Dementia days...

aonb

One of my dogs is v. elderly, and food obsessed. There are days when he is showing signs of dementia. On these days he is totally obsessive about food. He will follow me around all day, and sit whining at the cupboard where food is stored. This can get very sad and depressing.

His diet consists of cooked chicken and rice, and cooked minced meat and potato/veg. He has gastric issues.

On bad (dementia) days, even immediatly after eating his dinner, he will start begging for food.

What Im asking for here (please realize that this is not ideal I know, but the dog THINKS he's hungry and I love him) is what biscuit/kibble dog food is the best nutritionally that I can give him during the day. He is off wheat, so any advise you can give me viz the best nutritionally. I find that on these sad days, even 1 or 2 pieces of kibble will keep him happy for a bit.

Please no negative comments, or advise on how to retrain him. On his "dementia days" there is nothing but vacant eyes and clingy dog....

Nody

I'm not a dog expert but what about something like a frozen kong, carrot slices or similar that would keep him occupied while not providing a meal?

As for cookies, there's always Applaws which are grain free and very high meat content.

aonb

Nody wrote: »

I'm not a dog expert but what about something like a frozen kong, carrot slices or similar that would keep him occupied while not providing a meal?

As for cookies, there's always Applaws which are grain free and very high meat content.

Thank you.
He wouldnt spit on a carrot slice (even when well) What would you put in a frozen kong? There is no supplier of Applaws anywhere near me, but I will look at ordering them online.

kylith

I fill my kongs with everything from moistened dog food to sausages, or even just some chicken stock, before freezing. You have to bung up the hole at the bottom if you're using stock, or anything liquid.

Nody

aonb wrote: »

Thank you.
He wouldnt spit on a carrot slice (even when well) What would you put in a frozen kong? There is no supplier of Applaws anywhere near me, but I will look at ordering them online.

Applaws is rarely sold in store but you also have Orijen/Acana and Taste of the Wild which are all similar but all four tend to be hit and miss in pet stores (usually more miss then hit). If you buy online I always keep hammering on about Zooplus but that's because I keep on ordering from them as I find them the cheapest and consistent in delivery (but that's my experience; someone else might have other shop(s) to recommend instead).

TooManyDogs

I have a Kong wobbler pyramid for my elderly food-obsesed dementia girl and it's great. It' keeps her occupied for ages. Only thing is she's very noisy chasing it around the place. What about getting a small bag of sensitive food for it? I know Arden Grange do one, also the likes of Barking Heads or Taste of the Wild, they normally have potato in it instead of wheat.

What about getting some chicken/beef/liver etc, cut it into small pieces and slowly dry it out in the oven? On a low temp over a long time should dry it out and you could fill a kong with that

snoman

I have a food obsessed oldie also. And at present she's on limited exercise as she's lame. I prepare her food and then put as much of its as poss in a kong using a combination of yoghurt and grated carrot to moisten. Mine's on kibble tho and I could imagine that rice would be a bit messy. However cos she work's so hard to get it she's tired out by the time she's eaten it. Also sometimes I scatter her food in the garden so she has to work a bit for it - mind you she'd prob be out all day if she was eating rice!!

Best also to freeze it so that it becomes an enormous ice lolly. Tuna's good for this. Not sure how it would work with your oldie?!

aonb

Thank you for some good ideas. Will buy a kong and try immediately. Will also check out the foods you mentioned - since its just for him, and a treat, I'll see what I can buy in a small bag in the local pet shops. I tried scattering food in the garden for him, but the hens had a feeding frenzy Will get a bit more imaginative.
Its nice to know there are other food-obsessed-dementia-oldies out there. God love them My oldie just ate an enormous dinner, and is sitting here staring at me since Oh well, a little trot and some scattered bits of food and he'll be fine again in the morning, thankfully dementia-days are 1 off for the present. Cant bear the thought of when he slips into that state permanently - its heartbreaking...

TooManyDogs

Yeah it's really sad when you see them get old and remember what they were in their prime I had to take my oldie to the vet for blood tests after she raided my grocery bags two weeks running. Not too strange I'm sure you're saying, except when I tell you that the first week she ate half a kilo of carrots and a quarter bag of flour, and the next week she took a slice pan and was literally 3/4 the way through it with no sign of stopping in the time it took me to get the next lot of bags in from the car :eek: Blood tests were perfectly normal so the vet concluded dementia, which also ties in with other behaviours we're seeing.