What to expect as a dog gets older-Update RIP Daisy

[FLCyndi]

**Daisy passed away this morning after a vets visit last week with xrays she had an inoperable tumor. She has been on steroids for about a week and had perked up-yesterday the bottom fell out. Tough morning for us all.


Our boston terrier is 13 years old, just had her yearly check up a couple of months ago. Got her shots and really no issues-she is losing her eye sight but navigates pretty well. Lately she is slowing down, lays around more and we have to take her out to bathroom breaks later in the evening as she has had a couple accidents at night. Has lost a couple pounds as her eating comes and goes, but she always eats her treats and chew bones.

She has always been so full of energy, it is hard to see her slowing down. What else can I expect? Are boston terriers more prone to something as they age?

 

[Albort]

i have a 16 year old Pomeranian.

he is like your dog, he walks really slow and he eats pretty messy. I would suggest brushing his teeth more often because we didnt really do that with my dog and the dentist ended up pulling a majority of his teeth out. We havent been able to give him dry dog food and have to cook ppl food because he basically has to shallow everything. He sleeps a lot more now, usually awake 10% of the time instead of the 40% before...

Other than that, enjoy your moments together!

 

[BlueStarryHat]

I had my Terrier/Anybody's Guess mix for 17 years. In his last two years he slowed down quite a lot and slept almost all of the time. His last year he was diagnosed with canine dementia, getting confused as to when it was okay to go to the bathroom and barking at things only he could see, but was otherwise pretty healthy up until his last three months when he went into severe decline.

As others have said, enjoy your time with your older dog. They will teach you a lot about love and patience.

 

[kathie859]

Our boston terrier is 13 years old, just had her yearly check up a couple of months ago. Got her shots and really no issues-she is losing her eye sight but navigates pretty well. Lately she is slowing down, lays around more and we have to take her out to bathroom breaks later in the evening as she has had a couple accidents at night. Has lost a couple pounds as her eating comes and goes, but she always eats her treats and chew bones.

She has always been so full of energy, it is hard to see her slowing down. What else can I expect? Are boston terriers more prone to something as they age?

Our Boston, Lil, is approaching 14 and is blind and hard of hearing. Sometimes she has problems getting out of her bed and food doesn't interest her like it used to. As long as she can navigate going outdoors and isn't in obvious pain, we'll just keep catering to her needs. It's very sad to see her decline and when she gets uncomfortable or unable to go outside, we'll make the hard decision to let her go. I want to cry just thinking about it----she's a wonderful companion.

 

[horseshowmom]

I've had several dogs and horses that moved into senior citizen status (currently have a 14 year old cat with a brain tumor). What other's have said was pretty standard in our case too. I just let them enjoy what they could and made things as easy for them as possible.

Supplements can be helpful for their joints and mobility. Also, some foods work better than others for maintaining weight.

We actually had a squirrel who lived to be 10. She was bottle fed as a baby (someone cut down a tree, found the baby, and called DD) and lived into nursing home status (as my husband described it! LOL). I had to shred her fruits and vegetables and make sure she had her squirrel block to keep her healthy.

 

[WendyZ]

As others have said, enjoy your time with your older dog. They will teach you a lot about love and patience.

This is so true! I lost my 16 yr old Shih Tzu a little over a year ago. He slept most of the time and couldn't hear very well. We learned to flick the lights and he would come running, this worked well for outside at night. He had accidents, but that's part of the deal. Lots of special meals were hand made, include eggs at 5 in the morning because that what he wanted.He taught me everything about love and patience...I didn't even realize it at the time.

Treasure your pet and enjoy your time....it truly is priceless!

