The ageless older dog

[yellowbritches]

My fabulous dog, Stella, turned 10 early this year. But, if you didn’t know that, there is no way of knowing she is that old. She has next to no grey on her face, is still very energetic and silly, looks great, and, in general is the picture of health (as confirmed by her vet). I recognize some very subtle signs of her age- she can be a little stiff after a hard day, has gained a little weight (though is still at a very healthy weight), and you can sometimes see her pause and think before making the jump onto the bed or into the car. But I live with her and have for 9 years…most people wouldn’t even notice.

I feel very blessed. My BFF’s dog passed away at Thanksgiving, and he was only a couple of years older than Stella. When he was 10, he looked it. The couple who own the property we live on have a 10 year old bulldog who is ELDERLY. Meanwhile, Stella runs laps around me on hacks, can go for miles out walking, still hunts and kills groundhogs, and more or less acts the same as she did 5 years ago.

Anyone else have an ageless older dog? And are there any senior considerations I should make, despite how youthful and vigorous she is?

PS- she is not a small dog. I know a lot of terriers and smaller breeds live longer lives than their larger counterparts. She is a 65lb “West Virginia Mountain Mutt”. Probably some sort of cross between lab, shepherd, and pitt bull with god only knows what else thrown in!

[2tempe]

Not quite ageless, but I have a 60 lb chow/shepherd girl that is just this year really showing her age. I’ve had her 12 years, and she was a young adult dog when I got her- so I’m thinking 13-14. Until the last 7 months or so, she was seeming ageless, playing w/ younger “brother”, swimming, pulling on her walks.
She is now getting weaker in the hind end, not pulling much (but still at the door and ready when the leash comes out). Doesn’t want to swim anymore. Still jumps on the bed to say good morning - there has always been a small stool as bed is on the high side. Eating good, seems happy and still will sometimes instigate play. I think her hearing is not what it used to be…
I do shorter walks, watch her like a hawk, and have put her on meds for the hind end discomfort. We are in Florida, so I’m careful with her in the heat.

[JBD]

My dachshund is 17 and was still very much himself up until the last year and a half. He is very good for his age but his eyesight is getting bad and he is on meds for a little arthritis. He can still jump on the couch but not the bed. He loves to eat and begs to be fed from our plates. He’s been deaf for years but it took us a long time to figure it out as he never listened to us anyway.
We’ve had him since he was 4 months old and there will be a huge hole in my heart when he goes

[Foxtrot_s]

We had your daschund’s full brother, by the sounds of it. We eventually had all his teeth taken out (what was left of them) and he was a new dog without having to swallow all that bacteria, and saved on dental cleaning for a few years! Long John was such a popular little fellow. Miss him.

Our Bull Terrier is 14 and with her Cartrophen shot every month she is as active and funny as ever.

[BeatriceLBD]

My 15 year old Jack Russell, we almost lost a few days before Christmas this past year. She had stopped eating for several days and seemed to be slowly saying she was ready to say goodbye. I knew we shouldn’t be selfish and keep her through the holidays so we made the appointment to put her down 2 days before xmas.

Our vet pushed to run several tests, but we really couldn’t justify putting her through anything further or invasive as the vet had always caused her great anxiety. But they agreed to run some tests for free “Merry Christmas” on them. We found she has a herniated bladder and a heart murmer and she now refuses to eat dog food dry or wet. We changed her diet to all fresh cooked foods and she gets a muscle relaxer to help her “go” and we pick up her hinds legs and shake her a bit to get her bladder to go back in place when it slips.

We’ve been blessed to have had her for 6 more months and she’s still going strong. She’s back to ruling the roost and bossing around our 3 large dogs (lab, german short hair and a hound mix) lol. She trots over for dinner every night that we have to cook fresh or she refuses to eat. Suns herself in the yard and reminds us when she wants a cookie. I’m happy she has lived to see the sunshine of summer again, but when she’s ready I’m sure she will let us know when to say Good bye. Gotta love those tough old dogs!

[vacation1]

My advice to anyone with a healthy aging dog is to be aggressive about delaying the onset and progress of arthritis. It’s like most diseases, the dogs try to hide symptoms and often your first real clue this isn’t just a little old-dog stiffness is a full-scale lameness when they just can’t hide the pain another moment. There are classic signs of arthritis that come before limping. My vet did an a-ha reaction when I said my dog was doing this odd hopping motion on stairs. If you’re noticing even minor symptoms, you really do need to start looking at making things easier for the dog. Non-skid rugs on bare surfaces (I found very effective ones at Walmart), limiting stairs, etc. They want to do what they’ve been doing, and sometimes you have to protect them from themselves. And it’s worth a little “Am I overreacting?” doubts to keep arthritis at bay for as long as possible because once arthritis gets its teeth in, it’s nasty.
I started my dog on Dasuquin supplements around 10, just as a preventative. She didn’t really get obvious arthritis until 12, so it may have helped. I was a little reluctant about NSAIDs, but it comes down to a choice at some point - possible side effects tomorrow or definite life-ending pain today. It’s probably worth looking into them now, as you can often use them just on an as-needed basis with a dog who just seems extra sore some days.

And on a completely different note, I’d also recommend a dental. The older they get, the less comfortable you’ll be with putting them under, and a healthy 10yo is probably a good candidate for doing any dental issues that could affect their eating later. And then brush. I did the first, flaked on the latter and regret it.

[Mango20]

I had an “ageless” lab mutt. She didn’t start slowing down until about age 13, and lived to 15 1/2. She was healthy and in good shape up until the end, when she stopped wanting to eat anything. I’m guessing she probably had some cancer or something, but I did not have her tested at that age. She had had stomach surgery at age 13 and I guess there were no tumors then.

[Mara]

We’ve got two mutts hitting 10 this year and they’re in great shape (crossing fingers). They’ve been on Cosequin for two years now, just as a preventative. We really work at keeping them active and fit and yes, watch for any subtle cues that evil arthritis might be trying to creep its way in. Teeth are in great shape but they’ll both be getting teeth cleaned this fall.

I frequently tell both of them that they’re not allowed to age any further.

[Snowflake]

I have a 19 year old basset hound. She is grey in the face and deaf but man can she still run if she wants too. It’s very funny to watch her chase the chickens in the yard. She needs to be on a tieout when she goes outside because she likes to take off if she can. My vets are amazed at how spry she is and she’s pretty famous with all the staff as their oldest canine patient.

[islandrider]

The ranch where my horse lives had an old hound who was thought to be about 18-8 years or so ago. She just kept going, and going, and going. Her demise was quick though-took just a few months and she was gone…

My neighbors had the sweetest little aussie mix-again about 18-she walked with me every day until just her-also very quick-demise-died in her owner’s arms. Good lives, good dogs-no great dogs.

[leheath]

I just lost my 14yo border collie. He never showed his age until last fall when he had his first of two idiopathic vestibular disease attacks (like vertigo in people). He never 100% recovered from that but otherwise he never looked or behaved like “an old dog” until two days before I said goodbye to him.