Hey, everyone, if you’re not a dog or cat person, you can skip today’s column because it’s all about an old couple and their equally old barking dog. On the other hand, if you fall into either of those categories—read on!
Readers of my Critter Chatter column for the Humane Society CG, know that I love dogs.
After Chuck and I married and started our family, we included cats and dogs. Our kids would tell you that Cinder, a Schnauzer-Cocker mix, helped raise them and the entire neighborhood of 30 kids. Those were the days when dogs went off the property to wherever the kids were.
I have lost count, but over the years our menagerie probably numbers 25 household pets plus boarding a few horses and ponies for friends.
The Beagles were our most difficult dogs—they loved to roam our California neighborhood or run a few miles away to a nearby Country Club golf course. They drove me nuts!
The big dogs (Doberman and German Shepherds) were the easiest to care for. Eventually, we added a Dachshund as companions for them and the real fun began.
Along the way, we discovered that cats and dogs do best if there are two of them to keep each other company. It’s also best if you bring all of them inside before it gets dark at night.
Dogs and cats are like kids. No two are alike and there’s always something to learn from them and about them. Our current Dachshunds are a study in differences.
Sammy is pedigreed and brown in color. He is nearly 14 years old and our security dog. No one can get on the property without being announced by him and he really doesn’t like men with hats. Now, in his old age, he’s certainly not going to let you pet him until he gets to know you.
Sweety is a 7 year old, red sweetheart. No pedigree, 13 pounds, cleans both of their dishes every night and is our hospitality dog. She welcomes visitors with a wagging tail and kisses and will gladly sit on your lap. She can, however, hold her own with her bully brother.
This year, things were going well in our dog kingdom until early January. One night I was jolted awake at 1:15 a.m. by Sammy barking and barking and barking. He didn’t stop. Chuck slept on as I stumbled downstairs, opened his crate and he dashed to the back door. He wanted out!
He came back in, after canvassing the entire property and I put him back to bed. More barking and agitation. I finally gave up, sat down on the recliner with him and a blanket while he went to sleep. I was really annoyed and frustrated. This was not normal. What was going on?
My reasoning was this: it’s not unusual for us to have wildlife circle the house at night. We have a variety of critters from raccoons to skunks that call us home. The dogs ignore the deer family even when they trigger the motion lights. But up the hill recently, there’s been a lot of cougar and bear sightings.
I was wrong. The next night it started all over again. Suddenly, agitated barking all night and running around became the norm.
Sweety had to sleep upstairs in our bedroom while Chuck and I took turns getting up, letting him out and trying to analyze the situation. Some nights Chuck would just sleep with him in the recliner until morning!
Nothing worked. Finally, I took Sammy to his veterinarian for a check-up. what could the problem be? Well, in a nutshell, I interpreted his diagnosis and medication as “Doggie Dementia.”
Who knew? The kid’s dog Cinder had dementia but she just stood in a corner until someone rescued her!
So, I went home and Googled dementia symptoms. They included barking without reason, vocalizing more than usual, aggressive behavior (he growls now when I clean his paws), anxiety with unknown people, irregular sleeping patterns and… more!
For some reason, I decided that claustrophobia played a part in his night time barking so we bought him a larger, roomy, new sleeping crate with extra fluffy bedding. That, plus some meds from the doctor and an OTC calming aid did the trick. Well, at least for awhile.
At bedtime, right now, we are turning on a small light and some soft music in another room. It takes a few minutes for Sammy’s pills to work and then some nights he sleeps until nearly 7 a.m. Others he’s up at 3 a.m.!
Our job is to treat him with kindness, patience and lots of love. Keeping him calm and happy during the day is easy to do but not when he becomes anxious, stressed or confused at night.
Bottom line: It turns out that managing Sammy’s dementia is not going to be easy. There is no cure. There are times when he’s going to be stressed without a remedy and we become as confused as he is. It’s frustrating!
It looks like this is an on-going battle that we won’t win. If you have gone down this road and have some suggestions, please let me know.
Contact Betty Kaiser’s Chatterbox at bchatty@bettykaiser.com
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