Kasey is turning 7 in a couple months. I was looking on a website the other day and it had a 'dog age calculator". You put in how old your dog is and click the breed, and it tells you how old your dog is in human years. Apparently if I wanted my dog to live to be an older age, I should have gotten a poodle...

It said Kasey is 54, and that he is considered a senior. This got me thinking since I haven't had a dog that's lived past 7 (my first two had to be put down because of health issues). Do you have to treat them any different yet? He is laying around more especially in the morning hours - spends most of it sleeping. But we do fast walking for exercise every day, and he will play ball whenever you will play with him (although he does quit sooner than he used to). He doesn't seem to have any arthritis - no problems getting up or running.

So do you just watch for signs and they tell you when they can't keep up? and what about eating - can they continue to eat RMB's (which are mostly all chicken backs) their whole lives, as long as they have the teeth to do so?

I guess I just want to be a little prepared for what is to come. It's really sad to think that he may only have a few years left already - seems like we just got him!!

First I'd have a vet do a full blood panel every 6months to a year. If he's slowing down suddenly that's also cause for a vet visit. Lots of dogs slow down when they get up there in years but a vet can help you figure out if you can adjust his lifestyle to help him live more fully.

The only dog I've had that lived to an old age was my childhood pet. She died from heartworm infestation at 9 years old. Back then my parents didn't know any better and I was too young. Despite her illness she had a lot of pep left and I don't remember her slowing down much at all.

I have a 13+ ... almost-11 .... and an 8.

After lots of senior dogs, I guess my major rules of thumb are "slim and exercised, dental maintenance, and a good diet plus fish oil (and the E that oil supplements need to be given with them)."

These are aside from any individual issues.


Even little old Oliver, whose crammed and crooked teeth were perfectly designed to trap food particles and aid in the development of gum disease, and who has had about ten extracted over the years, has no trouble with his chicken backs. He eats more slowly than the dogs who don't have a flat face, but he always did.

Seniors' beds are protected from the floor of my slab-foundation house, and they have access to the LB heating mat shown here: http://leerburg.com/742.htm

They do spend a lot of the morning sleeping.

Even the oldest has plenty of walking. But he is often dropped back off at home before the biggest walk continues.

"First I'd have a vet do a full blood panel every 6months to a year. "



I do this too because Oliver is on an NSAID, so I'd be doing this anyway (for his liver and kidney re-checks against the baseline values taken before the NSAID started).

I probably wouldnt have blood workups any more often than I would have in a young dog.
Perhaps I am cynical, but I think this could lead to unnecessary tests and procedures.
I'd keep the dog sort of thin. I'd have any bump or lump taken off sooner rather than later. I'd keep the teeth in shape, watch for huge tartar buildup or chipped teeth. Maintain regular exercise. Use some sense about impulsive activity, like the family decides to go hiking at 10,000 ft and we are taking the dog: he needs to be gotten into shape before stuff like that.
The heated mat in winter is a great idea.
Watch out for irritabilty with young children, don't let them bother him while he's eating or sleeping. Some of us loose patience as we age.

"Some of us lose patience as we age."


True fact.

Dogs, too.

That heated mat (and a tiny flexible dog mat in Oliver's bed .... NOT a people heating mat) are big pluses IME.



He puts whatever body part he wants to on this (which I have in a loose thin pillowcase on his bed):

http://www.amazon.com/Pet-Warmer-Watts-Small-Inches/dp/B001AZSR68/ref=cm_cr_pr_sims_t

I have the tiny one so he has plenty of room to be completely off of it when he wants to.




This one http://leerburg.com/742.htm comes with a thin fleece elastic-corner cover.


Other good LB stuff: http://leerburg.com/dogbeds.htm

http://leerburg.com/763.htm

I still felt like a young dog at 54. At a few months shy of 68......not so much.
My two are outside 24/7. At 9yrs old Thunder will be getting a Hound Heater for his dog house this coming fall even though the dog houses are inside my wood working shop. The shop and dog houses both have insulated walls and the dog houses are full of straw.
Trooper has a coat like a show Collie with the mind of a JRT. He still may sleep in the snow when the urge hits him.

Kasey has to have blood tests every 6 months because of his allergy meds, so I don't have a choice on that. And she says his blood work is perfect. But Betty, I get the issue you are talking about! I think it applies to people too! Too much testing going on these days...

He didn't just start sleeping more in the morning, it has just been a gradual thing for the last year or so - even when he was young, he was never what you'd consider a high energy dog.

Glad to hear that the chicken backs will be fine for a long time! His vet is always telling me how great his teeth look! He's never had them cleaned by the vet because I keep them clean myself. He's all about the Oral-B electric!

He sleeps on carpet most of the time, and in the summer gets hot and moves to the kitchen floor. He has so much fur I don't think he ever gets cold here - it never goes below 64 in the house in So CA!

These are all great things to know. Thank you all so much!

P.S. Bob, good to know you still felt like a young dog at 54! I just turned that age a couple weeks ago and still feel pretty young myself!

"Old" is dependent on the dog. This is Missy on her 12th birthday

http://smg.photobucket.com/user/MLJ/media/100_4966.jpg.html?sort=3&o=38

She didn't act old until a few months later when she had advanced cancer.

Kipp is currently 8. He acts about the same as he did when I got him at almost 2.

So be proactive about keeping him healthy, but then try to just enjoy him where he's at now. A healthy dog of that size has the potential of staying fairly active and happy a few years into their double digits