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Cottage Grove Sentinel Community B1 THURSDAY | FEBRUARY 25 , 2021 Betty Kaiser: Chatterbox Pet Tips ‘n’ Tales Doggie Dementia means sleepless nights Betty Kaiser H ey, everyone, if you’re not a dog or cat per- son, 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 mar- ried and started our fam- ily, we included cats and dogs. Our kids would tell you that Cinder, a Schnau- zer-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 menag- erie probably numbers 25 household pets plus board- ing a few horses and ponies for friends. The Beagles were our most difficult dogs; they loved to roam our Califor- nia 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 dis- covered 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 Sammy at play in 2007 them. Our current Dachs- hunds are a study in differ- ences. Sammy is pedigreed and brown in color. He is nearly 14 years old and our secu- rity 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 ped- igree, 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 Janu- ary. One night I was jolted awake at 1:15 a.m. by Sam- my barking and barking and barking. He didn’t stop. Chuck slept on as I stum- bled downstairs, opened his crate and he dashed to the back door. He wanted out! He came back in, after canvassing the entire prop- erty and I put him back to bed. More barking and agi- tation. 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 rac- coons 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, ag- itated barking all night and running around became the norm. Sweety had to sleep up- stairs in our bedroom while Chuck and I took turns get- ting up, letting him out and trying to analyze the situa- tion. Some nights, Chuck would just sleep with him in the recliner until morn- ing. Nothing worked. Finally, I took Sammy to his veteri- narian for a check-up, won- dering what the problem could be? Well, in a nutshell, I in- terpreted his diagnosis and medication as “Doggie De- mentia.” Who knew? The kids’ dog Cinder had dementia but she just stood in a corner until someone rescued her. So, I went home and Googled canine dementia symptoms. They included barking without reason, vocalizing more than usu- al, aggressive behavior (he growls now when I clean his paws), anxiety with unknown people, irregu- lar sleeping patterns and… more. For some reason, I de- cided 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. But other nights, 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 frus- trating but we understand 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. FYI: For more on this subject, out these links: • www.allaboutdogs.net/ dementia-in-dogs/ • www.thesprucepets. com/senior-demen- tia-in-dogs-3385016 • www.greymuz- zle.org/grey-matters/ health-and-well-be- ing-wellness-common- health-issues/7-tips-car- ing-dog-canine-dementia Contact Betty Kaiser’s Chatterbox at 942-1317 or email bchatty@bettykaiser. com LORANE COUNTRY NEWS Contributed by Lil Thompson for The Sentinel Support local news and business! 52 Weeks for $29 When You Subscribe Today at cgsentinel.com/subscribe Th is off er is not transferable and the off er is available those who have not subscribed in the last 31 days. Special introductory off ers are limited to no more than two special subscriptions in a twelve month period and must be paid in advance to qualify for special rate. Once the above discounted period ends, you will be billed at the regular subscription rates. Off er ends 2.25.21. S entinel C ottage G rove A Community Newspaper Subscribe or Advertise at www.cgsentinel.com 541-942-3325 • Lorane Grange meets next on Thursday, March 4, at 7 p.m. with masks and distancing Discussions for any fu- ture events will be on the agenda. • Please continue to watch your speeds on our country roads, especially with this rainy weather. Keep speeds down on Stoney Point, too. Way too many vehicles passing in unsafe areas and high speeds. • Things are going very well with Applegate El- ementary students. Our district is working very hard to keep all our stu- dents on tract with their education. For more information, call the district office at 541-935-2100. • Lorane Christian Church will continue both inside and outside service to meet every- one’s needs. Masks and distancing are a part of keeping everyone safe. By Mary Ellen “Angel Scribe” Pet Zen Wayne and Kate’s pets have led them down the road to Insom- nia-town. Their poodle, Koko , ‘begs’ to differ. W ayne and Kate’s three pets don’t have a worry in the world, even during a pandemic. Their fur children feel loved, are well fed and relax into near-coma states because they feel secure. Why can’t humans attain pet Zen? To keep things copacetic, the couple each adopted their dream dog. They wanted non-shedding dogs thus they have Koko, an oversized Royal Standard. When he arrived he was small enough to fit into Wayne’s hand — but now takes up one third of their bed. Their Afghan, Daizy, (which sounds like lazy), can be found most days and nights hogging the couple’s bed — with or without her human parents present. Yes, the dream dogs don’t shed, but their 18-year-old kitty, Sasha, makes up for it by tenfold. Caution on entering this pet zone: Sasha, their Sia- mese-speed bump suns himself on the stairs and Koko hinders the back door maintaining his ever-present lookout for squirrels. “Our animals are great buddies who respect each oth- er’s space. They get along beautifully which makes for a calm home,” said Wayne. “Sasha and Daizy cuddle on the dog bed, neither takes over or bumps the other out. As you can imagine, the cat has thought about it.” Wayne says Sasha tosses a condescending look at Dai- zy, but the Golden House Rule of peace purr-vails. A peak into their living room is like a Hallmark scene with the two- and four-legged family bunched up on the couch like a pack of intertwined puppies contentedly watching nightly TV. This is where Sasha deems it nec- essary to lick Wayne’s head until his hair is soaking wet and the skin is raw. Koko, at seven years of age, still thinks he is a lap dog. Yes, he is well behaved and trained but he weighs 85 pounds! Their eight-year-old Daizy stretches crossways over their bed at night with her head on Wayne’s. Sasha is more subtle as he sneaks alongside his parents when they are sleeping, and is always touching them. The fam- ily had to paw-chase a king-size bed, but there is still no room. Some nights, so as not to disturb his sleeping family, Wayne carefully climbs out of bed and goes to another room to sleep on his own. He is afraid that the heat generated by all that animal fur might cause him to self-combust or mysteriously dis- integrate! Daizy has a bad habit of waking and lovingly demand- ing head bumps from her parents at 3 a.m. As her re- ward, she will accept ear rubs. “I pretend I am asleep but she is insistent,” said Wayne. “Last night, she almost gave up and as she lay back down, she heavily threw herself at my back. It was a not so subtle, ‘Hey. Are you awake?’ move on her part. I rolled over laughing and rubbed her ears. Then Daizy peacefully goes back to sleep while Kate and I — who are wide awake — try and remember how to fall asleep like we did before we had dogs.” Then two hours later, Daizy reawakens and begins her ritualistic nightly zooming around their bedroom like a crazy demon. To make up for her late-night exercise she goes back to bed to sleep in, of course. Sasha keeps in Wayne’s good graces by volunteering as office help. The cat insists on sitting and purring on “staff ’s” shoulder as Wayne immerses himself in com- puter research. “Just like Sasha does, Daizy also thinks we must smell like each other. So after each shower she rubs me, scent- ing me, announcing to the world that I am hers. My wife is not too jealous, yet,” said Wayne. Last week, Wayne took a rare afternoon nap and woke up as a dog sandwich wedged in by two large dogs. “I love pets, but sometimes I think they are plotting against us in a pet takeover because they share our lives, our house, our food, our bed and sometimes they want it all for themselves!” TIP: • “Outside of a dog, a book is man’s best friend. Inside of a dog, it’s too dark to read.” — Groucho Marx Visit Pet Tips and Tales on Facebook or write us about your fun pet at angelscribe@msn.com
