I have 2 senior dogs 1 is 17 and the other is almost 15. My female beside being furniture and sleeping almost 20hrs a day and eating or going to the bathroom, barks constantly while she's awake. Non stop barking for hours sometimes. Shes hypothyroid and covered in growths. Our 17 yrs old is deaf in one ear and still plays, runs and jumps. Its crazy but I'm wondering if dogs can get dementia?

My 14yo beagle has been "fine" for months. At least that's what I told myself.

Last week my partner asked: "When did he start refusing the stairs?" And I just... stared. I knew it happened. I remembered the day. But the date? The week? Whether it was before or after the vet changed his meds? Gone. Completely gone.

I used to think I'd remember because I love him. Like love would somehow make my brain better at dates. It doesn't.

The vet asked the same thing yesterday. "When did this start?" And I said "a while ago?" like that was data. She didn't get mad. She just looked tired and wrote down "unknown onset." That phrase sat in my chest for hours.

For people with senior dogs do you actually trust your memory with the details? Or do you also have that moment where you realize "I should have written this down" and it's already too late?

What's the one detail you wish you'd recorded from day one?

Fair warning, this is a selfish post. :(

My 13yo lab mix has recently started whining/crying nonstop from approximately 6pm until bed. She will stare at me (her chosen human) and whine INCESSANTLY. The rest of the day she is totally fine. She settles into bed fine.

I am losing my mind. Obviously I feel bad for her. I don’t want her to be scared or anxious. I’ve tried everything I can think of. Multiple vet visits where we’ve discussed pain, anxiety, dementia, etc. She’s already on gabapentin twice daily for arthritis (plus Tylenol and monthly injections of Adequan and Librela). We’ve tried Prozac but it makes her too lethargic. We’ve changed food, we’ve kept to a strict schedule to make evening activities predictable. She is stimulated every day with varying age-appropriate activities - swimming, hiking, fetch, etc. More frequent potty breaks. She does not want to be snuggled or pet. If I reach for her she pulls away.

I’m sure she’s Sundowning. I’m really struggling. If is A LOT to have her sit two feet in front of me, staring and crying. I can’t help. I hate that the feeling I’m experiencing is annoyance but it is EXTREME annoyance. I don’t know how I’m going to do this every night for the next 100 years (I’ve decided she’s eternal).

She is my best friend. She is my whole world. I will never do anything like lock her away in a room so u don’t have to hear her or give her away. I want her near me, always. She is the best, most wonderful, goodest girl in the whole world.

But dear god. If anyone has any advice on coping mechanisms (for me or her) please let me know.

My best girl is going to be 14 in January and she has Ben mentally declining for about a year or so now. I can’t take her for walks anymore because she has become reactive (so much so as she tries to chase another dog and broke my pinky on the leash) and she whines constantly when she is awake. During the day she goes and hides off in a dark corner. She is on trazodone daily and has other meds as back up if in need to get her in the car or to an appt, etc. But even then it’s really hard. What I struggle with is that besides that she’s great. She still eats and goes the bathroom as usual. The vet said her muscle mass and blood work were great for her age. Her back hips do give out sometimes, and she is starting to experience incontinence but this is just more recent.
I obviously wish we could live forever 😭 but I also don’t want her to suffer or be living a life that she doesn’t feel herself. Any advice is appreciated as I have been really struggling. I don’t want to do anything too early, but a lot of people have said it is better to do it in a good day than to wait for a bad day or when it’s too late. 😭

I have a 17 year old jack russell terrier that pees and poops in the house often. My boyfriend works from home and is able to take him out frequently, but at night we wake up to a lot of accidents to clean up in the morning.

We’ve recently started using diapers which helped for a period of time, but what’s happening now is that when we put the diaper on him he lifts his tail and is clenching his anus trying to poop and continues to pace, and won’t lay down or go to sleep. If we put the diaper on looser, so he’s not reacting to the diaper, it falls off and leaves accidents on the floor and in the bed. We’re at a loss on what to do. We have a camping trip coming up in our RV and would really like to figure out the diaper dilemma.

We just put down my family dog (Riley) who was with us for 15 years… he was around when I 15 years old now I’m 30, he basically has been here my whole life, he was my whole world, I feel so so lonely. We have lost a member of the family I right now I feel l absolutely heartbroken and empty, a piece of my heart feels like it’s been ripped out, I don’t know how anyone else has dealt with this.

