Canine cognitive dysfunction: Spotting the symptoms

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Canine cognitive dysfunction: Spotting the symptoms

Tuesday, January 05, 1999

Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

One or more of the following problems may be indicative of canine cognitive dysfunction:

Disorientation and confusion. Spot may get lost in his yard or house, get trapped in corners or behind furniture or stare into space. When he waits for a door to be opened, he may wait at the hinge side, forgetting which side swings open.

Changes in sleeping patterns. Your dog may snooze much more during the day and be up pacing at night.

Personality changes or a decrease in attentiveness. Your old dog may forget his old tricks. He may not recognize commands - even "Come" - anymore. He may not be as affectionate and may stop greeting his owners. He may no longer recognize his doggy pals and familiar people.

Decreased activity.

Loss or deterioration of housetraining.

Your vet will have to conduct several tests on your dog to rule out other problems with the same symptoms. For instance, a canine senior citizen may stop running upstairs to the master's bedroom because he has developed painful arthritis. He may become disoriented, stop greeting his owner at the door and stop responding to commands because he's losing his sense of sight, hearing and smell. He may soil the floors because of a urinary tract or liver disease or a neurological disorder.

The symptoms are similar in cats, but harder to detect. "Cats can also be disoriented, soil the floors, have changes in sleep and wakefulness and attention to owners, but cats don't interact with owners in the same way," said Gary Landsberg, an Ontario veterinarian who has studied this disease. "Most cats don't greet you at the door."