 

[minkydog]

My Minky passed 2 years ago, at age 11. He was a big dog and big dogs don't usually live as long as little dogs. He had seizures and arthritis, which developed around age 7-8. As long as he took his meds he was fine, just as frisky as a younger dog. He didn't really start showing his age until the last 2 yrs of his life. Then he began to get creaky, didn't want to chase a ball as much, laid around a lot. But he ate well and looked good for an old gentleman. The last 9 months of his life were the worst. His arthritis got markedly worse and he began having injuries. One day he was chasing a ball and ran into our wood playhouse. He had deep bruising and a sprained hip--took weeks to recover. A few weeks later he fell out of the truck and sprained both knees and the other hip! So he was a hot mess. Still, he ate well and was very alert. He spent a lot of time laying around on the stone patio--it must have made his painful hips feel better. The last 5 months he could not go up stairs or get into the car on his own and we had to lift his back end. He was frail but relatively healthy right up to his last week. He health did a nose-dive and 6 days later he was in so much pain we knew we had to put him down. It was very sad, but it was the right thing to do.

 

[StitchesGr8Fan]

Don't be surprised to see moments of confusion. Dogs get forgetful like people do. It can be heartbreaking, but they snap out of it fairly quick, at least at first. You will know if it gets to the point where you dog doesn't recognize you anymore.

Also, be prepared for accidents. An older dog can misjudge when it has to go.

But you may still have a few years left. Enjoy them and don't worry about what is to come. They aren't afraid to get older and you shouldn't be afraid for them either.

 

[I loveStitchnippyjon]

I just lost my little jack Russell two weeks ago. She would have been 17 next week.
About 1 year ago she started slowing down....started sleeping a lot more, didn't want to chase the ball, and started having "accidents". It never really sunk in to her that she couldn't do everything she used to do, so we had to restrict her access to stairs...she would start up or down and then tumble down. Thankfully without injury! But she was happy and had a good appetite right up until she had a stroke and seizures and we had to let her go.
It was eye-opening to realize just how much our daily routine had revolved around that sweet girl!
We miss her like crazy.

 

[Disney Doll]

Some things I learned from my late 13 year old Springer Teddy:

Block off stairs if necessary so the dog doesn't fall down them.

If the dog does have to go up and down stairs, supervise the dog.

If you have stairs that can tend to be slcik, put something on them to make them less slick.

Watch the dog's weight and ability to eat. My dog lost weight in the last year of his life because I wasn't noticing that he really wasn't eating his dry food. Once I started giving him canned food, his eating improved. Maybe the dry food tasted funny as he got older because his taste buds changed, maybe it was too hard to chew..who knows???? But the canned food made a big improvement in his appetite.

I also used to make him chicken, brown rice & broccoli and give him some of that every day in addition to the canned food. Boil chicken, boil the broccoli then put the 2 things together in the food processor and mince them up pretty well so there aren't huge chunks then mix them with the rice. If you want to be really nice, boil up some chicken stock and pour that over it too.

If the dog has an accident in the house don't yell at him...he probably has a little doggie dementia and isn't "processing" in the house vs. out of the house like he used to.

Give him supplements to help with arthritis. They make doggie treats now that have glucosamine in them, which we found very helpful.

Talk to the vet about pain medicine if the dog seems to be in pain. Teddy took Ultram (AKA Tramadol) which worked very well and didn't have any side effects. Remember that animals tend not to show pain as much as humans would as a protective mechanism...they instinctively don't want to be perceived as "weak". Dogs are pack animals...the weak dog in the pack was often kiled back in the wild.

Love him up and be ready to love him enough to let him go...you'll know when the time is right.

 

[minkydog]

Don't be surprised to see moments of confusion. Dogs get forgetful like people do. It can be heartbreaking, but they snap out of it fairly quick, at least at first. You will know if it gets to the point where you dog doesn't recognize you anymore.

Also, be prepared for accidents. An older dog can misjudge when it has to go.

But you may still have a few years left. Enjoy them and don't worry about what is to come. They aren't afraid to get older and you shouldn't be afraid for them either.

Oh, yeah. I forgot about the accidents. Minky didn't have a lot, but he had a few and he was always sooooo upset when he wet his bed.

