Sheridan Posted March 12, 2012 Share Posted March 12, 2012 Yep its possible Sheridan - although the only time she seems to take any real notice of him is when she growls at him if he puts his paws on the coffee table! (She's quite a bossy girl this one!) I'm actually wondering if its a reaction to me instead. Apart from the lounge episode last night,which happened in front of me, it always seems to happen when I'm not home - like tonight. Got home at 9.20 having left at 6.20 and there's a wet patch on my bed again... yes I know I'm going to have to close my bedroom door when I'm not home but I'd really like to get to the bottom of this... so any other suggestions of how to deal with this? TIA. Couple of things. I don't think it's probably a UTI given it doesn't happen all the time. First suggestion: you're being punished for being away. Second: there's something else on your bed that's giving off an odour. Have you washed your bedclothes with a little bleach, for example? Third, I can't recall if your dogs have access to the outside or not? Is nine hours just too long for her to hold it in? Fourth: could be the weather? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
westiemum Posted March 14, 2012 Author Share Posted March 14, 2012 (edited) Thanks Sheridan - yes they have a doggie door and not sure about the influence of the weather - so yep my strongest suspicion is your number one - that I'm being punished for my absences. I talked to the vet at work who has been seeing her for her itchies today and told him the weeing on the lounge story - he said it was 'very in your face' for her to wee on the lounge right in front of me like that - but we agreed to regard it as a 'once off' for now. If there's a repetition we'll have to do something about it. She has had a recent wee test three weeks ago and it was normal and she had another one today as part of her itchies treatment so should get some results in the next day or two. Thanks for the bleach suggestion - that's got me thinking... I have used some Napisan liquid on them I think. I wonder if that's it? Edited March 14, 2012 by westiemum Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sheridan Posted March 15, 2012 Share Posted March 15, 2012 Could be the Napisan. Bleach smells like dog wee. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
westiemum Posted March 16, 2012 Author Share Posted March 16, 2012 OK Thanks Sheridan, I'll leave the napisan out of the sheets in future and see what happens... :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sheridan Posted March 16, 2012 Share Posted March 16, 2012 Try lemon juice and/or vinegar as a rinse. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
westiemum Posted March 17, 2012 Author Share Posted March 17, 2012 Thanks tons. :) Try lemon juice and/or vinegar as a rinse. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
westiemum Posted March 21, 2012 Author Share Posted March 21, 2012 (edited) OK - mega washing with a vinegar rinsecompleted on all bedding - don't think I've ever done so much washing in all my life! So fingers crossed the weeing on the bed stops - would be good... :) Edited March 21, 2012 by westiemum Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sheridan Posted March 21, 2012 Share Posted March 21, 2012 Yes, fingers crossed. Grumpy man's been very good lately. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
westiemum Posted March 24, 2012 Author Share Posted March 24, 2012 (edited) OK - on the weeing front, so far so good so fingers and paws still crossed here that the mega washing and vinegar rinses does the trick. An interesting anecdote about Mac - I'm working very long hours at the moment and am up and away before 7 am 4-5 mornings a week and I'm not home until after 6 pm - so 11-12 hour days and the babies are usually starting to get very ratty by the weekend. Over the last two weeks on 2 or 3 occasions I've had to race home and race out again which has meant Mac hasn't had his Herb Robert - but has still had his Viviitonin and his Hills B/D - and his purposeless growling behavior definitely got worse - and after a day or two back on it he's defitely more alert and less growly... H,n... So not a deliberate experiment but interestingly I think it shows what I've suspected all along and since I started him on the Herb Robert - that it's an important part of his dementia routine - and in Macs case it seems to help him enormously. :) Edited March 24, 2012 by westiemum Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
westiemum Posted April 14, 2012 Author Share Posted April 14, 2012 OK - an update on the weeing on the bed situation. Sheridan I think you hit it on the head - cos the only time I've had a wee on the bed since the mega washing is when I was ultra tired one night and grabbed a blanket from the clean dog blanket pile and someone weed on it! I was upset until I remembered this was the pile that didn't go through the mega washing vinegar rinse exercise because it was already clean and Id done what felt like thousands of loads already. And no bed weeing since then. So Sheridan I think you're right! Thanks tons. And I just have to remember not to use any of the blankets from that pile on the bed until they've been through the wash again! :laugh: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
