My dearly beloved, 11 yr. old basset hound started acting peculiar just before Xmas. Didn't want to come down the three small stairs to the living room, he started pacing in circles, does not wag his tail it sort of droops down, stopping and looking very confused and starring at nothing. He doesn't want to go for his usual walks. The vet thinks it is canine cognative disfunction and prescribed anipryl. I have not seen much improvement yet. My question has to do with flea preventative products. This is the only thing that is different. We have used Frontline for 8+ yrs. Had no problems until this summer fleas were out of control. My groomer recomended changing to Advantage. I also used Frontline in the spray bottle between treatments to try to control the fleas. Is there any way that the Advantage and the Frontline coulld be causing this? His problem does seem to be neurological. Is this possible or am I grasping at straws?
Thank you for any help or suggestions.
Martha Parker

Hi,

At 11 years old, your Basset is a senior citizen and cognitive dysfunction can certainly happen. However, this is a diagnosis of exclusion. In other words, you want to make sure that there is nothing else going on which could mimic the signs of cognitive dysfunction.

What tests have been performed? At the very least, has bloodwork and xrays been done? Did all these come back normal?

You may want to ask your vet about a referral to a neurological center. They can do further diagnostic testing to make sure there are no other problems.

Anipryl (in my experience) doesn't always work. It seems to help most in those cases where the symptoms are not that severe. It can also take a couple of weeks to see noticeable improvement.

You didn't mention when you switched over to the Advantage. I doubt that this would be causing the signs but I would definitely mention it to your veterinarian. He or she may want to call the company and consult with one of the industry veterinarians.

I really hope your guy does okay!

drphilvegasvet