Have you ever thought about what it would be like to have a dog with dementia? Cricket used to be just like any other dog – happy, playful, and very much loyal to her owner, Eileen. At 15 years old, Cricket started exhibiting signs of Canine Cognitive Dysfunction, or CCD.
Eileen Anderson is the author of “Remember Me?: Loving and Caring for a Dog with Canine Cognitive Dysfunction” and in this video, she documents Cricket’s symptoms such as confusion, forgetfulness, and disorientation. This is what it is like to live with a dog with dementia
Little Dog With Dementia Had These Problems
Getting Stuck
In this video, you can see that Cricket gets “stuck” behind a side table. Anyone can see that all Cricket has to go backward or under the bar, but Cricket does not realize this. She seems to be disoriented; wondering why she was there and unable to find a way out.
Forgetfulness
Here, Cricket came looking for Eileen, who petted her. When Cricket went out the doorway (just a few steps to where Eileen was placed), she forgot where Eileen was and proceeded to look for her down the hallway and kitchen. It was when Eileen went out of the doorway that Cricket saw her and happily trotted back.
Confusion
Eileen mentioned that whenever she disappears behind the door to her office, Cricket would always be waiting for her on the other side. However, in this video, Cricket seemed to be confused by the door, then forgot what she was doing altogether.
Walking In Circles
It is very unclear why dogs with dementia would turn in circles. Several owners reported that their senior dogs would exhibit the same behavior.
Little Dog With Dementia Is Still Happy
In spite of this cute, little dog having Dementia, Cricket remains joyful. Eileen shows us how Cricket is still her happy self during suppertime. She is seen wagging her tail and jumping about (though with a bit of difficulty) as Eileen lays down the food bowl.
You can watch Cricket’s symptoms here:
In a review of the symptoms of a dog with dementia, here are the symptoms you might see.
- DISORIENTATION. (This may be due to confusion or forgetfulness)
- INTERACTION. (They sometimes don’t seem to recognize people they know)
- SLEEPING PROBLEMS.
- HOUSETRAINING FAILURE
- CHANGES IN ACTIVITY LEVELS, EITHER MORE OR LESS
- ANXIETY.
Here is a link to an evaluation tool from the Purina Institute:
https://www.purinainstitute.com/sites/g/files/auxxlc381/files/2018-08/DISHAA.pdf
Attribution:eileenanddogs
TristA
This was very interesting to me. I have an aging dog and have noticed a lot of changes in his life. I have never thought about mental issues in a dog before this article. It seems as though you have provided cricket a great place to live and be loved. Kudos!
Laurie
This was a very interesting post. It was great to see how the mental issues were handled. I knew dogs could have mental symptoms but I never really thought about them having actual dementia before.