Signs of confusion in an older yorkie

[blondschilli]

I am so HAPPY for u. I hope all keeps going well and soon he will be in full throttle once again. Hugs

[AbbysMom08]

What wonderful news. I am so glad your little guy is showing improvement.
Love to hear such good news.
I will continue to keep him in my prayers.
Please keep us posted.

[BonBon]

Originally Posted by lisaly

This just brought tears of joy to my eyes. I hoped and believed with all my heart that the Anipryl would help him, and I think you have a bit of an idea how happy this makes me. I know that each day that you and Alexander share with each other is truly precious to both of you. To hear that you both are doing better really warmed my heart. Thank you so much for sharing this wonderful news with us.

Thank you, Lisa. I was hoping you'd see my update and know the medicine is working just like we prayed it would. Alexander had another wonderful weekend, while I just sat and enjoyed him and the others happily playing. I'll never take the sight of him playing for granted again.

[BonBon]

Originally Posted by yorkieusa

That's wonderful news, Bonnie. I'm so happy to read that!

Originally Posted by blondschilli

I am so HAPPY for u. I hope all keeps going well and soon he will be in full throttle once again. Hugs

Originally Posted by AbbysMom08

What wonderful news. I am so glad your little guy is showing improvement.
Love to hear such good news.
I will continue to keep him in my prayers.
Please keep us posted.

Thank you all so much!! I can't get over the change in him and I'm loving every minute of it.

[BonBon]

Originally Posted by Anaic

Its so hard anytime we have a furbaby with any illness, disease, or ailment. No one knows what we go through at the time. Hours of no sleep, worry, gut wrenching agony what to do.

I wanted to give you hugs to the two of you. Though you dont know me, wanted to emotionally support you here.

You are a wonderful furmommy to Alexander. I am sure what he's given you is more than any of us will know. All our babies are precious to us but they give us so much more. We learn from them compassion, patients, endless unconditional love.

I think their greatest gift to us is what we learn in caring for them and educate others, sharing it here in YT about their diseases, illness, trauma, and behavior problems and to teach. With that is the comfort we provide them in terms of love, toys, etc. So we can spoil them.

Just like our human population getting older we find diseases now unheard of 20 years ago because of the life expectancy is getting longer. So it reflects on our furbabies too, they are growing older, living longer with all about the same illness our human elderly counterparts are encountering.

I never stopped to think of Canine dementia of being an issue, but I never thought Dad would end up with Alzheimers either. What a similarity in symptoms. I cried though the entire thread, ashamed to say passed it by when it started I knew what it was about, but it was so close to home for me.

Please accept my apology for not posting sooner to say I am here for you too!

We all grieve during this process remember that, it likes to sneak up on you. But if your aware of it you can work through it during this difficult time. Its the loss of what we had with our furbaby, what we are going through at this time in the present, and what we know will eventually come.

But I know you will continue to give Alexander all that you can and more each day making it an awesome day for him to live out his remaining time with you.

Bless you both and give you time.

Anne

What a beautiful post, thank you! I was going to highlite some of your great points, but I found I'd have to highlite every word. You make some excellent points about what these little ones mean to us, what they teach us, how they help us grow and be better....and you said it all beautifully. I'm so sorry about your father having alzheimer's, that's such a painful, wasteful illness. I'm sending warm hugs for you. Thank you for your kindness and support.

Bonny

[Anaic]

Originally Posted by BonBon

What a beautiful post, thank you! I was going to highlite some of your great points, but I found I'd have to highlite every word. You make some excellent points about what these little ones mean to us, what they teach us, how they help us grow and be better....and you said it all beautifully. I'm so sorry about your father having alzheimer's, that's such a painful, wasteful illness. I'm sending warm hugs for you. Thank you for your kindness and support.

Bonny

I am so humbled that I was able to give you some comfort. Thank you for the hugs we all need them. I included you both in my prayers.

I hope the Anipryl continues to bring back Alexander to you more each day.

