Elderly dog
You are the happy owner of a loyal and faithful Mature dog friend, beloved dog. You have been living together for many years and every year your love is getting stronger and stronger. It seems that only yesterday you brought your perky puppy to the house and rejoiced at its awkward movements. In your eyes, he grew, developed and became an adult dog. So many warm and happy moments have already been lived together, the years flew by like an instant. But, watching your pet, you notice that he doesn’t have the same reaction, he gets tired faster, he has shortness of breath from a light load, and he prefers a quiet rest to a fun game. Yes, your dog enters a new stage of his life, inevitable old age comes – a period in which the dog will need your attention, love and caress even more!
The average lifespan of dogs is 10-15 years. But these terms are conditional, because much depends on the lifestyle of the dog. Even the breed of a dog affects its longevity. For example, dogs of small breeds often reach 14 years of age, while dogs of large breeds gradually lose their strength and die out as early as 10 years. But even 15 years is not the limit of a dog’s life, often veterinarians have fixed the lifespan of dogs aged 18 and 20 years. Many veterinarians point out that one of the main factors affecting a dog’s life expectancy is proper care and attention to the dog’s owner.
Changes in the behavior of an elderly dog
Rasstrojstvo-kishechnika-u-sobak.jpg With age, dogs acquire new habits and habits. They become slower, more sedate, irritability and disobedience come to replace cheerful and energetic behavior. You should not react sharply to these changes, you need to treat these weaknesses and shortcomings with understanding and patience, because with the departure of strength and health the dog feels more vulnerable, this spoils her mood and character. It becomes harder for a dog to adapt to any changes, be it new living conditions, new surroundings, new people, or a different environment, all of which can cause aggressive or, conversely, timid behavior.
An older dog is more suitable for rest than physical exercise.
An older dog is harder on physical exertion, so try not to rush the dog in executing commands, do not pull it off the leash, forcing you to go faster, and especially not in a hurry, climbing the stairs with it. Of course, you should not completely avoid physical exertion, on the contrary, as before, the dog should be regularly trained in various feasible games in order to maintain muscle tone and joint mobility in good condition. Only now more time should be given to calm walks, games without fast runs and tiresome repeated repetitions of the aport team.
In order for the dog to hurt less and to restore his strength well, you need to try to make her resting place as comfortable as possible. Pay attention to the presence of drafts in the dog’s resting place, they must be eliminated, since the elderly dog, becoming weaker, is more susceptible to colds. Make sure that the dog’s litter is soft, this is especially important if the dog has arthritis and problems with bones and joints, it often experiences painful sensations and, when in contact with hard surfaces, the pain can increase.
Be sure to observe the behavior of the dog!
During this period, you need to pay special attention to the behavior of the dog, the animal may show signs of various diseases. They often include liver, bladder, dental health problems, deterioration of vision and hearing, arthritis, and much more.
Due to the fact that there is a decrease in vision and hearing impairment in age, the dog reacts worse to sounds, stumbles upon objects in the house, refuses to walk in the dark, shows excessive caution in behavior. These are clear signs that it is worth contacting a specialist for a comprehensive examination.
Quite often in dogs develops senile cataract, it manifests itself in a light bluish haze in the eyes of the dog. To stop the process of deterioration of vision, you need to use special eye drops, and in some cases, surgery may be necessary to treat the disease. If the vision is lost, and the operation is contraindicated, then the blind dog should be walked only on a leash along a familiar route, and at home you need to remove all the objects that may interfere with it or injure it in any way. Dogs are able to quickly adapt to the lack of vision, the main owner to teach the dog to the new commands “Stop”, “Hush”, etc., which will help it more easily navigate the environment.
