You've heard of guide dogs for the blind and the disabled. How about a trusty Golden Retriever or lab to guide your loved one with dementia? That's the premise being tested in Scotland.
Alzheimer's Scotland and Dogs for the Disabled are working together on a "guide dogs for the mind" experiment, which was conceived by design students at the Glasgow School of Art. The first dogs will be assigned to four couples in Scotland this September. In each couple, one of the pair has mild dementia.
"People in the early stages of dementia are still able to live a relatively normal life, and dogs help to maintain routine," Joyce Gray of Alzheimer's Scotland told The Independent.
The dogs are trained to respond to sound triggers. The sounds prompt them to perform care tasks. For example, a dementia guide dog might wake the person with dementia up in the morning, deliver a bite-proof bag of medicine, or deliver notes to fix a meal, while leading the master to the proper cupboard.
Walking a dog provides both exercise and social benefits, too. In one test, developers found that someone with mild dementia who was walking a dog had far more community engagement, with people smiling at and talking to him than when he walked alone.
Pet therapy for Alzheimer's patients is an idea that's been around awhile. Animals have been found to lower anxiety and stress, encourage communication, improve mood, and lower blood pressure, for example. Animals -- even robotic ones, along with furry toys and dolls -- are often used in formal programs for Alzheimer's patients in the later stages. What's different with the dementia guide dogs is that they play an active role in patient care.
What gets trickier: What will happen to the dog-master relationship as Alzheimer's progresses and the person with dementia can no longer read notes, or risks eating the dog food instead of his own. (The test is being conducted with caregiving couples, for now.) But ideally, this innovative idea helps prolong independent living for those who have relatively mild cognitive deficits.
Image by Flickr user mikecpeck, used under a Creative Commons license.
We adopted Snowie from Eatontown SPCA. In the agreement; I cosigned. I now have her but if I could not take her; we agreed to return her to them to be put back up for adoption. The assisted living Mom is in allows pets to visit the memory care unit any time and they have therapy dogs also. The regular assisted living allows them to have a dog, cat, bird, fish if they can take care of them. Snowie was asked to come back any time she wishes. and she will. Anyone who has a well trained pet and a little free time, can ask to visit these places. Hospitals accept accredited therapy dogs. so do nursing homes. Snowie can't see or hear to well so when I bring her inside the wheeled crate; she stays there. a little playpen if you wish to call it that. And when they saw she had pull ups on too; what a hit that was.
Question is what happens to the dog when the owner is no longer able to care for them or passes away? Dogs grieve too.
That's something I'd love. But I'm too crippled by arthritis to tend to a dog's needs. I'd need a live-in dog nanny.
Dogs are truly great therapy. My Mom who never cared for any pets in the house has taken to a pomeranian rescue we gave her who came thru the door and connected with my Mom as though she had been a life-long dog lover. My mother's "difficult" moments are markedly fewer and no where as severe as they were previous to "Zowee" coming into her home. The dog and music have almost eliminated our bouts of frustration.
Great idea. I hope facilities will reach a point of being able to allow new residents with an Alz guide dog to keep the dog, at least for the first month or so, when the resident moves into the facility. I think having their friend with them during that transition would provide much comfort and make the new "home" more welcoming.
I took Mom to get her dog in the beginning and that was her company. She talked to the dog and took care of Snowie up to the point she couldn't any more and now I have her. I took her in the other day in a cart to see Mom who requested to see her. What a hit! all the residents in the memory care center plus in the regular assisted living asked if I'd bring her back to visit more. they feel safer with the dog in the house. they try to remember to do what is needed for them. Snowie fulfilled her PURPOSE and now has a new one to be taken care of for the rest of her life. read a "Dog's Purpose"...
Thank you!!!!!! Been doing this for 2 years with a rescue that lost her owners. A dog will calm and keep older person from wandering as well as add joy to their life. Lower BP and keep the mood light with their antics. It's not just the things you just mentioned.