Canine Sundown Syndrome
 

I am owned by a very sweet little Yorkie girl. She is now 11 years old and recently she has been exhibiting signs of Canine Sundown Syndrome. She has had 3 little seizures in her 11 years, and my Vet said we did not need to be very concerned about them. I have read so many articles on this....my head is spinning! Being brand new to this issue I am hoping someone can give me some good suggestions...things that have worked for you. I read about thunder coats...has anyone tried using this for their Yorkie?
Thanks in advance for any and all help and suggestions. :aimeeyork

My senior Nikki (RIP) had that the last year of his life. He would get restless in the evening and I would find him just standing and staring at nothing. My pom also had it when she got older. There is a medicine the vet can give you called anipyril that helps. I hope you can find something that works.

Thanks Patti....so sorry for the loss of your baby to this what sounds like is a nasty disease.

I have heard of that medication. I looked at the thunderhsirt too....I will get that first.

Going to call my Vet too...let them check her out too. The medication you talked about...was it expensive and did it help?

Gosh I'm sorry to hear this about Tootsie and hope that your vet can find out for sure if she is sundowning or it is something else. Other medical conditions can cause night terrors, disorientation and mimic CSS. Be sure you tell the vet every single thing about her and any little thing that is different to be sure the vet looks at all possibilities. I hope you can find out for sure what it is and can get her some help and she can feel better and rest soon.

The Pet Docs

BTW, welcome to YorkieTalk.

Thanks. Nikki didn't die from it but it definitely complicated his old age. The medicine was not cheap. I think it was 30.00- 40.00 a month. It did help some with Nikki, it calmed him down some in the evenings.
The vet can help you determine what is going on. Keep us posted.

This can also be a symptom of Cushings and/or brain tumor.

I think this is the med BonBon used for her kiddo when he got confused in his last year too. She said it really helped.

Jeanie, thank you so very much for this link. It was so very informative.

Welcome to YorkieTalk. I am so very sorry to hear that your sweet little elderly Yorkie is exhibiting signs of Canine Sundown Syndrome. I hope the members here at YT can help with ideas and suggestions that you and your vet can use in finding comfort for your girl. Thanks to your post and yorkietalkjilly's informative link, I have learned something valuable to tuck away for later use.

Yes, it was and she was so kind to send me the unused anipyil for Nikki after consulting with his vet. I know it helped her baby.

Oh my...I didn't even think about Cushings Disease...will look that up as well.

Update for tootsie
 

I went out today and bought Tootsie a thundershirt...she looks so cute! When we got home I put it on her for 15 minutes and she was ok with it on. She is not used to wearing anything other than her coat if it is raining or it is chilly out. Last evening she had no problems sleeping or keeping us awake. I guess I will take it a day at a time as far as the thundershirt goes.

I read somewhere about feeding her a small meal before we got to bed at night. I gave her a very small amount of chicken I make for her and some of her crunchies. As usual, she ate all the chicken and some of the crunchies. She is on Science Diet for Joint Care. Has been on that for a 3 years. My Vet told me about it, and it has kept her agile, along with a vitamin supplement for joints. My Vet says both these products together are helping her to stay agile...and she is not in pain. 3 years ago she jumped off a desk chair and broke her rea left leg, tore the muscles and tendons and tore the ACL. She was in a cast for 6 weeks. Once the cast came off I started massages and exercise on her leg...it worked. The following year she tore the ACL in the right rear leg....more massaging and exercises. She is now on Science Diet for joints and a supplement for the same..joint control

Thanks for all your suggestions as far as Tootsie's health goes. I am still going to take her to the Vet soon...she has her yearly teeth cleaning appointment soon.

My little girl, Ashley, had Canine Cognitive Dysfunction the last year of her life. Anipryl helped ease her anxiety a great deal, but she had many symptoms similar to dementia. She passed away close to her seventeenth birthday. It was difficult to care for her, but I wouldn't have given up a second of the time we had with her. If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to ask. The link to the thread below might be helpful to read. It's very long, but it's also very informative. I wish you many more joyful and loving moments with Tootsie. Each moment with our little ones so so priceless.

http://www.yorkietalk.com/forums/sic...er-yorkie.html