Could Your Pet Be Senile?
Our pets are living longer and longer. Excellent nutrition and veterinary care are mostly
responsible for this great happening. So what do we have to look forward to with our
pets getting on in years? In addition to arthritis, heart disease, kidney disease and others,
veterinarians are seeing more and more dogs and cats affected by senility, or more
clearly, changes in brain function due to age.
The signs of senility vary so much that it can be very difficult to diagnose. Today, it has
become a diagnosis of exclusion. That is, if your dog’s problems cannot be blamed on
any of the common age related diseases of dogs and cats, senility is considered. It is
usually evidenced by behavior changes such as loss of house training, cessation or
increase of barking or vocalizing, wandering, and forgetting tricks. Since one of the
major reasons that older pets are euthanized is behavior changes, this has become a very
important, all but difficult, topic and syndrome for veterinarians and pet owners alike.
The good news is that Quincy Bioscience, a leading producer of senility medications for
people, has gained license for the use of one of their medications, Neutricks, for dogs.
The studies are promising, with all studies thus far showing better results than an older
and most often ineffective medication called Anipryl. I stopped prescribing Anipryl
years ago due to lack of results.
Most signs of senility in pets result in a major inconvenience to the household. No one
wants to face the horrible decision to put their best friend to sleep because of
inconvenience. Now, Neutricks gives us all hope. If you suspect senility, make an
appointment with your veterinarian. He will need to run a full series of blood and urine
tests to rule out the more common diseases. If the conclusion of these tests is that all
normal, ask your veterinarian if the symptoms are consistent with senility and the
possibility of medication. Good luck.