[lisaly]

I could not be happier reading this. It sounds like your sweet little boy is feeling a lot better with his arthritis medicine also. You both sound so happy, and this is music to my ears. Give Alexander some special kisses from me.

[gemy]

Bonnie, I'm so happy to hear that Alexander is doing so much better. What a wonderful researcher you are, finding a good solution for the bed.
This thread has brought so many people together, so many wonderful suggestions, help and support.
I've had tears in my eyes from numerous posts here. I too was struck by the similarity to human dementia.
It aches our hearts so when our furbabies are hurting. But our hearts are so happy when they improve.

Hugs to you and Alexander. How great to see him at play again.

[Patti]

Bonnie, I am so glad the anipryl is working. It worked for Maya until the end when cushing's and heart failure took her. I was so grateful for the extra time of having Maya with us and enjoying life.

[lisaly]

Bonny and Anne,

I just want to add that I shared both of your posts with my husband, John. He was as deeply moved as I was by them. After experiencing what we did with Ashley and our love for her deepening each day that we had with her, to read something that expresses the love we feel and to see another one being helped means the world to us. We loved Ashley with all of our hearts and beings, and we didn't think it was possible to love her more than we did. There was a bit of mourning who she had been when the symptoms of dementia started, all the while loving her to pieces, and then loving the most precious and beautiful baby Ashley had become. Our hearts became hers, and we poured every bit of ourselves into her trying to make her feel loved, protected, and safe. Ashley knew we loved (and still do love) her, even when I'm not sure if she knew we were her mommy and daddy. As soon as she would realize we were there along side her, her world would lighten up and her body would relax (once we got past the cutest little wiggles from her). She was always loving and responsive with us, even as I held her when she went into a coma and eventually died hours later. We still feel her love all around us. As you know, every second is precious, and we wouldn't have given up any time we had with Ashley. As we cared for our "new little Ashley." we realized that we had grown to love her more than ever. Thinking about Alexander playing with his brothers and sisters and finding comfort in your arms brings me such feelings of joy. May these beautiful moments continue on for a long while for both of you.

I want to thank both of you for your beautiful posts and for giving me a reason to smile.

Lisa

[Wylie's Mom]

Aw Bon . I'm so happy for you and Alexander! It's wonderful to read his updates and hear that he is making such positive progress - he's amazing. You are such a good Mama, and it really is meaningful to read about caring for little seniors - bc we will all go through it one day. Hugs to Alexander!

[karab]

Wow! It is so weird and sad to read about other Yorkies that are doing the same things as my Gizmo. He is 11 years old and has had a hard life. But now (the last few months) he can't see well especially in the dark - he walks to walls or corners and just stands there. You have to yell at him for him to hear you. You have to stay close so he can walk with you. Can't go up and down the stairs outside. has pottied in the house a few times but now he just poops as he walks around - oblivious to it. I have also noticed he is panting alot and breathing harder. Sleeps alot and very soundly. You have to be careful to wake him or he startles and I am so afraid we'll give him a heart attack! you have to be careful to pet him or he jumps and trys to bite you. You cannot bath him without him bitting and cannot brush him or cut his hair. I am not going to take him any longer to have it done as the only way now is with the vet and a sedative and the sedative could kill him in my estimation. So we bath him when we have to and don't brush him or clip him and yes he looks shaggy but I cannot add to his pain. He eats but gets gas and diahreah alot. He weighs about 10 lbs. I heard Yorkies generally live about 12 years? I just don't see doing anything more to prolong his life. Just to make sure he is reasonably comfortable and we are extra kind to him. If it gets to bad we will have to do the inevitable and I dread that - I have been through that before. He just didn't get a fair shake in life and I feel bad that he has had more than his share of hard times. Any suggestions are appreciated.

