What supplements can be given to old dogs to help with cognitive disorders? I've got an old girl who has a bit of doggy dementia and was hoping I could give her something to help her a bit - she barks at inappropriate hours of the night for example.

Don't know about supplements, although Rescue Remedy works well to calm nerves.

But another suggestion would be to keep a fan or other "white noise" on during the night. We have a dog who barks at caterpillars moving in the night!!! She probably hears deer outside or the horses moving around but, really?? We started leaving a box fan on in the living room at night and that has seemed to help.

It's comforting to have them bark for a reason but the barking at the wind gets annoying!!! Good luck.

I have found that sometimes they get hungry and resort to barking . We try to give the old girl a few bisquits when we got to bed to hold her over til AM

No fix for old timer dementia. Be thankful its only barking. I'm on old timer #3 now with dementia and she barks. The other two most recent old timers screeched at any given time day/night.

Love them old folks.

We keep the old girl (almost 14) in our bedroom at night ~ seems to help some. I also leave out a small bowl of water since I think she gets hot/thirsty. Old dogs are HARD! I think she is more work than my puppy!!! LOL :)

There was a study done that is now up on the National Institutes of Health page
http://www.nih.gov/news/pr/jan2005/nia-18.htm

“The combination of an antioxidant diet and lots of cognitive stimulation—which was almost the equivalent of going to school every day—really did improve brain function in these animals,” says Dr. Head. “We’re excited about these findings because the interventions themselves are relatively simple and might be easily translated into clinical practice for people.”

The diet probably fed to the laboratory Beagles may have been old Science Diet, not the one with veggies and fruits in it, given the date of the study. After this, Hills came out with B/D, which some call behavioral diet and others call brain diet. I think I'd add some vitamin E, egg, and colorful fruits and veggies in small amounts, even as baby food or as a puree, to see if they help over time. I do think that we sometimes forget to stimulate the older dogs, as they stay home and have a routine. A vet told a friend to vary which door the dog went out, the direction in which they took their walk, sometimes go to the pet food store or the bank, etc. instead of just the youngsters going for socialization. It did seem to help, as did giving him a snack before his bedtime outing to keep his stomach from being too acid.

I don't know if this will stop her from barking, but it may help prevent worse changes.

I love the oldies. I do note that they seem to alert, any time of day or night, even after the hearing starts to go, when a storm is approaching. They want to get out, especially in winter, before the storm hits. I have had a couple of wise old dogs get me up before the alarm, just before a storm, on a routine basis. What I at first thought was a nuisance made real sense before an ice storm or strong thunderstorm hit. They were still matriarchs.

Don't forget Anxiety Wrap!

When my old girl became stressed for no apparent reason I tried Anxiety Wrap in the form of a stretchy vest on her. What a difference it made! From pacing and panting she went right to her dog bed and fell asleep.....

I think there is a supplement called Cholodin that is supposed to help with mental function.

I used pure DHA without EPA for an old dog. It improved her thought processes and she was also able to jump on the couch after about a month.
These are all good ideas everyone has.

There is a great neutraceutical now available called Neutricks. It is an enzyme derived from jellyfish of the Puget sound- It really works well in hese cases.
Give it a try- I currently have 2 older labs on it- one for barking and 1 for soiling in the house- both have improved!
Good luck with it!

This is similar to the anxiety wrap. I would give my old girl body hugs. When she was lying down I would gently lay over her, give her a bear hug and apply gently pressure. I would exhale several times and then breathe deeply, soon we were breathing in unison, and then she would fall asleep. A wonderful bonding moment especially when you don’t know how much more time you have together.

one cause for inappropriate barking is hearing loss

There absolutely ARE several treatments for congitive dysfunction:
1. Anapril
2. Novifit by Virbac
3. Senalife by Ceva
Cognitive dysfunction is a real disorder and is uncomfortable and confusing to your dog. Get him some help with one of these neutraceuticals.
Novifit is the best as is has SAMe in a tossilated salt form so it crosses the blood brain barrier and is very effective in treating this cognitive disorder. Virbac says it takes two weeks or more to be effective, my experience has been it can work in a matter of days.
Symptoms of cognitive dysfunction in a geriatric dog:
inappropriate barking, confusion, inappropriate urination or defecation in the house, circling or getting stuck in a corner, restlessness and inability to sleep.
Have a vet check his hearing, vision and tracking ability as well as his cognitive ability to get the correct diagnosis.

Do these treatments actually work and "reverse" the behaviors you describe? Or do they make the dog so sleepy that the behaviors aren't noticed anymore?

No disrespect, I'm curious. Seems sad to mask old age so much that we prolong it unnecessarily?? I, too, have an aging one so my decisions will effect him in the years to come.

Thanks.