Taking Care Of Your Older Dog

With the right amount of love, care and nutrition, most dogs can live complete and happy lives. Unfortunately, sometimes, for different reasons, an adored pet may not seem to live long enough. After all, each breed has a different life span. While taking care of your older dog who is aging and well into its golden years, you need to make its environment comfortable. As dogs get older, they develop aches, joint pain, generalized weakness and an almost definite increase in medical problems.

Adjust its surroundings to minimize discomfort. Protect it from excessive heat and cold. Older dogs are unable to regulate body temperature like their younger counterparts can.

Try to give your dog regular exercise. Make sure your dog’s health matches its exercise routine. If your dog exhibits signs of heavy panting or opposes exercise, try to change the routine to see what it is more comfortable with.

Adapt his diet and feeding schedule to his needs. As dogs age, they are less active and need fewer calories. Prescription diets are available. Discuss special diets with your veterinarian, or talk to us at Mikana to find out what nutrition is good for your senior dog.

Older dogs can experience hearing loss and declining eyesight. Accommodate for its safety.

Senior dogs also require special dental care. They are more prone to developing gum problems and disease. A complete dental cleaning should be performed by your vet every six months which does require anesthesia. Make sure a complete bloodwork is performed on your dog.

Older dogs need extra bathing and grooming. Dry skin can be a normal part of aging or it can be a sign of an underlying medical condition. They also require more frequent nail trimming.

Take into consideration your dog’s age in human years. If it is 13 in dog years, he may suffer the same aging ailments akin to a 75 year old human.

Continue with bi-annual vet exams. Older dogs need extra care with their aging problems.

Give your older dogs a quality life quality and good memories. Don’t forget quality nutrition, too.