[AbbysMom08]

Originally Posted by karab

Wow! It is so weird and sad to read about other Yorkies that are doing the same things as my Gizmo. He is 11 years old and has had a hard life. But now (the last few months) he can't see well especially in the dark - he walks to walls or corners and just stands there. You have to yell at him for him to hear you. You have to stay close so he can walk with you. Can't go up and down the stairs outside. has pottied in the house a few times but now he just poops as he walks around - oblivious to it. I have also noticed he is panting alot and breathing harder. Sleeps alot and very soundly. You have to be careful to wake him or he startles and I am so afraid we'll give him a heart attack! you have to be careful to pet him or he jumps and trys to bite you. You cannot bath him without him bitting and cannot brush him or cut his hair. I am not going to take him any longer to have it done as the only way now is with the vet and a sedative and the sedative could kill him in my estimation. So we bath him when we have to and don't brush him or clip him and yes he looks shaggy but I cannot add to his pain. He eats but gets gas and diahreah alot. He weighs about 10 lbs. I heard Yorkies generally live about 12 years? I just don't see doing anything more to prolong his life. Just to make sure he is reasonably comfortable and we are extra kind to him. If it gets to bad we will have to do the inevitable and I dread that - I have been through that before. He just didn't get a fair shake in life and I feel bad that he has had more than his share of hard times. Any suggestions are appreciated.

I am so sorry you and your little guy are going through this.
It is so hard to see out little ones decline. They are such special little beings that give us so much joy and unconditional love.
All I can say is keep loving him and making him feel safe.

[BonBon]

Originally Posted by karab

Wow! It is so weird and sad to read about other Yorkies that are doing the same things as my Gizmo. He is 11 years old and has had a hard life. But now (the last few months) he can't see well especially in the dark - he walks to walls or corners and just stands there. You have to yell at him for him to hear you. You have to stay close so he can walk with you. Can't go up and down the stairs outside. has pottied in the house a few times but now he just poops as he walks around - oblivious to it. I have also noticed he is panting alot and breathing harder. Sleeps alot and very soundly. You have to be careful to wake him or he startles and I am so afraid we'll give him a heart attack! you have to be careful to pet him or he jumps and trys to bite you. You cannot bath him without him bitting and cannot brush him or cut his hair. I am not going to take him any longer to have it done as the only way now is with the vet and a sedative and the sedative could kill him in my estimation. So we bath him when we have to and don't brush him or clip him and yes he looks shaggy but I cannot add to his pain. He eats but gets gas and diahreah alot. He weighs about 10 lbs. I heard Yorkies generally live about 12 years? I just don't see doing anything more to prolong his life. Just to make sure he is reasonably comfortable and we are extra kind to him. If it gets to bad we will have to do the inevitable and I dread that - I have been through that before. He just didn't get a fair shake in life and I feel bad that he has had more than his share of hard times. Any suggestions are appreciated.

Have you considered trying Anipryl? It really has helped Alexander with his confusion, fear and panic episodes.

I'm so sorry you and Gizmo are going through this. It's one of the hardest things I've ever dealt with, seeing Alexander so lost and scared. My thoughts and prayers are with you both.

As far as the gas and diarreah - it sounds like his food isn't agreeing with him. What are you feeding him? Switching foods might at least help Gizmo to feel a little bit better.

[BonBon]

Alexander didn't have a very good night last night. He wanted up, down, up, down, over and over. At least the way I have everything set up now, he can get up/down on his own, but I still stayed up and watched him in case he started to panic. He never did, though. He just seemed really restless....maybe not ready for bed yet? IDK. He seemed good this morning again. It was just so frustrating - he's been doing really well and I know I can't expect miracles from Anipryl, but I hated him having even a small setback.

On a better note, the new bedrail is working like a charm. I really like it and the munchkins all seem to have adjusted to it already. Just having it there makes me feel so much better about their safety. Ladymom, thanks again for that awesome suggestion!

Oh, I had to go into Walgreen's a few days ago so I talked to the pharmacist about Alex's new meds. He was very nice and explained that they can only fill veterinary prescriptions if it's for a medicine that's also used by people. They don't stock animal-only medicines like Rimadyl. So, I guess I'll be ordering that online from the website my vet told me about.