Advice Needed - Dog With Dementia
Months ago, our 15 year old lab/pit-bull mix started having accidents in the house - which was a first. Then she started having episodes at night, which we later learned was sundowning.
We took her to the vet and all her bloodwork was perfect - and she looks great for her age. Nobody believes she’s almost 16.
The vet concluded she was at the beginning stages of dementia. Meds were discussed, but we declined them because the side effects seemed to outweigh the benefits for her, especially at her age.
But these past few months have been a roller coaster. The erratic sleep schedules. She pants so much that I can tell it exhausts her. And she will drink water because apparently she forgets she drank it and she’ll just pee all thru her diapers, on herself, me sometimes. 😔
I volunteer, I’ve had sooo many dogs throughout my life. When they got sick or I knew they were in pain and medical care did not help, I would do the final act of love and have them go to sleep peacefully. I never want to see an animal suffer.
But I’ve never had a dog with dementia. For the most part, she’s happy. She eats. She’ll even play most days. But the bad days… are bad.
I literally clean for hours, do countless loads of laundry, and plan my life/work schedule around her. And I would do it forever if I had to. But I don’t know if I’m doing the right thing for her.
Sometimes I look at the confusion on her face and wonder if she’s suffering. Does it bother her that she pees all over herself? The vet doesn’t think so. But I do. And I just don’t know if keeping her like this is right. But I hate giving up on her too. 😔
I know I wrote a book here. Maybe I just needed to vent too because this is hard.
Any advice would be appreciated. If nothing else, thanks for taking the time to read this.