Signs of confusion in an older yorkie

[BonBon]

I forgot to mention that I bought a nitelight yesterday and put it in the bedroom. I also put up a bedrail on the side with the ramp - it's working out beautifully so far. It's about 3-1/3 feet long so it reaches from the end of the mattress just to the top of the ramp. With that and the 'wall' I attached to the ramp, I'm comfortable that Alex can't fall and hurt himself over there.

Now I need to find something for my side of the bed. I need to have something that I can easily lower in the middle of the night for my many trips to the bathroom. I thought the second rail I bought might work, but the releases are too far apart to reach easily when I'm on the mattress.

[ladyjane]

Rimadyl comes in 25mg tabs (and larger for larger pups) and if it said one half, it means he is to take 12.5 mg once or twice daily.
I do hope that the Anipryl works for him. That is wonderful that he is so healthy! Will be looking forward to hearing how the med works out for him.

[Lizzie07]

Originally Posted by BonBon

We just got home from the vet, where Alexander was such a good boy.

The doctor was very supportive of putting Alexander on Anipryl. Yay!! He's had a lot of success with it and is really hopeful that it can help Alex, too. He also put Alex on a half pill of Rimadyl one or two times per day (the bottle said 25mg, but I'm not sure if that's for the whole pill or for Alex's 1/2 pill dose).

The bloodwork results won't be in until next week, but the doctor said Alex appears extremely healthy except for the arthritis and the confusion. He was impressed with Alex's coat, teeth and weight, and said his left eye looks in very good condition - he didn't think Alex should be having any problems seeing out of that eye. The right eye does have a large cataract though. Heart, lungs, etc. all sounded great he said. He repeated several times that Alexander appeared to be in excellent health.

I asked about vitamin B, denamarin (sp?) and the other things recommended throughout this thread, but the doctor wants to wait for the bloodwork before putting Alex on anything else. He said as good as Alex looks he really doesn't think Alex needs anything else at this time.

I'm so hopeful that these medicines will help Alexander. Thank you all so, so much for the wonderful advice, the strength you've given me to take Alexander in and ask some tough questions, and for all the prayers!!! It means more than I can ever say.

Hugs,
Bonny

Wonderful news, Bonny! I hope the meds help too.

[megansmomma]

I'm so glad that things went well at the vet today. Keeping my fingers crossed that you begin to see some improvements with Alex and his new meds.

[Patti]

That's great! Did they say if there is a generic available for the anipryl? I am going to take Nikki in soon. I am really starting to have a problem with aggressiveness and wile he has no teeth he is scaring my girls. I know it helped with mu pom's aggressiveness.

[Maximo]

Very happy to hear the good news about Alex's trip to the vet! I hope the medications do help him.

This has been a wonderful thread for information relative to seniors. Although my boys are young, I am taking notes to put in my doggy info book for future use. Hope to be blessed to have the furbutts around that long.

Sending best wishes to you, Alex, and your family.

[ladyjane]

Originally Posted by Patti

That's great! Did they say if there is a generic available for the anipryl? I am going to take Nikki in soon. I am really starting to have a problem with aggressiveness and wile he has no teeth he is scaring my girls. I know it helped with mu pom's aggressiveness.

There is a generic form....selegiline (spelling may be off) but my vet has been having a problem finding it lately.

[Patti]

Originally Posted by ladyjane

There is a generic form....selegiline (spelling may be off) but my vet has been having a problem finding it lately.

Thanks I am going to ask my vet about it. I know my vet has also had problems getting Cali's Atopica. They said it was on back order.

[gemy]

Originally Posted by BonBon

I forgot to mention that I bought a nitelight yesterday and put it in the bedroom. I also put up a bedrail on the side with the ramp - it's working out beautifully so far. It's about 3-1/3 feet long so it reaches from the end of the mattress just to the top of the ramp. With that and the 'wall' I attached to the ramp, I'm comfortable that Alex can't fall and hurt himself over there.

Now I need to find something for my side of the bed. I need to have something that I can easily lower in the middle of the night for my many trips to the bathroom. I thought the second rail I bought might work, but the releases are too far apart to reach easily when I'm on the mattress.

Wonderfull news indeed. Thank you so much for starting this thread. In your sharing, we are all learning. I'm so happy that Alexander may start to find some relief with the meds, you have some solutions with the bedrails, massage, night lights.

We if we are blessed with a long life for our Yorkies, will need this information when the time comes.

To me this is one of the most valuable aspects of this community. The coming together, to share, to learn, to support each other as we journey through life with our Yorkies.

[kjc]

Great news! Hoping his bloodwork comes back good.

I wanted to mention too that as my Sophie was aging, I developed new routines throughout our days to include anything I could do to help her be more comfortable and to make sure she was eating enough.

I started having to hand feed her, it was easier for her to eat more, quicker, than if I just left it in a bowl for her. Very important to watch their weight. I looked on handfeeding as a special time I got to spend with her and further increase our bond, and I know she appreciated me doing that for her. I think she was having some trouble getting and keeping the food in her mouth, and would get tired of trying and walk away.

