A dog displaying “extraordinary” behavior caught the attention of its owner, who anxiously sought medical attention. It was not easy to find the answer.

His pet, whom he had been fostering since he was 18 months old, was 8 years old at the time and was diagnosed with senile cognitive dysfunction syndrome in Argentina.

The mascot, Octavio, is a Shar Pei. Today she is 15 years old and is the care center of Estefanía Bruggia, who told Clarín the process of finding her dog’s disease.

Oddly enough, they included Rivotril in their treatment, the drug also known as Clonazepam, which has anticonvulsant properties, according to the Vademecum.

Octavio, the press reports, “joins the nearly 3 million individuals (people) who consume psychotropic drugs on medical prescription, according to data from the Secretariat of the Comprehensive Drug Policy of the Argentine Nation (SEDRONAR).”

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What happened to the puppy Octavio

Octavio, who lives with Estefanía in Barracas, Buenos Aires, couldn’t be alone.

The woman recalls that “he stayed hard, without moving for an unusual amount of time (…) he would get very upset once she left him alone.”

“He needs permanent human contact, he can’t tolerate even half an hour of solitude, but I say he has a cat personality, he stays on the side, he just wants to feel you there,” he noted.

In the words of one vet, the pet “went up crying, wailing and pacing all night.”

Octavio’s condition was senile, old age, it is called senile cognitive dysfunction syndrome, very serious, emphasizes Juan Enrique Romero

treatment for the dog

The specialist says: “We are treating him with a human Parkinson’s disease product that has been approved by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA), a product called Selegiline, for his senile cognitive dysfunction. In addition, we treat the breakdown of serotonin with fluoxetine.”

Anxiety in the Shar Pei has received attention and Romero points out in scientific terms: “For example, fluoxetine is an antidepressant in humans, but an anxiolytic in dogs (…)”.

There are many cases of medicines for human use that are perfectly applicable or have very proven effects in veterinary medicine, he told Clarín.

There are human medicines that cannot be used in veterinary medicine because of their toxic effects, and there are others that can.

To make the rest of the people understand, the vet says: “Mental health considers our patients as sentient, sensitive and suffering beings, and not as things outside of hegemonic medicine. Today there is a better diagnosis because there is better training for vets”.

Octavio came into the life of Estefanía, his owner, when he was 18 months old. Photo: taken from Clarin

The change is noticeable

When Estefanía was asked if Octavio had an improvement with Rivotril treatment, she replied, “It improved”.

“The character is the same, but if I left for five minutes it was a scandal, he would bark, he would be tormented. Today he no longer despairs”.

I didn’t know that senile cognitive dysfunction syndrome existed (…) the previous doctors told me everything

According to the vet, “there are clinical ethologists who specialize in behavior and neurologists in veterinary medicine who specialize in these types of issues.”