One of my dogs is 14. He’s a happy, pain-free, dachshund.
He takes a couple of Rx, but after reading some posts here, I’ve been giving him some hemp oil, probiotics, HMR spruce lignans, melatonin and turmeric mixed with a bit of black pepper. I’ve noticed a big difference in his mobility, his alertness, playfulness, etc. He is also sleeping much better at night. His prior irregular night-sleeping was the cause for us to find supplements to improve night-sleep. The 3gms of melatonin has been a miracle. The probiotics have helped “tummy gas” which were a problem mentioned in another thread.
He’s also diabetic, on human insulin, and on a grain-free diet. Grain-free has cut his insulin dosage by about half. The change had to be carefully monitored to prevent over-dosing and blood sugar drop. I usually test his blood 3 times per day.
Our oldest is a 14-year-old Australian Shepherd. She takes Proin for urinary incontinence, Deramaxx for arthritis, an anabolic steroid to bulk up her muscles, and gabapentin for pain. Her back legs are not good at all; she’s has a great deal of difficulty getting up once she’s lying down, especially if she is on the bare wood floor. We’ve also put carpet treads on the stairs so she can get up and down stairs much easier. That’s made a big difference in her confidence on the stairs.
She’s also extremely hard of hearing now, but there’s nothing to be done for that. I do make sure to stop by wherever she’s lying and pet her and rub her belly and her ears, since she doesn’t hear our normal conversation or my sweet-talk to her.
We have two other Aussies – one is 10 years old and one is not quite one – and we’ve stopped taking the old gal with us on our daily 3-mile walks. We found she could barely move the day after one of those long walks, so now she just goes to the park and hangs out. Very little walking.
We gave our old dog baby aspirin for pain the last few years of her life (died at 16.) Then at the very end she was on tramadol but her quality of life was rapidly declining at that point so we choose to put her to sleep after only a week. Had a lot of difficulty even getting up so we knew it was time. She also lost her hearing but responded to hand signals.
We had a labbie that was diabetic and on huge dose of insulin for about 4 years. She eventually went blind, too. She was 14 when she died.
Now I have a six year old Japanese Chin and a three year old King Charles Cav mix. I feed the both a grain free diet but they don’t get or need anything else at this point.
We have a 15 1/2-year-old long-haired dachshund, not on any regular medications. We do add some Glucosamine/Chondroitin and about 125 mg of fish oil to each of her two daily meals. Unsure of the true impact on her wellbeing, but doing this certainly makes us feel better. She has slowed down over the past year but is otherwise having a good life.
The best thing you can do for your older pets (cat or dog) is to get rid of grains and other carbs. They’re just not meant to have them, as they are carnivores. I know it’s expensive and requires some transitioning, but eliminating grains from their diet can really improve their quality of life. And in our elderly diabetic cat’s case, a low carb diet actually keeps his blood sugar within normal limits. He’ll need insulin eventually, but for the past 4 years, the no to low carb diet has done the trick.
Being a carnivore does not mean eating only meat. It means eating WHOLE animals…which includes guts full of GRAINS AND GRASSES, bones, brains, hide, fat. Eating a bowl of mice and bunnies (what a wolf or African cat would naturally eat) is a LOT different than eating the high protein fad diet people are now feeding their pets. Also keep in mind the amount of work that wolf does to catch that bowl full of mice and bunnies. They are very active animals that cover a lot of miles in a day.
Diabetes in pets, like people, is primarily caused by obesity and inactivity. Feeding a high protein low carb diet might help the diabetes…but it’s very hard on the kidneys. Dogs and Cats are not people. They don’t die of heart disease and circulatory problems like we do…they die of end stage kidney disease and cancer if they live into the geriatric years. Both are made worse by obesity. Kidney disease is made worse by excessive protein.
Best thing to do for older pets is to feed them less and keep them active. Exercise is the key to longevity for cats and dogs. I feed my pets lower protein diets as they get older because it buys their kidneys time as their BUN slowly creeps up in the final years. My last husky was 16 when she died. Our last two cats were 17 and 18.