 

[horseshowmom]

Oh, yeah. I forgot about the accidents. Minky didn't have a lot, but he had a few and he was always sooooo upset when he wet his bed.

I had one in particular that was mortified when it happened. I felt so bad for her.

 

[WDWBarb]

I'm facing this now with an 11 year old GSD (old for the breed). She had a massive bladder infection about a month ago (it was awful - she was bleeding so badly and in so much pain). Now she's incontinent. The medication the vet has her on has helped that 100%, but our attempts to wean her off of it have not gone well.

Poor thing - it happens in her sleep and she'll get up and cry and wake me up to show me that someone has peed on her bed. I swear she doesn't think she's doing it. And even though I shampoo her bed, she won't sleep on it again unless I cover it well with blankets, even days after her accident.

She's slowing down and missing steps when we go upstairs. She had TPLO surgery when she was 4, so I'm always cautious of that back leg. Heck, both back legs - it would be awful for her to blow out her other ACL at this age.

Her eyes are cloudy and she doesn't hear as well. She doesn't want to play as often. She used to be the very definition of hyper and now she groans when she gets up or lies down.

But just ONE squirrel makes her forget her age entirely.

I hate, hate, hate that dogs don't live longer. It doesn't seem fair that we are here so long and our wonderful companions have so little time with us (and us with them). I measure my life in dogs - "Oh, that was when we had Lucky" or "That's when Taffy was with us." But I guess if we're put on this planet to love and learn, dogs give out love excessively and without restraint so they get that mission done quickly. And all they have to learn is to potty outside, not to jump on people and not to chase the cat. So they pretty much get it all done in short order.

 

[kacaju]

UGH..we are going through this now ourselves. Our almost 14 year old shep mix (70lb) is getting slower, sleeping more, having A LOT of trouble walking and has poop accidents where I swear...it just falls out of him.

We have had family talks...we all realize he is old and we do not want him to suffer. We talk about his good days and bad days...and when those bad days start out numbering the good days....

Right now he is doing OK...He eats, he gets up to go outside...overall he is healthy.. I am waiting for the day he cannot stand...that is what I think is going to get him.

 

[Cat0727]

Our dog slept pretty much all the time, his hearing/sight diminished, he walked slower and he had a lot more accidents in the house. Never stopped being a mush pot though.

 

[traces7]

We've had 2 older dogs. Neither one of them had accidents when they got older, guess we were lucky!

Spunky, a terrier mix, lived to be 18. She couldn't see or hear too well as she aged and she slept a lot. She seemed to get disoriented a lot. She was a jumper, she could still jump up onto our king size bed when she was 17! (and she was pretty short!) I didn't let her go down stairs, lucky we live in a ranch, so it just meant keeping her out of the basement, she fell a couple times. Also had to keep her on a chain when she went outside, she always liked to wander, but it got worse as she got older and than she couldn't hear cars, scared me, so I kept her on a chain after she wandered down the street one time.

Maggie, a Springer Spaniel/Golden Retriever mix, lived to be 13-1/2, she didn't have quite as many noticeable problems, since she wasn't quite as old. I think her hearing was going a little, we could sneak up on her when we came home, never could do that when she was younger.

Both of our dogs ended up having cancer. Not sure why they both did. We had to put both of them down. Spunky, the 18 year old, I felt we waited too long and she was pretty bad toward the end. Sometimes I thought with Maggie we did it too soon, but I didn't want her to get as bad as Spunky had. It's so hard as they get older! I too wish they lived longer!!

 

[roliepolieoliefan]

Don't be surprised to see moments of confusion. Dogs get forgetful like people do. It can be heartbreaking, but they snap out of it fairly quick, at least at first. You will know if it gets to the point where you dog doesn't recognize you anymore.

Also, be prepared for accidents. An older dog can misjudge when it has to go.

But you may still have a few years left. Enjoy them and don't worry about what is to come. They aren't afraid to get older and you shouldn't be afraid for them either.

