senior dogs Archives - Smart Dog University

These old dogs.

It’s a roller coaster ride daily, this loving and living with old dogs.

My life is getting a little closer to normal…for now. I feel like I have to add that qualifier because the whole thing could collapse at any moment.

We had a rough month right after Tango’s unplanned splenectomy and subsequent cancer diagnosis.

We made a couple unscheduled veterinary visits and one emergency vet visit that netted Tango a night in said emergency hospital. For the last 10 days or so, though, things have hit a blissful patch of boring normalcy.

Tango even got to get his joint injections yesterday.

Those were scheduled for a month ago, but then his spleen had to grow a gigantic mass and mess up all our plans. Damned spleen, so inconsiderate.

In the meantime, I’ve had my hands full with our other old dog, Lily, the one with significant cognitive deficiencies.

I haven’t written about her much because, well, Tango’s spleen wanted the spotlight.

The advances in veterinary medicine are truly great.

Dogs are living longer than ever before. Lily had cancer at age 13. We removed it and returned to our regularly scheduled lives. Even ten years ago, I don’t think it would’ve ended that well for Lily. The downside to old dogs living longer is that, well, our dogs are now experiencing different difficulties.
Lily’s dementia is getting worse. She forgets to lie down. She doesn’t know where she is sometimes. She’s losing the ability to know when she has to go to the bathroom. She walks in circles. She sleeps so long I check to make sure she’s breathing.

Lily’s still engaged in her world frequently, however.

When Schooner barrels outside, she’s following right behind to see what’s caught his attention. She eats her meals with gusto, still likes her daily Kongs, likes to be with us, and is mostly a bright-eyed girl.

She’s lost most of her hearing and her vision is definitely compromised.

I have to gently tap her on the back to get her attention. Thank goodness we taught hand signals as well as words when we trained her years ago. Those hand signals are all we have left now.

Lily’s interaction preferences have changed significantly.

When we want to pet her (which isn’t often, as she finds touch more aversive as she ages), it’s best if we go for Lily’s chin as opposed to over her head. Otherwise, her faulty vision must make it look like we’re coming at her hard and fast as she blinks her eyes and dodges her head as if to avoid being struck.

She is still engaged with us most of the time, though, and seems to enjoy being one of the three dogs in the house — wherever they are, you’re sure to find Lily with them, hanging out, sniffing, doing perimeter patrol around the fence every day.

When Tango was away for many hours and for his overnight veterinary emergency, I was intrigued to see Lily — who doesn’t really seem to care very deeply about Schooner or Nemo (when he was alive) — greet Tango warmly by sniffing his face and wagging her tail earnestly when he arrived back home.

I look for little signs like that, signs that let me know some of the original Lily personality is alive and well.

She didn’t even greet me that warmly when I got back from my 10-day business trip in December! Tango was away for a day and she checked him out from head to toe, as if to ask “Where have you been? And now that you’re back, are you ok?”

Both Tango and Lily are experiencing the more severe “old age” maladies — cancer for Tango, dementia for Lily. It’s a lot of work for us, yes. Ministering to the very different needs of two old dogs is expensive in money, patience, and time. But having these old dogs around really is priceless.

There will be difficult decisions in our future, we know that.

But right now, for this very instant, living with these two old dogs is pretty darn special.

Do you love and live with old dogs? What are your experiences? Tricks and tips?

Aging dogs

We have a house of aging dogs. At 14, 12 ½, and 10 years old – and a 3 year old, the whippersnapper – our house is beginning to revolve around the oldsters. Having an older dog changes the way you budget, live, and well, love.

Dogs are living longer

Dogs are living longer now, thanks to advances in veterinary medicine, accessible veterinary care, and dog health insurance. Like people, as dogs age, they typically need more care. Young dogs are healthy for the most part and need to be seen by a veterinarian usually only for their yearly veterinary exam; generally they’re not suffering from anything other than excess energy and boundless enthusiasm (that you sometimes wish your veterinarian could prescribe a pill for!). Until their senior years, dogs don’t need the veterinarian until they start to develop age-related issues such as lumps and bumps, arthritis, back and neck pain, cancer, heart disease, liver and kidney disease, diabetes, weakness, and yes, even senility and dementia. Two of our older dogs are also starting to show some losses in both hearing and vision.

