I asked this question on the Alzheimer’s group and had a mixed reaction so thought I would try on here but explain more about our position. Husband has dementia aged 79 I am his wife of 46 years and his full time carer aged 65. I no longer work so am at home 24/7. We are both physically fit. I have no outside help at all and to be honest no family help either. We are on our own.
I have fought hard to keep him active and stimulated but am now finding the stimulation almost impossible. He can no longer, read, do puzzles, write or even watch tv as he struggles to follow storylines. I came up with the idea of getting a puppy as he always cheers up when he sees dogs out walking and keeps asking for us to get one. We have had dogs before, when our children were young.
Rescue dogs are out of the question as we care for our little grandson two days a week.
I am well aware of the extra work that would be created, cleaning, walking etc but to be honest it’s not that I don’t have the time. I have considered the trip hazard so would not go for a very small dog and plan on cage training the pup. Do you think that my husband would get the stimulation he needs from a dog? I just want to keep him at home for as long as possible and if this could help in any way I am up for the task even though I know it won’t be easy. The daytime would be fine but nights may be a nightmare with sundowning.
I wonder if I too would benefit from this pup as the loneliness at time is unbearable as I’m sure you all are aware.
I guess my question is - has anyone already done this???
I have fought hard to keep him active and stimulated but am now finding the stimulation almost impossible. He can no longer, read, do puzzles, write or even watch tv as he struggles to follow storylines. I came up with the idea of getting a puppy as he always cheers up when he sees dogs out walking and keeps asking for us to get one. We have had dogs before, when our children were young.
Rescue dogs are out of the question as we care for our little grandson two days a week.
I am well aware of the extra work that would be created, cleaning, walking etc but to be honest it’s not that I don’t have the time. I have considered the trip hazard so would not go for a very small dog and plan on cage training the pup. Do you think that my husband would get the stimulation he needs from a dog? I just want to keep him at home for as long as possible and if this could help in any way I am up for the task even though I know it won’t be easy. The daytime would be fine but nights may be a nightmare with sundowning.
I wonder if I too would benefit from this pup as the loneliness at time is unbearable as I’m sure you all are aware.
I guess my question is - has anyone already done this???