Canine Cognitive Disease (CCD)

[orezok]

I feel you, orezok. Big dogs rarely make it more than 10-12 years. Enjoy the time you have left. Our last was taken well before her time.

I took Kali for her annual senior check up a couple of weeks ago. We did blood tests as we do every year (not inexpensive). My vet called me and said that every parameter, dozens of them, were ALL in the normal range. He said that it is rare for even young dogs to have a perfect result.

He said her organs are working well, but her body (rear leg muscles are atrophying) and her brain… well, we’ll see.

 

[alexpops]

How's she doing? Tolerating the meds? Any improvement or still too soon?

 

[orezok]

How's she doing? Tolerating the meds? Any improvement or still too soon?

still too soon

 

[alexpops]

Best of luck to you both.

 

[orezok]

OP here. So far no significant change in Kali’s behavior. One of the symptoms of CCDis day/night reversal. She is pretty much normal during the day, but becomes restless and lost during the night. She paces and remains awake. She now comes to our bed usually at 2 to 3 in the morning and stares at me for 10 minutes or more. She will lick an exposed arm and sometimes gently paws the bed. She knows something is wrong and wants me to help her.

Unfortunately we have had to lock her out of the bedroom in order to get a full nights sleep.

I’ve scheduled an appointment with the vet after the first month on the Anipryl. I’m told it can take 1 to 2 months to be effective. We will see what he recommends.

We will give it the time she needs, but if I feel her quality of life has deteriorated too much, I will do the necessary thing.

She can join her predecessors up on the hill.

Yes, I’m crying as I write this.

 

[ponytug]

Much as possum fur (both US, and Australian, which is a totally different animal) is soft and gorgeous, US possums are disease vectors. That shouldn't be surprising as they are opportunistic omnivores that eat carrion, exposing them to many diseases, including rabies.

Possums do get rabies. Do Possums Have Rabies?

Personally, I try not to leave food, food scraps, or compost accessible to wild animals to not entice them close to house/domestic animals.

They also carry equine protozoal myoencephalalitis (EPM), a debilitating and often fatal disease for horses. Equine Protozoal Myeloencephalitis (EPM)

All the best,

Peter