The older dog
Posted: 27 Nov 2007, 00:22
I was reading Glenys’s post the other day about “The Oldies.” It’s so sad, but our dogs become old so soon. We collect a young puppy of 8 weeks old and in just 10 years they are beginning to get old. All this is brought home in very sharp relief now when I look at my Anna who will be 10 next May. She has given me years of love, and now I want to do my best for her. But what can I do?
It was strangely enough, a question I was asked yesterday. In Anna’s case, as most of you know, is a working Labrador, and to simply stop taking her to the shoot would be so hard on her, but I can limit what she does. She is now semi retired. I still take her with me when I go to feed the birds and I’ll take her on a friend’s little rough shoot where she has not too much to do. But for busy days, it’s now up to Amy to cover
Joints start to get stiff. Arthritis starts to get hold. Exercise is needed to keep the joints moving but exercise is painful. But again, there is help available in the form of supplements. The most usual being Glucosamine, Chondroitin and Green Lipped Mussel Extract. There is no shortage of different supplements on the market, some specifically for cats and dogs, others for humans and it can certainly pay to find which works best in your dog’s particular situation. Some dogs have muscular problems, others bone and others a combination of both. One I have found particularly good for Anna is “Flexivet”. At £6.99 for 60 tablets, one per day, it’s certainly not expensive. Chatting to a friend, she is using the human Glucosamine, Chondroitin and MSM by Natures Aid and swears by it! On the occasion when she could not get the Natures Aid she tried the Holland and Barrett, but that never worked for her. All this goes to show how you need to experiment to find what works for you. I know of other people having great success using the Holland and Barrett.
As time goes by so exercise starts to be a struggle. I’ve always tried to go with quality rather than quantity. A trip to the woods in the car, followed by a gentle ten minute stroll off lead through the trees is far better than half an hour of lead walking. Go no further than your dog can manage without having to pay for it the next day. Going out for a walk is really only to put a little “Zing” into their life. He can get quite enough exercise during the occasional stroll around the garden and maybe on cold or wet days he might be happier quietly laying in front of the heater. Vet sometimes give 6 monthly injections of Cartrophen which can help relieve painful joints. Although I’m not a lover of drugs like Rimadyl and Metacam, but with an old dog I figure that if it can give a few more months of pain free living then it’s worth the risk that it might bring the end nearer. We have nothing to loose and everything to gain.
Remember food requirements tail off slightly as a dog gets old and starts to slow, so be prepared to reduce the feed slightly. I also like to keep the weight down to the lower end of the spectrum. After all, the more weight a dog is carrying the more strain it’s putting on the joints. But be careful. Sometimes in an older dog the internal organs are not working quite as efficiently as when he was younger, so he may not be getting the full value from the food, so going against what I said earlier, you may need to increase slightly.
Old dogs can often develop strange ways. Several of mine have sat outside looking at the sky, and one or two even barking at the sky! I’ve even had mild incontinence. It’s not the dog being naughty, in the case of my Lucy I’m convinced she never knew she was doing it. Watch for excessive drinking. It could be just a normal old age thing, but it could be a sign of age related diabetes. Strong smelling urine could be a sign of this and if you suspect it a vet can soon confirm it from a sample of urine. Often there is no one sign of problems. It’s more a number of small things which take a time for you to actually realise that something is wrong.
I’m not going to talk about the end here. We all have our own ideas on where preserving like becomes more for our benefit than for our dogs. This is something we most of us have to decide one day, and when it comes, you will know. Our dogs give us so much love and it’s down to us not to let them down at the end.
Regards, John
It was strangely enough, a question I was asked yesterday. In Anna’s case, as most of you know, is a working Labrador, and to simply stop taking her to the shoot would be so hard on her, but I can limit what she does. She is now semi retired. I still take her with me when I go to feed the birds and I’ll take her on a friend’s little rough shoot where she has not too much to do. But for busy days, it’s now up to Amy to cover
Joints start to get stiff. Arthritis starts to get hold. Exercise is needed to keep the joints moving but exercise is painful. But again, there is help available in the form of supplements. The most usual being Glucosamine, Chondroitin and Green Lipped Mussel Extract. There is no shortage of different supplements on the market, some specifically for cats and dogs, others for humans and it can certainly pay to find which works best in your dog’s particular situation. Some dogs have muscular problems, others bone and others a combination of both. One I have found particularly good for Anna is “Flexivet”. At £6.99 for 60 tablets, one per day, it’s certainly not expensive. Chatting to a friend, she is using the human Glucosamine, Chondroitin and MSM by Natures Aid and swears by it! On the occasion when she could not get the Natures Aid she tried the Holland and Barrett, but that never worked for her. All this goes to show how you need to experiment to find what works for you. I know of other people having great success using the Holland and Barrett.
As time goes by so exercise starts to be a struggle. I’ve always tried to go with quality rather than quantity. A trip to the woods in the car, followed by a gentle ten minute stroll off lead through the trees is far better than half an hour of lead walking. Go no further than your dog can manage without having to pay for it the next day. Going out for a walk is really only to put a little “Zing” into their life. He can get quite enough exercise during the occasional stroll around the garden and maybe on cold or wet days he might be happier quietly laying in front of the heater. Vet sometimes give 6 monthly injections of Cartrophen which can help relieve painful joints. Although I’m not a lover of drugs like Rimadyl and Metacam, but with an old dog I figure that if it can give a few more months of pain free living then it’s worth the risk that it might bring the end nearer. We have nothing to loose and everything to gain.
Remember food requirements tail off slightly as a dog gets old and starts to slow, so be prepared to reduce the feed slightly. I also like to keep the weight down to the lower end of the spectrum. After all, the more weight a dog is carrying the more strain it’s putting on the joints. But be careful. Sometimes in an older dog the internal organs are not working quite as efficiently as when he was younger, so he may not be getting the full value from the food, so going against what I said earlier, you may need to increase slightly.
Old dogs can often develop strange ways. Several of mine have sat outside looking at the sky, and one or two even barking at the sky! I’ve even had mild incontinence. It’s not the dog being naughty, in the case of my Lucy I’m convinced she never knew she was doing it. Watch for excessive drinking. It could be just a normal old age thing, but it could be a sign of age related diabetes. Strong smelling urine could be a sign of this and if you suspect it a vet can soon confirm it from a sample of urine. Often there is no one sign of problems. It’s more a number of small things which take a time for you to actually realise that something is wrong.
I’m not going to talk about the end here. We all have our own ideas on where preserving like becomes more for our benefit than for our dogs. This is something we most of us have to decide one day, and when it comes, you will know. Our dogs give us so much love and it’s down to us not to let them down at the end.
Regards, John