When I saw how much more she ate being handfed, I realized the problem was more in the mechanics of eating rather than a loss of appetite, as I had wrongly assumed when it started.

Also we ate pizza alot that summer... her last... as that was her favorite treat.

[lisaly]

Originally Posted by kjc

Great news! Hoping his bloodwork comes back good.

I wanted to mention too that as my Sophie was aging, I developed new routines throughout our days to include anything I could do to help her be more comfortable and to make sure she was eating enough.

I started having to hand feed her, it was easier for her to eat more, quicker, than if I just left it in a bowl for her. Very important to watch their weight. I looked on handfeeding as a special time I got to spend with her and further increase our bond, and I know she appreciated me doing that for her. I think she was having some trouble getting and keeping the food in her mouth, and would get tired of trying and walk away.

When I saw how much more she ate being handfed, I realized the problem was more in the mechanics of eating rather than a loss of appetite, as I had wrongly assumed when it started.

Also we ate pizza alot that summer... her last... as that was her favorite treat.

I also handfed Ashley. I definitely was able to get her to eat more when I handfed her, but also I was using the food to try to hide her medication in it. She knew it was there, just because she could smell it. It also made it easier without the medication for her to get to her food. Probably also because her cataracts were growing fast the last few months of her life, she kept walking into the food and water bowl, and she would flip it many times a day. We had a tray on our bed with her water and food plates. We put chucks or washable pee pads and towels under the tray, since we had to clean up the area several times a day. I actually found it comical with her. She was eating baked ziti and dumplings a lot but also grilled yellow, red, or orange peppers, broccoli, brisket, steak, stuffed cabbage (without cabbage because of her gas pockets). She loved Costco butter crumb pound cake. She was starting to get too skinny, and she was only 4 pound before this, and it helped keep her belly so it wasn't hungry. She was having trouble with the kibble. Her doctor kept saying that she looked great--that her heart and lungs were strong, her belly was doing much better, and that her coat looked great, so he said I must have been getting enough healthy food into her. Her bloods were also good. I also needed to make sure that it was safe for her to eat these things and made sure she wasn't getting things stuck on the roof of her mouth. We spend almost all of our time upstairs in the bedroom because she would not stay downstairs, and the bedroom was where she was and felt safest. It was also easier for her to navigate the bedroom, and we cleared paths so that she wouldn't be knocking into things. When we gave her free reign of the upstairs, we put a gait at the top of the stairs to prevent her from falling or wandering off. It was also better forher to stay in the bedroom because she kept getting lost in corners in the other rooms upstairs. She didn't mind just staying in the bedroom, since that's where we stayed. I bought a sheepskin rug for her to lie on, which worked great for her, especially the times my husband had to be in the hospital. After she did her pacing or wandering, she came to the side of the bed where my husband was sitting to be picked up. When he was unable to right after having back surgery, she would at least lie down on the sheepskin rug. I was able to wash it easily in the washer and dryer, and it came out fluffy. When we started to worry more about Ashley falling off the bed, my husband moved a chair to the other side of the bed where she was sleeping to be close to her. That made her feel safe. I agree about the bonding time being important. The more opportunities you can find where he enjoys bonding, the more you can make him feel safe and also happy. Ashley still loved being outdoors and walked a lot. If I let her, she would walk greater than 2 miles at a time. I limited the walking to 1 mile at a time, usually 2 or more times a day. Sometimes, when Ashley was too tired when we took our morning walks I just carried her, and she absolutely loved those walks, and most times she wanted to kiss my nose while being cuddled close. I think she enjoyed being held close, and it made her feel safe. She rested very peacefully when we went home. I thought the walking would be good for her gas, so I still continued to walk, only with me carrying her with her cradled in my arms.

[Rhetts_mama]

Bonnie- how about putting a living room lamp (or where ever the pups are while you are gone) on an inexpensive timer? That way if you were to be delayed again for any reason a light would come on. I think I paid less than $10.00 for one at Target.

Also for the bedrails- check out any children's consignment stores you have in your area. I see them there all the time, usually for about $5 a piece.

[kjc]

Wow, this thread is so bringing back memories...

I don't think little Ashley could have had it any better... your love for her is so evident in all you did for her.

I too am making notes as Peek a Boo will be 14 in December. I find myself watching him more and more daily for any changes. He's like a little eating machine, head in the bowl till it's all gone! He takes a bit longer for lack of many teeth but he does such a good job! He loves his walks, but I did purchase a stroller for him, and he loves riding in it. I wanted to get him used to it before he actually needs it.

And your post about tipping the bowls brought back a moment of horror for me. At the time, we had a Maltese and a GSD, along with Yorkie Sophie Anne. I had always used a large sized water bowl to accomodate them all. One day I was watching Sophie get a drink when she lost her balance and her head into the water and went under. She couldn't get her front legs under her to get herself up and out, and I flew over to her and helped her out. She was shaken but fine. I lowered the water level in the bowl until I could buy smaller bowls to put down for them. Thank God I was there watching her when that happened!

