[PurpleTurtle]

I've got a mini American Eskimo dog named Misty that's in her golden years. I'm not sure of her exact age because I don't know how old she was when I found her (she was a stray I took home), but I've had her for 14 years, so I'd say she's at least 15 or 16.

She's having some health issues these last few months and I'm not sure if they're just due to her age or possible underlying health problems. I haven't been able to find much of anything looking for answers on my own.

Issue 1: Walking difficulties
She's been walking pretty delicately the last few months, and her feet constantly slide out from under her when she's walking around on linoleum. She's been walking on that same floor for years and never had any problems with it. She also has a heck of a time getting herself back up on her feet. Besides this, she sits kind of funny too, almost like a frog. She used to hop up on the couch to sleep, but she can't anymore. I've been giving her Glycoflex III biscuits for the last few months, but I haven't noticed a difference in her mobility.

Issue 2: Odd behavior when touched
I don't know why, but whenever I go to pet her, she has a fit and starts flailing like crazy. If I pet her head, she leans heavily into my hand and usually falls over. She can still see (she can follow my hand back and forth just fine). It's not like she doesn't know me, so I don't know why she throws a fit when anyone pets her now.

Issue 3: General odd behavior
I think Misty's body and mind are working on different wavelengths. For example, she'll walk into a wall and then start whimpering an hour later because she doesn't seem to have the sense to walk backwards or turn around. She's gotten stuck behind the couch, in the bathroom, and many other places because she can't seem to figure out how to move in any direction but forward.

Issue 4: Potty problems
Misty has always been good about pottying outside, but around when the other problems mentioned started, she began pooping in the house a lot more. She usually does it in the kitchen, but sometimes she does it on the carpet. She also seems to lose control of her back legs when she goes, resulting in her sitting, stepping or laying in the poop, which makes for a huge mess, especially with her white fur. She also will just fall asleep wherever; I often find her on the kitchen floor, which I can't imagine is comfortable, but she's always snoozing.

Issue 4.2: Peeing troubles
Misty can go anywhere from 6 to 24+ hours without peeing. Mind you, she does eat and drink normally. It's just odd because usually dogs her age are incontinent, but she has some kind of mutant super-continence. She was tested for a UTI and given antibiotics, but still no change.

Misty has been to the vet a few times for all these things and the vets who have examined her don't seem to think any of this behavior is out of the ordinary. Are all these things just Misty's age catching up with her, or could it be some kind of health problem? Has anyone here ever experienced these things with their dogs? It's just odd because I didn't see a gradual decline; she went from normal to this within the span of maybe a month, and while she hasn't gotten worse since these symptoms started, she also hasn't gotten better.

(As far as Misty's health history, she had Lyme disease about two years ago and she had surgery about a year ago to remove a mass of plastic from her stomach because she decided that grocery bags were a snack.)

 

[crazy]

personally sound she could have arthirtis my charlie choc lab is nearly 11 years old and has had it since 6 year old. he has trouble on the lino floor, any wooden floor anything not carpet he is the same. as for the rest maybe demntia? @Rain had a dog with that and might be able to tell you if it sounds like doggy dementia?

 

[PurpleTurtle]

Thanks for the info, crazy! I didn't know dogs could even get dementia, but looking at information about it, it sounds a lot like how my Misty has been acting. I'm at least thankful she hasn't become aggressive or overly noisy; in fact, she's the opposite. She's pretty apathetic and almost never barks (she does when I pick her up, but she's always done that). But the pacing around, getting "lost" in corners, relieving herself on the floor while seemingly not quite realizing she's going... it all sounds just like Misty.

I also see that there's a drug called Anipryl that can be used to treat doggy dementia, but I cringe at the thought of having to give Misty pills. Not that I don't want her to get better, but it was absolute hell trying to pill her when she had Lyme disease. A month of horse pill antibiotics and I got maybe 20 out of 30 pills in her if I was lucky; no matter what I hid those pills in, she'd find them and spit them out. Peanut butter, cottage cheese, liver, dog treats, Pill Pockets, cream cheese, canned dog food, those pill syringes combined with a muzzle... tried ALL possible methods and they'd work 2-3 times at best. Sometimes I'd try so many times to get a pill in her mouth that it would be melted all over my fingers from her saliva. Eventually, Misty would figure out she was being drugged and for months afterward, she would cautiously pick through her food looking for anything that resembled a pill and/or she'd wait until the younger dog ate some of it before she'd try it.

I also live in a very small, rural town. I'm not sure if the local vets will have even heard of Anipryl since it appears to be relatively new. They didn't even know what FortiFlora was until I called to ask if they sold it (but the upside was after I called, they started stocking it regularly).

 

[Rain]

I've got a mini American Eskimo dog named Misty that's in her golden years. I'm not sure of her exact age because I don't know how old she was when I found her (she was a stray I took home), but I've had her for 14 years, so I'd say she's at least 15 or 16.

She's having some health issues these last few months and I'm not sure if they're just due to her age or possible underlying health problems. I haven't been able to find much of anything looking for answers on my own.

Issue 1: Walking difficulties
She's been walking pretty delicately the last few months, and her feet constantly slide out from under her when she's walking around on linoleum. She's been walking on that same floor for years and never had any problems with it. She also has a heck of a time getting herself back up on her feet. Besides this, she sits kind of funny too, almost like a frog. She used to hop up on the couch to sleep, but she can't anymore. I've been giving her Glycoflex III biscuits for the last few months, but I haven't noticed a difference in her mobility.