Yes and be very careful with them.

When my collie was about 14 , she started to become disoriented. Just little things here and there, mostly accidents and a couple blank stares.

One day I left her out to go to the bathroom with our other dog, a younger collie. She was 15 at this point, and never even came close to wandering off. People even nicknamed her the velcro dog because she never left my side.

I went in the house for about 2 minutes, came out and she was gone. My husband was in bed and I woke him up to tell him Natasha was gone. His exact words, youre crazy that dog never goes anywhere."

I went searching. We lived in the country then. Dark roads , no street lights. I was inconsolable.

We called everything and everyone. A woman who lived on the street behind us heard her dog barking and came out. She seen Natasha and knew she belonged to someone, so she took her in. The woman called animal control , who we already called. It was late so animal control kept her for the night.
The officer knew she was an old taken care of girl so she didnt cage her and kept her with her for the night.

When animal control called the next day to say they had her, I was screaming for joy. My "baby" was back. When animal control brought her home she just looked at me, blank stare.
It was so sad but I was so happy to see her again. She was my dog I showed. We traveled the countryside, her and I for years and now she looked like she didnt know me. Im tearing up thinking of it.

Her health was good at that point besides the "doggie dementa" as the vet called it.

We ended up putting her down about 3 weeks shy of her 16th birthday. Her hips finally gave out. Gosh i still miss that dog and that was 7 years ago.

My other collie passed away at 12 from bladder cancer. We thought it was a bad kidney infection but ended up to be cancer. She lasted about a year after her diagnosis.

My younger collie I talked about in the above story is going to be 11 in a week. She is very active and shows no sign of age , our other collie is 9. Same deal with her.

Its sad to see them slow down and get old. I learned alot from my other 2.

Good luck and hugs!

 

[kahpets]

For those with “elderly” female dogs having bladder control issues, I highly recommend you discuss with your vet. I lost my 17-year old dog almost ten years ago – she started having accidents a few years before that. The vet said it was common for older female dogs, and put her on some type of medicine. It was a miracle pill as far as I was concerned – the accidents pretty much stopped until the very end.

We cooked for her for the last two years. She needed a very bland diet and wouldn't eat the Science Diet dog food recommended, so people food it was for her (vet gave me recipes and she took vitamins). Other than the “peeing pills” and home cooked meals, she wasn't high maintenance. In many ways I found her easier in her senior years, as her favorite thing to do was to curl up in a ball and lie down next to one of us. While I missed her boisterous puppy days (that lasted well into her early teens), in many ways it was so much simpler having a calm quiet dog. She was also small, which made the aging process much easier. At 18 pounds she could easily be carried up and down the stairs, etc.

Maybe it’s been so long I remember the final years with rose colored glasses, but I absolutely loved those years. At the time I’m sure I was sad and worried about her health and how long we had left together, but looking back now, I have such fond memories. I can picture her when I walked into a room (she was probably lying on a piece of furniture she wasn't supposed to be on ), she would lift her head up, wag her tail a couple of times as if to say “Hi, love you”, and then go back to resting.

Try to enjoy your time together, and follow your instincts. You’ll know what’s best for her.

 

[disneyfreakk]

Our Boston will be 15 in September. One thing that has helped with accidents is we have a potty pad in the house. Its in the laundry room, which is right outside our Master bedroom. I also have a little night light in there so she can see.

We potty pad trained our 4 year old pug, and noticed our Boston started using it also. So, we have just left it. I really wish I would have thought about potty pads for our old pug that we lost years ago, she would have accidents and feel just awful about it.

They are disposable and aren't very expensive. We have a garbage in the garage to help keep the smell down.

 

[SetzKitten]

As sad as this thread is, it is so heartwarming to hear how much care you all gave your dogs in their later years, how special they were to you, and how much you still miss them. All animals should be so fortunate to be as treasured as yours were.