So with our older dogs, you may have to reevaluate everything for safety issues.

[OwnedByJezebel]

Regarding food and my 14 year old Matlese, she was always an extremely picky eater. It was always a huge struggle to get her to eat. My previous Yorkie was a garbage disposal, she would probably eat until she split open if you let her. So the two of them in combination was very difficult to manage. She never wanted to eat at a set time and would always turn her nose up at it. I couldn't leave food down for grazing ("when she gets hungry enough she'll eat" kind of thing), because then my Yorkie would eat it all. When my Yorkie passed, then I was able to go back to free feeding for the Maltese, and it worked out OK, she would eat when she got hungry.

Now I have a one year old Yorkie, Jezebel, who does fine with free feeding, so we were able to continue with that.

However, 6 months ago, I decided to try commercially prepared frozen raw. My 14 year old loves it, and not once has she turned her nose up at it. She wines for it, waits for it, and eats it immediately. I do break up the medallion into 8 - 10 separate small chunks. It is like night and day compared to what a struggle it was to get her to eat in the past, she's like a different dog. While she eats I put fresh water in her bowl, kibble in another bowl (they free feed the rest of the day) .... she is DONE by the time those two other bowls reach the floor. Then she walks over and checks out the Yorkies raw to see if there is any of it left behind she can eat. (Never is, but she checks anyway).

If you're so inclined, I think the frozen raw is worth a shot. I just wish I would have tried it on her sooner.

[Lizzie07]

Originally Posted by OwnedByJezebel

Regarding food and my 14 year old Matlese, she was always an extremely picky eater. It was always a huge struggle to get her to eat. My previous Yorkie was a garbage disposal, she would probably eat until she split open if you let her. So the two of them in combination was very difficult to manage. She never wanted to eat at a set time and would always turn her nose up at it. I couldn't leave food down for grazing ("when she gets hungry enough she'll eat" kind of thing), because then my Yorkie would eat it all. When my Yorkie passed, then I was able to go back to free feeding for the Maltese, and it worked out OK, she would eat when she got hungry.

Now I have a one year old Yorkie, Jezebel, who does fine with free feeding, so we were able to continue with that.

However, 6 months ago, I decided to try commercially prepared frozen raw. My 14 year old loves it, and not once has she turned her nose up at it. She wines for it, waits for it, and eats it immediately. I do break up the medallion into 8 - 10 separate small chunks. It is like night and day compared to what a struggle it was to get her to eat in the past, she's like a different dog. While she eats I put fresh water in her bowl, kibble in another bowl (they free feed the rest of the day) .... she is DONE by the time those two other bowls reach the floor. Then she walks over and checks out the Yorkies raw to see if there is any of it left behind she can eat. (Never is, but she checks anyway).

If you're so inclined, I think the frozen raw is worth a shot. I just wish I would have tried it on her sooner.

I've tried raw with some of my seniors, all IGs. Right now, I am feeding raw to the older dogs. The IBD dog likes it, Opal, the mitral prolapse dog did for a couple days, but is turned off it now. Monty too liked it real well at first but seems to be so so about it now. My Cushings girl is good with it. I gave Opal a little cooked roast and a little steak with her raw today, along with a little pumpkin and she ate it all. My IBD girl is suppose to be eating Science Diet ZD, but that burned out and I broke down and starting feeding her the raw, beef only. She is doing great on it.

The last two seniors I lost got whatever I could figure out to feed them. I got all kinds of deli meats, every canned meat, and every canned dog food on the shelf, good or bad. I cooked chicken, roasts, steak, hamburger, lamb, pasta, soups, and of course, rice with any and all of the above. I tried flavoring the food with anything I could think of. It seemed that something new might be good for a day or meal or two, then back to trying to find something to get them to eat. And I hand fed. I also fed lots of little meals, throughout the day.

When I took Grace, the IBD dog to the vet because I was having a hard time getting her to eat, and after an endoscopy to diagnose her problem, she was put on Pred, and I also got mirtazapine to stimulate her appetite. It works, and I will be asking for it again if feeding gets to the point it did with the other two girls.

Senior care really is more demanding. The seventeen year old that I lost in January had renal failure. I gave her fluids for nearly two years to keep her going. At first I was only giving them about once a week but as time went on, the frequency increased. At the end, I was giving them everyday. She really didn't like it, and I struggled with whether it was the right thing to do or not. Yet, she really seemed to have a good quality of life other than that. I am very squemish too, and at one time would never have imagined myself sticking a dog with a needle to give fluids.

You just have to do what you have to do. Because of my experience, with having so many seniors at one time, I warn people to spread out the ages of their dogs. My problem is I am a sucker for the older dogs. I have a hard time saying no to taking them and to placing them.