Canine Dementia
1848 Words8 Pages
Many of the population today believe animals of the canine genus, dogs, to be “man’s best friend.” This philosophy appears to be especially pertinent when dealing with the comparison between Alzheimer’s disease and other forms of dementia in the two species. The amount, progression and deterioration of the brain of the two are strikingly similar. Canine Dementia is a rising concern for elderly dogs, as the damage appears to localize on the areas of the brain that affect spatial determination. For example, a dog may stand for hours staring at the hinges of a door, knowing it to be open, but unable to remember where the door opens; another scenario is if one’s dog got out of the yard and wandered for hours, unable to remember where their own home is. Other symptoms include disorientation, active incontinence and trying to pass through narrow spaces. This is important to treat because a wandering dog could be killed, or pick up disease and transfer it to others. These dogs, while lost, may become scared of their unfamiliar surroundings and attack an innocent person out of fear, or become provoked by people who wish to “mess around” with a seemingly defenseless stray dog, which in turn could lead to their euthanasia. The point of this study is to administer and evaluate the effects of human medication of Canine Dementia in hopes to provide a plausible treatment method and will utilize elderly dogs over the age of 8years old and previously diagnosed with some form of canine dementia disorder.
The Pugliese study (2007) took this parallel between the brains of humans and dogs to study the degenerative effects of Alzheimer’s. Dogs afflicted with a countertype of senile dementia of the Alzheimer’s type were used as a promising model of h...
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... the medication could be taken away, if argued that the memory maze trials could be the source of mental stimulation, encouraging the slow of degeneration and not the medication.
Works Cited
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Pugliese, M, Gangitano, C, Ceccariglia, S, Carrasco, J.L., Del Fa, A & Rodriguez, M.J.
(2007). Canine cognitive dysfunction and the cerebellum: Acetylcholinesterase
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