The Golden Years
Whether you call them their Golden years, a senior dog or just an old dog, you just have to love those faces that have gone grey with time! They also have special needs and need special care. While this is going to be a general over-view here, please check back often for updates for keeping your older puppies as young and as healthy as they can be!
- A dog is usually considered to be a senior or a veteran when they are around 7 years of age (in human years, of course!)
- If you aren't already, this is a good time to start feeding them twice a day instead of once. 2 smaller meals will be easier to digest than 1 larger one.
- Do NOT give any more vaccines to your dog unless you have done a titer that has determined that the dogs immunity for that vaccine is no longer available in the body. IF you continue to give vaccines without doing titers, you will in fact, inadvertently be bombing out the immune system and will open up the dog to things like cancer and auto-immune diseases. Titers should be done every 3 years.
- Any time you are at your vets office, have them palpate the spleen and see if it feels normal and is not enlarged. Hermangiosarcoma typically starts in the spleen and this aggressive cancer, which is unknown in humans, doesn't normally show up in blood work and there is no time to treat or cure if the spleen bursts. If your vet feels the spleen is enlarged or abnormal, remove it as soon as you can. They do not need the spleen to live and by removing it, you can prolong their life for years. We have personal experience of one of our own dogs getting the enlarged, diseased spleen removed at 7 years of age and she went on to live until she nearly 16 years of age.
- Detox is essential every 6 months. Some good ways of detoxing is to add food grade Diatomaceous Earth to their food every day. Another is Grapefruit Seed Extract, not to be confused with the more common Grape Seed Extract. We will add more ways to detox your dog, keep checking back here.
- Arthritis can plague any older dog, make sure he or she is getting a high quality glucosamine chondroitin supplement. Here is what we use and found to be excellent from Natures Farmacy. Glucosamine chondroitin products prices and quality can vary greatly, so this is not something you want to pick up at your local super center.Keeping them moving exercising will help keep the arthritis at bay as well.
- Keep your old guy physically and mentally active. The longer you can keep those muscles moving and active, the more strength they will have as the years move on and naturally slow down. They don't need 5 mile runs when they are 12 years old but they do need some easy walking and yard play time. If it's been a while since your dog has exercised, take it slowly and build up their stamina gradually. There are a lot of toys on the market now as well that help them keep their minds busy and active as well.
- Do not put any monthly "spot on" products on them, avoid any household or yard pesticides and reduce their exposure to chemicals as much as you can. They also need a daily dose of Vitamin C in order to ward of free radicals and stress, and will keep their vital organs, gums and teeth healthy.
- If they have some build up on their teeth, DO NOT have them sedated at the vet for a cleaning. Sedation for the older pet should only be on an absolutely needed basis, never anything elective. To really get those pearly whites sparkling again, give them knuckle bones or soup bones. Most grocery stores sell them in the freezer section. If you have trouble finding them, just ask the butcher where they keep the soup bones. You can also spray collodial silver on their teeth and gums to keep them white and help ease bacteria build up.
This is just an over view of what you can do TODAY to help your dog live out it's golden years to the fullest possible. We will be adding to this site frequently, so check back often.