Older dogs may become confused

The old dog still has love to give and life to live.

As dogs age they can develop behavioural problems. Symptoms include disturbance in sleep patterns (the dog may pace up and down howling), confusion or disorientation (staring into space for hours), a loss of house training (or failure to ask to be let out), a lack of interest in playtime, or no longer seeking affection from their owners.

Suffering dogs can appear to refuse to obey simple commands, or cease to respond to their name. Or they can begin to have panic attacks - howling in the small hours of the morning, alarming their owners. During the day they may show little interest in seeking affection - and even less interest in exercise. They will often seem confused, and away in their own little world. This is recognised as fairly typical behaviour for a dog suffering from a senility related disorder.

While the dog's situation is worrying for its owners it is even worse for the dog. Having very little sleep and almost no interest in its owners or surroundings must be a very strange experience for the dog. And seeing your dog so depressed would leave any owner feeling helpless. Help is now available in the form of medication. A daily dose of one of the latest treatments, Selgian, can put the elderly dog in touch with its family again.

Selegiline hydrochloride is a drug that copies the chemicals which occur naturally in the brain and helps to restore the function that has been lost through ageing. The pet is not sedated or drowsy; the medication is not addictive; and improvement can be seen within weeks.

Changes in behaviour and personality are almost inevitable as the ageing process starts to work on a dog's heart and brain. Sometimes the effects are very mild and the dog just slows down in the same way that people or other animals do with age. In some cases though, the changes will resemble the symptoms of Alzheimer's disease, which can make the dog seem like a stranger in its own home.

Selgian has now been available in New Zealand for some months, though not necessarily under that name. To request more detail from your vet, ask under the generic name - selegiline hydrochloride, as product names can alter between countries.

Anti-tail docking law passed in ACT

The Rottweiler will look strangely different with its tail intact.

"The fact that all MPs supported the measures is highly significant," said New Zealand Veterinary Association (NZVA) animal welfare spokesperson, Virginia Williams. "It has been previously perceived in the political arena that a ban on cosmetic docking is unachievable because of the size of the pro-docking lobby. The Australian vets undertook their campaign to show that this lobby group was tiny and completely out of step with public sentiment.

The ACT Parliament recognised this, hence the unanimous support for the measure. "The belief that a ban can only be achieved at some political cost has been laid to rest. It is likely that other states will follow ACT's example," said Dr Williams.

The measure was contained in an overhaul of animal control legislation that included:

• Compulsory desexing of all cats and dogs unless specifically exempted.
• Heavy penalties for dog owners who fail to clean up after their dogs in public places.
• Compulsory microchipping of cats and dogs before sale.

"Moves in New Zealand to outlaw cosmetic tail docking of dogs were dropped when the New Zealand Parliament passed the current Animal Welfare Act," said Dr Williams. "The NZVA is opposed to the practice and only backed off its lobby to ensure that this legislation was passed in 1999. The Australian move will bring the issue to the fore once more in this country." - From the NZVA information newsletter