected.
- In this Animal Expert article we will explain the symptoms of Alzheimer’s disease in dogs so you can recognize it if your dog has this terrible disease.
It is common to observe changes in the behavior of dogs affected by cognitive dysfunction syndrome: we can observe our dog walking aimlessly at home, or vocalizing for no apparent reason.
We can also see it with our eyes fixed in the void or notice a diminished curiosity, a lack of reactions to external stimuli, or even notice that our dog is listless and no longer cleaned.Another behavior observed by dog owners with Alzheimer’s disease is the excessive licking of objects or the same dog owners.
Depending on the case, dogs with Alzheimer’s disease may have decreased or increased appetite, changes in eating habits, and eating objects.
It is very important to pay attention to this aspect because we need to make sure that our dog is fed, for this to happen we need to indicate where the food is and even in some cases we have to wait to make sure you eat what you want.Should.
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Periods of sleep increase in dogs with Alzheimer’s disease and night sleep is of poor quality. When the sleep cycle changes, the dog often wakes up at night and sleeps during the day to compensate. Sometimes, when you wake up at night, you can bark for no reason.
Dogs with Alzheimer’s are not interested in their owners because they are not happy when we go home or when we caress them, they do not seek attention and do not seem to care about the condition, while on other occasions require constant and excessive attention…
These dogs usually stop playing with the owner and their toys, they can forget the hierarchy established in the family, and even not recognize their owners, not be receptive and sometimes their aggression towards other dogs can increase.
A dog with Alzheimer’s loses its sense of direction and can get lost in places that were previously familiar and well-known to it, both inside and outside the home, can get stuck in a corner or in front of an obstacle rather than passing.
Our dog may have trouble finding doors or waiting in front of the wrong doors to leave somewhere, walks aimlessly and seems lost in a family space.
You might suspect that our elderly dog suffers from Alzheimer’s disease if it no longer responds to the orders that he knew before, can often forget habits such as urinating and doing his needs away from home, and can even go out on the street and go home.and urinate inside the house. In the latter case, it is important to show that this is not another old-age disease.
If you think your dog has Alzheimer’s disease you should go to the vet to confirm the diagnosis and give you advice and recommendations for your specific case.As a general rule, we should help our dog at all times, especially making sure that he eats, is comfortable inside the house and we should never let him get lost in the park or elsewhere: it is very important to avoid possible losses.
We should also try to give him love and attention, although he probably doesn’t recognize us, he tries to pass on security and encourage the dog to play.Find in Animal Expert items that will be very useful if you have an old dog:
In these articles you can find important information to take better care of your faithful friend, do not forget to comment if you have any questions or would like to share your experience with us.
This article is for informational purposes only, in Animal Expert.com.br we cannot prescribe veterinary treatments or make any type of diagnosis, we suggest taking your pet to the veterinarian in case of any type of condition or discomfort.
If you would like to read articles similar to, we recommend that you visit our Degenerative Diseases section.