westiemum Posted April 29, 2012 Author Share Posted April 29, 2012 General update: no further weeing on the bed or the lounge since I stopped using the Napisan and use a vinegar rinse regularly. Yay!! :) So fingers and paws crossed that the problem is solved - Sheridan thanks tons - you're a life saver! Mac is doing well but I think I'm noticing a little deterioration in his dementia. He seems to be stopping and staring into mid air a bit more often, appears to be having problems with 'making decisions' such as putting his paws up to be lifted onto my bed and has done the 3 am wanders/perimeter patrols around the house twice this week. The moment I interrupt him and put him back in his snooze (bed) he goes back to sleep for the rest of the night - but I sure could do with not having my sleep interrupted. But he's still a very happy boy with good quality of life so we plough on. We were at the vets a week or so ago to check his dribbling incontinence - and interestingly after a course of ABs he's not dribbling - so my assumption that it was part of his dementia was clearly wrong - so a lesson learnt here. :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
westiemum Posted April 29, 2012 Author Share Posted April 29, 2012 (edited) Whoops! Double post. Edited April 29, 2012 by westiemum Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mybilly Posted April 29, 2012 Share Posted April 29, 2012 How old is Mac as I'm starting to think our 11 year old lakeland terrier Jess tiger is starting to get dementia at times she wanders around aimlessly, stares at us blankly and a couple of times has forgotton where the back door is, she will stand outside the garage door. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
westiemum Posted May 1, 2012 Author Share Posted May 1, 2012 (edited) Mybilly Mac will be 13 in August and he was diagnosed with mild canine dementia in early 2011 - he was 11. I must say your description is highly suspicious. Its the aimlessness and vagueness of Macs behaviour which distinguishes his dementia from other things like pain behaviour. My recommendation is to find a vet who is good with this stuff and be guided by them. Also read this thread from the beginning - there's a lot of good discussion in it particularly in the first couple of pages. For what its worth, unfortunately there is very little to help these dogs - a couple of drugs and some antioxidant dry food - so its a bit of trial and error to find what helps your particular dog. For Mac, its a combination of a raw diet, plenty of mental stimulation (I'm convinced this is really really important), the drug Vivitonin, the dried Herb Robert and the Hills B/D as a supplementary dry food. Mac has also developed very mild occasional dribbling incontinence which is really easy to manage. So he's still a very happy boy with good quality of life. And I'm hopeful it will stay that way for some years. Hope that helps and good luck with Jess. :) Will be interested to hear how you get on. :) How old is Mac as I'm starting to think our 11 year old lakeland terrier Jess tiger is starting to get dementia at times she wanders around aimlessly, stares at us blankly and a couple of times has forgotton where the back door is, she will stand outside the garage door. Edited May 1, 2012 by westiemum Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
westiemum Posted May 31, 2012 Author Share Posted May 31, 2012 Hi all, time for another quick update. Mac is doing really really well. Over the last couple of weeks he seems brighter and more 'with it'. He still on his b/d, Viviitonin, Herb Robert and raw diet routine. His food is very moist and he seems really well hydrated. Interestingly, I was on the herb cottage website the other day and Herb Robert is their top seller at the moment. Is anyone else on DOL using it? Just curious... :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Boronia Posted July 9, 2012 Share Posted July 9, 2012 Westiemum & Sheridan: How are the old-fellas doin'? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sheridan Posted July 10, 2012 Share Posted July 10, 2012 Where did this thread go? I couldn't find it for some time.What a lot to tell you. Grumpy's dementia is much the same though physically I have a major update. His back has been getting progressively worse and I began to notice an increase in his drinking over a few weeks. Off we went to the vet and blood test results showed really bad liver results and the initial thought were liver cancer. The urine results were indecisive so they ordered more tests and an x-ray, ultrasounds and two further tests later it came back as Cushing's! He's now started on that treatment and we'll see how he goes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blackdogs Posted July 10, 2012 Share Posted July 10, 2012 Can we get some pictures of Grumpy ans Mac, please? :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mixeduppup Posted July 10, 2012 Share Posted July 10, 2012 My old dog Dawny (first childhood dog) got dementia. She used to walk into corners and couldn't work out how to get out and would give up and lay down facing the wall, after every meal she'd bark at the bowl. She would fall asleep and suddenly wake up looking very confused and start howling at nothing. She lived until she was 16. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
westiemum Posted July 10, 2012 Author Share Posted July 10, 2012 My old dog Dawny (first childhood dog) got dementia. She used to walk into corners and couldn't work out how to get out and would give up and lay down facing the wall, after every meal she'd bark at the bowl. She would fall asleep and suddenly wake up looking very confused and start howling at nothing. She lived until she was 16. Thanks for your description mixeduppup. There seems to e so little-around on dogs that it's always good to get other descriptions of their behavior. And what you describe is very typical of canine dementia - and might help someone else. It's also gives me hope that I might have some good quality years left with my gorgeous old boy - so thank you again. :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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