Issue 2: Odd behavior when touched
I don't know why, but whenever I go to pet her, she has a fit and starts flailing like crazy. If I pet her head, she leans heavily into my hand and usually falls over. She can still see (she can follow my hand back and forth just fine). It's not like she doesn't know me, so I don't know why she throws a fit when anyone pets her now.

Issue 3: General odd behavior
I think Misty's body and mind are working on different wavelengths. For example, she'll walk into a wall and then start whimpering an hour later because she doesn't seem to have the sense to walk backwards or turn around. She's gotten stuck behind the couch, in the bathroom, and many other places because she can't seem to figure out how to move in any direction but forward.

Issue 4: Potty problems
Misty has always been good about pottying outside, but around when the other problems mentioned started, she began pooping in the house a lot more. She usually does it in the kitchen, but sometimes she does it on the carpet. She also seems to lose control of her back legs when she goes, resulting in her sitting, stepping or laying in the poop, which makes for a huge mess, especially with her white fur. She also will just fall asleep wherever; I often find her on the kitchen floor, which I can't imagine is comfortable, but she's always snoozing.

Issue 4.2: Peeing troubles
Misty can go anywhere from 6 to 24+ hours without peeing. Mind you, she does eat and drink normally. It's just odd because usually dogs her age are incontinent, but she has some kind of mutant super-continence. She was tested for a UTI and given antibiotics, but still no change.

Misty has been to the vet a few times for all these things and the vets who have examined her don't seem to think any of this behavior is out of the ordinary. Are all these things just Misty's age catching up with her, or could it be some kind of health problem? Has anyone here ever experienced these things with their dogs? It's just odd because I didn't see a gradual decline; she went from normal to this within the span of maybe a month, and while she hasn't gotten worse since these symptoms started, she also hasn't gotten better.

(As far as Misty's health history, she had Lyme disease about two years ago and she had surgery about a year ago to remove a mass of plastic from her stomach because she decided that grocery bags were a snack.)

#1 and part of #4 sounds like severe arthritis, as Crazy mentioned. If it's as bad as I suspect it is then I'm not sure that anything you can buy over the counter will work. I normally recommend Cytel M Advanced, but it really sounds as if the arthritis may be to bad for it to work. When my elderly boy was around 16 and got that bad he was just like your girl, slipping on linoleum, having a very hard time getting back up after laying down, if he got to much exercise he'd spend a day or two limping, the vet took an x-ray to determine what was going on and prescribed Rimadyl to help with the pain. It did work and he was able to begin moving a bit more easily.

#3 Are you positive that she can see? My boy was completely blind but was able to follow scents. Does her eyes respond to light? Does she follow your finger with just her eyes when you move your finger in front of her face? Does she blink when you flick your finger towards her eye? If she can't that may be why she's responding as she does when you pet her back. I'd try letting her know you are there before actually petting her. Talk to her and slowly touch her, see if that helps.

The rest sadly does sound like Canine Cognitive Dysfunction. My boy also had that and began to forget housetraining, getting lost in corner, not knowing known commands, pacing endlessly at night till he was to exhausted to keep pacing. If I"m right and that's what's going on there's an e-book out now on the subject that's supposed to be very informative, I wish it was out when me and my boy were going through it, Remember Me?: Loving and Caring for a Dog with Canine Cognitive Dysfunction - Kindle edition by Eileen Anderson. Crafts, Hobbies & Home Kindle eBooks @ Amazon.com. The book seems to be full of up to date info on the medicines available to treat it and what to expect. I can tell you that in the end my boy no longer remembered me, and no longer responded to his name.

With the potty problems, I found management was best. I managed to figure out when he was most likely going to have an accident, usually around meal times or when I was gone, and arrange things to where I either got him out in time for him to potty, or papered the floor with potty pads (taped down to the floor) so that he was forced to pee on the pads. Taking care of the arthritis, if she has it, may help with her falling over when she poos.

I'm sorry that you are going through this. I know how heartbreaking it is to watch our elderly dogs slowly decline in health:huddle:

 

[Kyllobernese]

Susie, my Bernese cross is 11 1/2 years old and has arthritis so she has trouble getting up off the slippery floor at times. I have had good luck with Green Lipped Mussel pills. She really seems to like them even though they smell awful to me and just chews them up so I don't have to force her to eat them. I also put her on Cartrophen which is an injectable, one a week for a month, then once a month. It seemed to really help. I have never had much luck with any sort of pill making any difference. So far, her hearing and eyesight are pretty good and no other problems yet. Hate seeing them get older.

 

[PurpleTurtle]

I'm not used to seeing the effects of old age in pets because all my other pets had to be put to sleep due to illness before things like arthritis and dementia could set in (two cats had cancer, the third one had some kind of acute liver failure).
@Rain, yep, I'm sure Misty isn't blind yet. Her pupils are a little cloudy, so I think her vision may be a little diminished, but she can follow my finger and she does react when I get too close to her face... but she would always throw a fit when anyone touched her nose, even when she was younger. Sometimes, though, I can put my hand down near her face and she'll nip me thinking I've got a treat for her. But she's not terribly nuts about the way the Glycoflex biscuits smell and sometimes I have to work to get her to eat them, so her senses aren't totally gone, but I think they're fading a bit.

I do always talk to her when I go near her so she knows I'm going to pet her, but she still usually flails around no matter what I say. Even when I show her my hand before I pet her head, she acts like she didn't expect it. As far as the potty accidents, there's no way to know where precisely she might go, so in my case, puppy pads may not work because I'd have the entire kitchen covered and she could still go on the carpet.

I also do not have a Kindle, so I'm not sure if I'll be able to see that book you linked to. I'm not sure if I need a special device to view it or if I can just read it on my computer.