First question: is it really cognitive change?
Early dementia signs in a dog — wandering or pacing at night, staring at walls, getting stuck in corners or behind furniture, seeming not to recognise a familiar person for a moment, forgetting a routine she has known for years — are real and worth taking seriously. But the first thing to ask her vet is what else could be producing them, because several treatable problems wear the same disguise.
Pain can make a dog restless at night and reluctant to settle. Fading sight or hearing can make her seem confused, disoriented or unresponsive to people she plainly still knows. Other illnesses affecting the body and brain can produce wandering, changed sleep and altered behaviour. A vet who examines her, hears the full pattern and may suggest tests is not delaying the dementia conversation — that checking is the conversation, because a supplement will do nothing for a dog whose night pacing is actually discomfort.
What to ask about diets
Once other causes have been considered, ask whether a diet formulated to support the ageing brain is appropriate for her specifically. Diets in this area are generally built around ingredients such as antioxidants and particular fatty acids that are thought to support brain health in older dogs, and some dogs do seem brighter and more settled on them — but ask what evidence and experience the vet has with the option they suggest, and what improvement would realistically look like in her case.
What to ask about supplements
The supplement shelf is crowded and uneven, so bring the same scepticism you would bring to any health claim. Ask her vet which, if any, supplements they consider worth trying for a dog at her stage, what each is supposed to do, and how it sits alongside anything she already takes. Products vary widely in quality and content, and natural on a label is not a guarantee of either safety or strength.
Ask how long a fair trial is before deciding whether something is helping — cognitive support, where it helps at all, tends to show itself gradually in sleep patterns, alertness and engagement rather than in a dramatic turnaround — and agree how you will judge it. Agree also what would make you stop: a supplement that upsets her stomach, dulls her appetite or coincides with her becoming more unsettled is not earning its place, however promising the label sounded.
Be wary of anything promising to reverse or cure cognitive decline. Honest help in this area is about support and slowing change, and a vet who says so plainly is giving you the truthful version.
The notes that make the appointment work
Your observations are the vet's best data here. For a few weeks before or after the appointment, note her sleep — when she settles, when she wanders — any episodes of getting stuck or staring, changes in appetite, house training slips in a dog who was clean, and moments of recognition or confusion that struck you. Patterns across weeks are far more useful than a worried summary from memory, and they are also how you will later judge whether a diet or supplement changed anything.
Alongside any product, ask about the non-edible supports that often matter as much: predictable routines, night lights for a dog who wakes disoriented, gentle daytime activity and scent games that keep her brain engaged without exhausting her body.
Bring those written notes, her diet history and everything she currently takes together in KinsLe through Pet Passport, so the vet advising on her cognitive care can see the whole picture in one portable packet rather than piecing it together from memory.