I have six veterinarians in my family who have talked about this topic at Thanksgiving more times than I can count in recent years. The general consensus among them is that most of our pets health problems can be attributed far more to how much we feed…than what we feed. Overfeeding…is killing our pets.
When our pooch (Thumoer) became an elder pooch, we had a bed for him on each floor of our house. We carried him up and down stairs…because it was really hard for him to do stairs himself.
He had arthritis, and our vet prescribed on baby aspirin a day for him.
We gave lots of love and affection and let nature run its course. If we had had to make a choice, which luckily we did not, we would have chosen to avoid stressful treatments, vet stays, etc., opting for quality of life above length of life. Then one very sad day it became clear that quality of life was affected, and that was that. We have happy memories of our wonderful dog, who lived a very full and active life for 14 years, really right up until the last few months, when he seemed to age very quickly.
My vet says walking your dog every day is the best thing for them.
I switched my pups to chicken & sweet potato as the Chin had allergies to the food I was feeding her and vet told me to try a food with none of the same ingredients as the food shed been on. No scratching since changing diet.
We also give our dogs lots of fresh veggies for treats. The second I start taking out the salad stuff they come running.
@MaryGJ A few months ago my vet said that the feeding recommendations (for adult dogs) on the food bags are too high once a dog is spayed. He recommended cutting it back by about 25%. Does that sound right to you?
My older (10, almost 11) Australian shepherd’s comfort and happiness are not being increased today. She’s at the groomer. Once they’re done, I think she’ll feel better, but she was very stressed by the initial attempts to demat her coat. So she’s getting a shave. I feel so guilty!
My old dog was having trouble slipping on our floors, so I purchased a bunch of yoga mats (long, like runners) and connected all the area rugs so he had some traction when he walked around.
Also got him another bed so he had another option for sleeping, since that’s mostly what he did. He would switch locations several times a day.
In the warmer months we take her swimming. She has a bad back and can’t play frisbee which pretty much had been her joy.
@rosered55 Our American Water Spaniel mix has been getting haircuts even though that breed doesn’t usually. Keeps her cooler both in temperature and as in not looking like a walking toupee.
edited@“college_query” Our local home improvement store sells runners by the foot, some with non slip backs. They cost 2-3 dollars per foot.
Our vet points out that dogs with a lot of fur are insulated from the cold in the winter, and from the heat in the summer. He strongly discourages shaving or even greatly trimming those dogs.
I will not go for such a long time between groomings from now on! The shave was necessary because of my dog’s extreme anxiety from the belabored hair untangling and removal of the undercoat.
While my dog is on a grain-free diet, it’s not only protein. The food includes Chix, Beef, eggs, peas, lentils, sweet potatoes, pumpkin, cranberries, spinach, and carrots.
As for the diabetic cat mentioned above…cats seem to have diabetes similar to human Type 2, where losing weight and exercise seem to control it. Diabetic dogs are more like humans with Type 1, they’ve lost their ability to make their own insulin, so even after weight loss, they still have diabetes.
The best things you can do for old dogs are things you start for your young dogs. Exercise and mental stimulation are needed throughout a dog’s life. My dog had interactive feeding toys when she couldn’t get out for exercise during the winter.
My senior was on about ten meds and supplements until her organs started crashing a couple of months ago. Hopefully you have access to a holistic vet that can recommend appropriate supplements for your dog. While CC has great advice on several topics it is probably not the best for dog advice. I do recommend Wholistic Pet Organics Wild Deep Sea Salmon Oil for all dogs. It is a high quality oil that smells more like human grade salmon than some of the others.
Feed high quality foods. If China cannot keep poisons out of their baby formula just imagine what they allow in dog food. Yuk!
If your dog is uncomfortable with arthritis pursue acupuncture or chiropractic care.
Before my dog lost too much of her sight and hearing I started to wear an essential oil on my left (heel side) ankle. Now that those senses have declined she finds it comforting to smell that I am nearby. I like that she is mostly in the right place while I am cooking dinner.
The dog stroller!!! What a wonderful thing for small, elderly, frail dogs. She loves the people who interact with her.
One month left until a sweet sixteen party. It’s all bonus time.