Assistance Dogs for Dementia or Alzheimer's Disease

[SeaBreeze]

Thanks to a group of students at the Glasgow School of Art, two families in Scotland now have the help of dogs trained to assist Alzheimer’s and dementia patients and their caregivers.

The students conceived the idea of “dementia dogs,” then partnered with Alzheimer’s and service dog organizations to train two dogs, Oscar the Golden Retriever and Kaspa the Lab, to help people in the early stages of dementia.

The dogs received 18 months of training and learned to do things like respond to alarms, retrieve medicine containers, nudge their owners for various reasons, and even encourage them to get out of bed in the morning.

Both families who received the dogs can’t say enough about the positive difference Oscar and Kaspa have made in their daily lives.

The first two dementia dogs were such a success that two more are now in training, and the organizations involved believe the dogs could be a significant new way of helping people with early-stage dementia.

Full story here...http://healthypets.mercola.com/sites...ntia-dogs.aspx

 

[That Guy]

Most excellent. Dog is, after all, God spelled backwards.

 

[Diwundrin]

Fantastic! That will take a load from the carer having to be always at attention. Dogs are nature's great gift aren't they?

I've got one here who does it from pure instinct. I get that nudging thing when she wants something. If I'm late with dinner, or the water's getting low, or she's run out of bikkies I get nudged until I get up and do something about it.

She checks the house out before we fold up for the night and lets me know if there's a door I've forgotten to lock. No idea how she figured that one out, smarter than me I guess. She's woken me a few times with the nudging. Don't know if I was having a nightmare, sleep apnea, or maybe just snoring and keeping her awake, but it doesn't happen often so there must have been something wrong.
As soon as I'm awake she goes back to sleep and leaves me to figure out what it was all about.

I wonder who's taking care of who sometimes.

 

[Katybug]

This is the most touching story, having a mom who suffered from Alzheimers. The home she was in brought in dogs for an hour a day on M-F, enough that each patient could spend 15 minutes with one. It brings tears to my eyes remembering how happy these dear people were with a dog in their lap. Those that seemed to be unable/refused to have zero communication with anyone else at all would talk to the dogs. Such simple and beneficial therapy.

 

[That Guy]

Animals are so magical. I recall watching a documentary on animals visiting hospitals and there was one boy who was almost comatose and responded to nothing and no one . . . until they put a siamese cat in is lap and he smiled with delight.

 

[TICA]

I don't think I could exist without my pets. There were times that if I didn't have the animals to talk to, I wouldn't have uttered a word to anyone. One of my dogs is so sensitive to how I'm feeling. It's been a rough summer and he will come and climb up on my lap and just snuggle. Did I say he weights about 70 lbs. lol Funny thing is that he only attempts that when I'm down. And.... it does cheer me up!

 

[Katybug]

I get teary eyed thinking about when mom was in the Alz units and they way all the patients responded on the days they brought the dogs in. What a heartwarming feeling to see and still gives me goosebumps to think about.