Caring for an Older Dog

How to Care For an Older Dog
Detect, treat, (or prevent?) canine “cognitive dysfunction syndrome.”
By Lisa Rodier

Each of us has, at some point, wandered into a room and realized that we’ve forgotten why we’ve gone there. When that happens, chances are we are momentarily perturbed with ourselves, but typically we chalk it up to too much on the brain, remember why we’re there, then move on. Should our dogs wander in the same fashion, it could well be a sign of cognitive dysfunction syndrome

(CDS), a condition quite similar to Alzheimer’s in humans.

What’s wrong with this picture? When your dog suddenly has a difficult time remembering which way to enter a door (or which side of the door opens), he may be experiencing CDS.

CDS happens when the aging process affects brain pathology, resulting in behavioral changes, including cognitive decline (memory and learning). One of the biggest culprits is the damage done to mitochondria caused by oxidative damage over time. Researchers also believe that a decline in cerebral vascular circulation contributes to the changes we see in our aging dogs.

Dietary intervention

A variety of clinical studies have revealed that dietary intervention in the form of an antioxidant-enriched diet improved the learning ability of older dogs, and a resulted in a subsequent decrease in CDS symptoms. Primary supplementation included:

• Vitamin E: Acts to protect cell membranes from oxidative damage

• Vitamin C: Essential in maintaining oxidative protection for the soluble phase of cells as well as preventing Vitamin E from propagating free radical production

• L-Carnitine: Mitochondrial co-factor

• Alpha-lipoic acid: Mitochondrial co-factor

• Other antioxidants from fruits and vegetables (i.e., spinach flakes, tomato pomace, grape pomace, carrot granules, and citrus pulp) that are also rich in flavonoids and carotenoids .
Read the entire article.

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