[BonBon]

Originally Posted by Ladymom

Senior dogs do get dementia.

Symptoms of Dog Dementia

Senior Dog Care: Older Dogs, Aged Minds: Dealing With Dog Dementia

Lady will be 15 in a couple of months and has some loss of vision, mostly night vision. She has started waking up in the middle of the night and barking because she can't find her water bowl. Last night she was wandering around barking all night, but she'd had a seizure from her blood sugar dropping too low earlier in the evening (she's diabetic) so I thought that was the reason.

I have also noticed that when I talk to her sometimes she looks in the opposite direction. I thought her hearing was going, but who knows?

I have also noticed she startles easily. I haven't noticed any housebreaking issues, though, and her appetite is great.

Maybe she is starting to show signs of dementia, too? I really don't care as long as she is happy. She's never been the sharpest tool in the shed. I call her my little Forrest Gump!

Reading those articles brought me to tears. They could've been written about Alexander....so much of it describes him. He does things that are talked about in the articles that I hadn't connected to this, like being startled by interior lights and the television, and sleeping more during the day. The second article mentions a medication that may help but he has other medical problems that might conflict with this. IDK, I'll just have to ask the vet about that.

Alex still has a very good appetite and hasn't lost a whole lot of weight. If I just knew he wasn't suffering I wouldn't be so upset, but I don't know what he's going through.

And with his loss of coordination and difficulty getting up/down the ramps in the house I'm so afraid he's going to hurt himself badly (he gets part way up/down a ramp then stops, and when he's ready to go again I don't think he remembers where he's at and walks right of the side of the ramp ). He's walked off the side of the bed, too. I tried to start closing the bedroom door to keep him off the bed at nights, but he cried so hard and seemed so scared, I had to let him sleep with me. Now I sleep with him connected to me by a short leash so he can't go anywhere without waking me up.