Can dogs get Dementia

It could be impaired cognitive function. 

Our old girl, Chyna, takes a supplement called Cholodin.  It is an amino acid supplement that helps her cognitive function.  Before using it, she was getting lost in the house.  She was obviously confused, & would start barking so that someone would come find her.  Now, she can navigate the house on her own again.  It might be worth a shot.

It's really strange though, it's like he fades into another world, he does not get lost in the house, outside or anything.  His hearing is great and his eyes are too.  These spells only last a few seconds, but they seem like hours.......... 

You might also want to talk to your vet about checking thyroid levels and/or looking at a possible seizure disorder. You can get the best of the best thyroid testing by sending a sample to Hemopet (Dr. Dodds). Dr. Dodds is an expert and she helps a lot of use who have dogs with IMHA (an autoimmune disorder). Here's the web site: http://www.hemopet.org/index.html There's a page about sending lab samples, the form, etc. She does breed-specfic results interpretation, which is super helpful. 

ETA: I would definitely look at the seizure possibility, too. Your descriptions of what's happening were really clear and it made think of seizures right away. (My springer had seizures, but not the type you describe. She had a type that resembled what we used to call grand mal seizures in people--her whole body was involved and she'd shake/tremor while in the seizure. They occured only for a few years and not too often; I did not medicate her because they were so infrequent.)

Yes, dogs CAN get dementia **BUT** I ditto everything Kate said.  I've had both -- a dog who suffered from some dementia as she aged -- but typically the dementia doesn't take the form of aggression. It's possible but not really likely. 

However -- seizures can SURELY take that form.  In honesty -- rather than specifically trying a regular vet (who will only put the dog on something like phenobarb or potassium bromide -- both of which can have serious emotional effects on their own) please consider trying TCVM (traditional Chinese veterinary medicine) -- acupuncture and the Chinese herbals can be incredibly successful and can help bring a dog back from episodes like this. 

http://www.tcvm.com -- that's the link for the Chi Institute - a qualifying agency for TCVM/acupuncture.  Dr. Xie who is the head of the Institute is on staff at the University of Florida at Gainesville (and several other faculty from the vet school are also faculty on the Chi Imstitute).  This isn't weird stuff -- this really DOES help..

When we first got Kee she would have mini seizures all the time where she would go off in lal la land.  She was fearful and had a really hard time.  Once we began treating her episodes as seizures wow -- a whole different situation!!  She would look at you and "connect" rather than being zoned off.  

If you want to email me I'd be glad to help you look for someone close to you - -there is a locator on the left side of their front page.  I can describe what to expect and I can also give you an idea of cost -- ultimately because there is no expensive testing it's not expensive and it's not hard on their health either as drugs can sometimes be.

If you want

FrisbyPI

You might also want to talk to your vet about checking thyroid levels and/or looking at a possible seizure disorder. You can get the best of the best thyroid testing by sending a sample to Hemopet (Dr. Dodds). Dr. Dodds is an expert and she helps a lot of use who have dogs with IMHA (an autoimmune disorder). Here's the web site: http://www.hemopet.org/index.html There's a page about sending lab samples, the form, etc. She does breed-specfic results interpretation, which is super helpful. 

ETA: I would definitely look at the seizure possibility, too. Your descriptions of what's happening were really clear and it made think of seizures right away. (My springer had seizures, but not the type you describe. She had a type that resembled what we used to call grand mal seizures in people--her whole body was involved and she'd shake/tremor while in the seizure. They occured only for a few years and not too often; I did not medicate her because they were so infrequent.)

Absolutely my recommendation as well.  You really need a vet's help to sort this out.  Dogs get cognitive dysfunction, but your description does not point in that direction, since that is usually marked by a gradual decline, and this seem so episodic.  Epilepsy runs in this breed as it does in some others.  One thing you could try on your own, too, is changing the dog's diet.  Here's an article with some reasons why it might be helpful: http://www.wolfweb.com.au/acd/idiopathicepilepsy.html

 Dr. Dodson says so here

 http://www.npr.org/player/v2/mediaPlayer.html?action=1&t=1&islist=false&id=131516152&m=131538483

There is someone in my research group that has just finished a PhD looking at cognitive dysfunction in dogs. She has helped put together a website on it, that includes a simple test to help identify dogs that may be at risk of cognitive dysfunction. 

The test is here: http://www.maturedogs.com/index.php?option=com_bfquiz&view=onepage&catid=47&Itemid=62