a dog with dementia

Question
Our dog is 14 and we suspect he has dementia. He also has a very bad tooth that he needs pulled out, but we are worried about putting him under aneasthetic if he has dementia - I've heard there can be bad side-effects from this?

best wishes
Lucy

Answer
Since you didn't mention what his signs are that make you think this, I can't say for sure if he is at risk. All 14 yr old dogs would be at risk for an anesthetic, mental capacity has nothing to do with it.

If you get some pre-op blood work done to see how his liver, kidneys and blood count is, he may do just fine. His 'dementia' might just go away also- what you are seeing could be the signs of a dog in pain from this rotten tooth. Don't forget they have very deep roots and the nerves in there get really inflamed. So pain will cause anyone to act odd.

Get him in for blood work and talk to your vet about the anesthetic and your concerns.