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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
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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
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your fun pet at angelscribe@msn.com