Because of those health changes, we, the caretaker, need to make some changes to help our dogs remain comfortable and happy for as long as possible. Some of the changes we’ve been making in our household over the past couple of years include budgeting more money for veterinary care. Two of our three seniors are on daily medication now (and will be for the rest of their life). That’s extra money out of our wallet each month, even though the costs of most of the medications are fairly low (so far). In addition to medications, we’re finding that we’re making trips to the veterinarian more frequently now, too. Thanks to advances in the field, we now have available to us tools such as supplements, acupuncture, laser treatment, and massage. These treatments can often improve your dog’s quality of life, range of motion, and activity level. These treatments, of course, come at an additional cost.

Comfort

Another area we’ve noticed that we’ve made significant changes in is our dog’s comfort. When they were younger, they were happiest lying on the floor. They’d bypass a bed to flop out, frogleg style, on the hardwood floor. It’s not a matter of want any longer, now they need a bed. And not just any bed – the cushier the better for their old, sore bones. We’ve been replacing the thinner “crate pad” style beds with the more comfortable orthopedic style beds. There are still a few thinner beds lying around here and there, but more often than not, you’ll find our seniors snuggled down into a 8” thick bed snoozing happily away.

In addition to getting thicker beds, we’ve also gotten some ramps and stairs so the dogs can get into the car without pain or injury. Our dogs are too big to lift into and out of the car or the furniture, and because it’s difficult for them to jump into/onto and out of/off our cars and furniture, we’re always on the lookout for things that will help them get around more easily.

Thankfully we live in a one-story rancher so the dogs don’t have to navigate steps every day. For dogs with arthritis, vision problems, or back/neck issues, stairs can be nearly impossible as they age. If you have a multi-level house and an aging dog, consider building them a comfy, safe spot to sleep on the main floor (and help them gradually acclimate to it).

Exercise

Exercise needs can change as your dog gets older, as well. There was a time when it took five full days of vacation (swimming 9a – 6p) before our dogs would take a break to catch a nap. Now, they’re sleeping more than they’re swimming. Instead of taking them on every hike and jaunt, we consider the activity level and plan to take (or leave) them accordingly. Most dogs don’t get enough exercise, whether they’re young dogs or seniors. Exercise is vital to your aging dog – check with your veterinarian to find out just how much and what kind of exercise is right for your dog. One of our seniors can handle about ½ mile walk, while another can go for 3.5 miles and still be ready for more. Adjust the exercise you give your pet to suit their particular needs – and health.

Cognitive and behavior changes

Dogs are living longer now and we’re starting to see dogs with dementia. Our most senior dog, Lily, is beginning to show signs of cognitive dysfunction. Cognitive dysfunction can look like disobedience: pooping or peeing inside, not listening, unwillingness to sit or lie down, and stubbornness. Your older dog probably isn’t being stubborn or spiteful, she’s aging plain and simple. Lily will occasionally poop without being aware that she’s going to the bathroom. She’s not being bad or spiteful, she’s getting old. We don’t even blink now when it happens: we clean it up and move on without a word.

Resources

There are some great resources for caretakers of aging dogs. Two that I love are The Gift of a Gray Muzzle by Kathy Sdao and Lori Stevens (available at ClickerTraining.com) and Remember Me?: Loving and Caring for a Dog with Canine Cognitive Dysfunction by Eileen Anderson.

What changes are you noticing with your senior dog? Leave a comment and let us know (and if you’ve got any tips or hints to help improve our seniors’ lives).

Menu

senior dogs

<img decoding="async" class="alignright wp-image-4843 size-medium" src="https://smartdoguniversity.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/design-5-300x300.png" alt="old dogs, Labrador, black Labrador, Lily, senior dog, canine cognitive dysfunction" width="300" height="300">These old dogs.