My girl Wolfgang - who is my best friend, mentor, business partner, divine inspiration and all round little Angel - is about to turn 11. And whereas that’s by no means ‘old’ for her size, breed mix, etc she has got a fair amount of niggles and physically impacting changes as a result from earlier cruciate ligament raptures.
So, as she is the inspiration behind everything I do, I thought we’d share some tips on what to look out for as our dogs age and what you can do for them to ensure they continue to live their best life possible.
How to care for your Senior Dog
Firstly, caring for your older dog can be an emotional ride. It can be overwhelming and stressful at times. It’s best to be prepared and organised so you are ready for when the time comes.
Know and observe your dog to ensure you know what’s normal for them, and what’s not. Changes in behaviour both at home and when outside can be an indicator of potential health issues. And I’m not talking about the big and obvious changes such as a dog going from being a Duracell Bunny personality to stiff and slow. I want you to catch the early signs. Remember, dogs are experts at hiding signs of disease, injury and pain so it’s extra important that we, as their guardians, recognise any small changes early on.
What to look out for and How you can help your senior dog
1. Educate yourself about common issues in aging dogs including osteoarthritis, cognitive decline/ cognitive dysfunction, tooth pathology, hypothyroidism, heart problems, kidney disease, gastrointestinal issues, diabetes and cancer.
2. Ask yourself: Is your dog slightly slowing down when out walking and perhaps sniffing more? Is he or she less willing to engage with, or perhaps a little reactive towards, other dogs or people? At home; is your dog not sleeping on the sofa anymore when this used to be her favourite snoozing spot? Can you spot a lack of interest in engaging with you via play or training together, are there changes in your dog’s appetite?
3. Look out for physical changes changes such as changes in posture and gait. Changes in your dog’s coat/ fur patterns can be indicative of an underlying source of tension or dysfunction, either with the muscle and other soft tissues or the joint, or all of the above.
4. First order of the day should be to speak to your vet to determine the underlying cause of your dog’s behaviour and/ or physical changes. Ensure you have a good rapport with your vet; choose someone who’s willing to listen to your observations and go the extra mile if you feel there is something wrong with your dog. Remember you know your dog best!
5. Take a holistic approach to help your dog; from adapting the environment your dog lives in to medications and other care options to your dog’s diet and how you feed them.
In addition to medication your vet may prescribe, explore additional options such as massage, hydrotherapy, osteopathy, acupuncture and more (all to be discussed with and referred by your vet).
Look at your dog’s nutritional needs and potential supplements you can add to their diet (natural anti-inflammatories, etc). Think about how you are feeding your dog; raising the food bowl or feeding from an all together different station may be more suitable for him or her as they get older. Some dogs can find the sound their dry food makes in a hard bowl stressful (noise sensitivity is very common in aging dogs). I feed Wolfgang exclusively from a lickimat now.
Consider your dog’s environment at home: adding more carpet or rugs to make the floor less slippery will ensure there are more surfaces to grip when moving around the home. Slippery floors can be difficult to manoeuvre for a dog with osteoarthritis, for example.
Providing stairs or a ramp to get up and off the sofa and/ or bed or, for larger breeds, providing a sturdy mattress to land on and lessen the impact when jumping off (which could also work when jumping in and out of the car, if you have a dog you cannot physically lift yourself).
A change of bedding may also be useful; consider beds such that support the joints, reduce pressure points, etc.
6. Look at your training expectations and understand what your dog is going through; for example a simple ‘sit’ can become uncomfortable or even painful for an older dog. And let’s face it, us humans LOVE a ‘sit’ - for pretty much everything and anything. Does your dog HAVE TO sit when you ask them to ‘wait’ or ‘stay’? Can you modify these behaviours and cues to suit your dog’s aging needs?
And while we are on the topic of training: ideally you teach any foundation behaviours early. But if you haven’t, don’t worry, old dogs can learn new tricks :)
With that I mean behaviours and cues that will help you and your best friend with things from daily husbandry procedures such as grooming and brushing teeth to husbandry procedures needed regularly at the vet’s for older dogs, such as blood draw, etc.
I recommend adding body language signals with every cue (word) you teach your dog so in case they loose their hearing, you can still communicate with them. And if loss of sight comes into it as well, you can train on light body contact signals (i.e. a gently tap on the shoulder) that tell your dog what you’d like them to do.
7. Provide adequate physical and mental exercise; walking them for shorter durations but more often may be what suits your dog better when they get old. Providing plenty of enrichment / mental exercise via food dispensing toys, positive reinforcement training and gentle play, should be part of every dog’s day to day and can also make up for lack of physical exercise.
8. Most importantly, be compassionate, patient and understanding. Your dog may not respond as quickly to cues as she’d one before. He’s not ignoring you, he just needs a little more time, maybe he didn’t hear you, maybe whatever you’ve asked him to do is a little painful now, maybe he’s just tired.
And here are some more specific examples of what I do with and for Wolfgang now:
I’ve taught her an elevation cue when she was a puppy (‘ready, up’). She always has a choice, meaning if she’s not ready or willing, I won’t pick her up. Now, I can use this cue to offer a ride when she gets tired on a longer walk. I say the cue while I half-way reach for her and if she stands still, she wants a ride. And if she moves away (from my reach), she says ‘no thank you, not needed’.
99% of the time she can choose which route we take when out walking. This means she can choose the quickest route home in case she gets tired.
I give her a lift down the stairs in our house (she insists on going up the stairs by herself); she sits at the top of the stairs and does a little gentle woof for me to come get her. I go up, sit next to her, say ‘ready up’ and she steps onto my lap for me to lift her. I actually never taught her this, it somewhat happened with me lifting her when we are both upstairs together and going down. She’s very good at letting me know what she needs. One of the things I cherish most about her.
I observe her all day every day (well, when I’m with her) to ensure I notice any changes in how she moves and interacts with me and other people. Any changes I’ve observed so far have been noted and discussed with my (amazing) vet and she’s on a couple of medications now to help with osteoarthritis and other pain sources. The meds have made a huge impact; she’s almost like a puppy again. Zooming, exploring, happily engaging with other people and dogs.
This is by no means an exhaustive list of how to care for our geriatric dogs but I hope it does provide you with some ideas and inspiration.
As always, get in touch if you need help.
Alex & Wolfgang
Xxx