He all sudden took a turn and within 24 hours he was gone, I feel sad and regret we didn’t put him down at home but it would have been cruel to keep him alive any longer… I still feel guilt he even suffered, even a little bit.

He was so so beyond loved, he was the truly the best friend, best son, best brother our family could have asked for. I can’t even imagine anyone replacing him…

I want you to know the love of my life, my baby, forever puppy. I love him so so much, I really am not copping okay. He is was a sassy shihtzu, with so much love and kisses to give. He just wanted to be near you, and love you. Hug your loved ones even harder tonight.

I love you Riley x

He’s 11 and doing fine, but every bag in the aisle now suggests I should have switched him to something age specific a while ago. I don’t want to disturb a stomach that’s finally settled just because of a number on the packaging. What I actually care about is digestion holding up and him keeping weight on. For those with older dogs, did you switch, and did it make any difference either way?

My beautiful pitador of 14 years was 15-18 years old (1-3y when we got her in 2012) when she passed away today. She had oral cancer with an abcess that had grown to cover nearly half her face. Wouldn't respond to abx and she was losing weight, weak, stumbling about...she was suffering so I had to choose to make her comfortable. One of the hardest decisions of my life. I'm so heartbroken... Sitting here in a house that feels so empty without her in it. It's so quiet. I've never loved an animal so fully in my life. I miss her so much!

Posting here too. I’m in need for some advice and/or anyone with experience. I have a 16y/o corgi mix who’s truly my best friend in the world. However in recent months her doggy dementia has gotten so bad and I’m having real caregiver fatigue. Two weeks ago she was diagnosed with stage two kidney disease after we took her to the vet from having some accidents and terrible smelling pee. We got some antibiotics for a uti and Trazadone 50mg for her doggy dementia. Let me just say the first few times we gave her the traz it was like having my dog back at night. No anxiety and wanted to cuddle and sleep. However after a few days she started acting super drunk and couldn’t stand up on her own. Even vomitted one night. I gave her half the prescribed dose and got the same result. I called the vet and they said to just discontinue the traz. We doubled her gabapentine to hopefully help with her sleeping and that had no effect. Now after all of this and the antibiotics for her uti it’s somehow all worse. She’s having accidents in the house. Can’t make it through the night without having to pee. All in the matter of a couple of weeks. I’m not sure what to do. She eats and drinks water no problem. She seems like a happy dog (as long as it’s before 5:30 when the dementia kicks in then she just paces and whines) I feel so selfish being tired over her dementia and peeing. Does anyone have any similar experiences?

and my heart still hurts. I think about Peppa every single day and the sound of her pitter patter as she would run up to greet me.
Peppa LOVED to cuddle and be under the blankets. She was my favorite soul and I was hers.
I see a lot of posts on people going through similar pains and my heart goes out to each and every one of you.
May our babies rest well and see them in the next life. I know Peppa waits for me and I her.

A post I have dreaded making for so long. My sweet Lucy left us this afternoon at home on her own. She had just had corneal surgery yesterday for a deep corneal ulcer and she seemed okay yesterday, but this morning she was in a lot of pain. I gave her the prescribed gabapentin as directed and it seemed to stop her vocalizing, but her breathing this afternoon just got slower and slower and I could tell that she was leaving me. Fortunately I was right by her side when she took her last breath.

Lucy had lost weight recently and may have had some underlying unknown condition, plus she was one month shy of her 16th birthday. She seemed to start declining back in May, but of course I tried to rationalize what I saw, thinking maybe she had too many CBD treats or it was allergies to chicken and beef, but it could have just been that old age had caught up with her. It still doesn’t feel real. I am now without a dog for the first time since September 4, 2001, as we adopted Raven on September 5, 2001.

For now, I’m just posting one of my favorite pictures of her from last March, 3/21/26 to be exact. Of course she has dirt on her nose because she loved digging under the deck. I have so many other pictures and videos of her, but I’m just still in shock right now.

Fly high, my sweet Lucy Stephanie (Stephanie was her shelter name), you were certainly a unique beautiful sweet dog and I’m going to miss you like crazy. I’m grateful that you almost made it to 16.

Lucy Stephanie 10/1/2010 - 9/1/2026