Senior Pet Care Bulletin

Since September is senior pet care month, I thought I would address a common problem that we see in dogs, cognitive dysfunction (CD).  Cats too can suffer from CD, however little research has been done on CD in older cats.  I will discuss cats and aging in my next blog.

As a result of better veterinary care, and advances in nutrition, our pets are increasingly living longer lives.  With this longer life span comes more age related changes; such as decreased vision, hearing and smell, muscle atrophy, joint ills, and organ failures  Degenerative changes also occur in the brain, which can result in noticeable loss of cognitive function.  Cognitive dysfunction syndrome (CD) is the age-related deterioration of cognitive abilities characterized by behavioral changes in pets that cannot wholly be attributed to general medical conditions such as cancer, infection or organ failure. CD is not "normal aging".  Simply put, CD is caused by physical and chemical changes that affect the brain function in older pets.  CD involves a gradual decline of cognitive abilities sufficient to produce functional disability in the home and/or as a family member.  


Some owners do not readily recognize the signs and often attribute them to "just getting old".  Often the signs may be subtle.  Others may feel that these signs seem to come on "all of the sudden".  Remember, your pet ages more quickly than you.  In terms of their life span, 3-6 months is equivalent to 3-6 years, alot of changes can occur in this time.  In a pet owner study, nearly half of all dogs 8 years of age and older showed at least one sign of CDS.  Because older pets may also develop other medical conditons that have behavioral components, CDS can only be diagnosed after other medical conditions have been ruled out.  


Signs of CD include problems related to orientation (staring blankly, getting lost in the home), memory (inability to recognize owners, loss of house-training), apathy (decrease activity, avoidance of owner contact) and locomotion.  The first step in diagnosing CD is recognizing the signs, the next is to see your veterinarian.  


To help you assess your senior dog www.maturedogs.com has developed a rating scale for CD.  You can take this CD test on their website or just click on CD test here.  


There are medications that may help slow the progression of CD, however early diagnosis is important.  Please take the time to visit maturedogs.com and take the CD test, print it out, and bring it with you to your veterinarian to discuss what can be done to help your family's beloved dog.