Night Owls

during the last year or so my sleeping hours have shifted to usually going to sleep early i.e. 8 to 9pm and waking up early i.e. 3 or 4am. reason being, some of u may mock it maybe, is that i'm looking after my 18.5 year old dog who has advanced dementia and arthritis. he is up most of the night now and gets lost in the home, i have to keep an eye on him and check his whereabouts regularly as he gets stuck etc and with his arthritis he often cannot get back up if he sits down.

i have thought about euthanasia but he still eats (not much but still does) and drinks and recognizes family members (barks with excitement), so i'm not doing it yet. he mostly does his number 2's in the house now, still does his wee's outside thankfully as long as i let him out throughout the day and night. during the hours i sleep other family members look after him. those who look after people with dementia i admire you as looking after a dog with it is quite consuming.
 
tyke_ said:
during the last year or so my sleeping hours have shifted to usually going to sleep early i.e. 8 to 9pm and waking up early i.e. 3 or 4am. reason being, some of u may mock it maybe, is that i'm looking after my 18.5 year old dog who has advanced dementia and arthritis. he is up most of the night now and gets lost in the home, i have to keep an eye on him and check his whereabouts regularly as he gets stuck etc and with his arthritis he often cannot get back up if he sits down.

i have thought about euthanasia but he still eats (not much but still does) and drinks and recognizes family members (barks with excitement), so i'm not doing it yet. he mostly does his number 2's in the house now, still does his wee's outside thankfully as long as i let him out throughout the day and night. during the hours i sleep other family members look after him. those who look after people with dementia i admire you as looking after a dog with it is quite consuming.
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My dog had dementia towards the end of his life, and had a small appetite too. He would eat some food until full, walk off, then glance back and see a bowl of food and eat again until he was sick. Of course smaller portions sorted that issue.

In the end his blood pressure collapsed, but he still didn't die.He was such a tough little fellow and just lay in my lap looking at me while I waited for him to go, but he hung on.

After a couple of hours I took him to the vets and they gave him the injection to put him to sleep.

Hang in there mate you're being a good dog owner and making his days as comfortable as possible.
 
Night owls and kids don't mix! Nor does doing 50-60hr works weeks...

Besides I'm up for the gym and BJJ 5x a week so need to be up and ready by 630am. Although that said I do some sessions at 8pm after the kids are in bed.

The thought of being up much past 10pm gives me cold sweats! :cry:
 
Love this time of year drunks and other oddballs screaming or wailing in the street at 3 a.m. make sure the windows are shut and the lights off or they'll either be buzzing the door entry or banging on the windows. Never a problem when its cold wet and windy but this time of year its part of the season.
 
I do a 3am wake up most mornings and i can usually nod back off again unless my thoughts are in overdrive but the cbd seems to help that, i weirdly enjoy sleeping, have some awesome dreams and its like living in some alternate universe
 
tyke_ said:
during the last year or so my sleeping hours have shifted to usually going to sleep early i.e. 8 to 9pm and waking up early i.e. 3 or 4am. reason being, some of u may mock it maybe, is that i'm looking after my 18.5 year old dog who has advanced dementia and arthritis. he is up most of the night now and gets lost in the home, i have to keep an eye on him and check his whereabouts regularly as he gets stuck etc and with his arthritis he often cannot get back up if he sits down.

i have thought about euthanasia but he still eats (not much but still does) and drinks and recognizes family members (barks with excitement), so i'm not doing it yet. he mostly does his number 2's in the house now, still does his wee's outside thankfully as long as i let him out throughout the day and night. during the hours i sleep other family members look after him. those who look after people with dementia i admire you as looking after a dog with it is quite consuming.
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Any one mocks you for that
Needs a shall we call it good talking to
In the interest of politeness

He's still a family member dog or not
Having to decide at what point
Euthanasia is the best thing for a pet
Is a terrible decision to be put through
And having some experience of adults with dementia
Yeah it's even harder than dementia in a pet

My thoughts are with you
And need anyone to talk to during the night
There's usually some insomnia sufferer in here
You can chat to
 
Blackjack Davy said:
Love this time of year drunks and other oddballs screaming or wailing in the street at 3 a.m. make sure the windows are shut and the lights off or they'll either be buzzing the door entry or banging on the windows. Never a problem when its cold wet and windy but this time of year its part of the season.
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The joys of living in the countryside, the only noise you hear is the occasional car... Or farm animals early in the morning.
 
Freefaller said:
The joys of living in the countryside, the only noise you hear is the occasional car... Or farm animals early in the morning.
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Wish that was the case here :( heavy goods vehicles use the road through my village as a shortcut, thumping through all day and most of the night. Fortunately we are a bit back from the road.
 
Mcnumpty2323 said:
Any one mocks you for that
Needs a shall we call it good talking to
In the interest of politeness

He's still a family member dog or not
Having to decide at what point
Euthanasia is the best thing for a pet
Is a terrible decision to be put through
And having some experience of adults with dementia
Yeah it's even harder than dementia in a pet

My thoughts are with you
And need anyone to talk to during the night
There's usually some insomnia sufferer in here
You can chat to
Click to expand...

Hey thanks. This forum has been a help if only to take my mind off things. Yeh i can imagine it's harder to deal with dementia in a human than a pet, you have my admiration. My dog has not been as restless tonight so i've slept better than usual. Thanks again for your kind words.
 
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