A Blog about Taking Dogs, Cats, and other Pets with You on the Road

Advices On Taking Care Of An Elderly Dog

An average dog can live up to 12 to 14 years. And having your dog exceeding these average lifespan for him is already a surprise and one thing you should be thankful for. But, it’s not that easy to take care of an aging dog at all. Creating an environment where there will be enough room for aging and retirement for your pet is always a challenge. So to help you create the perfect care for your aging dog, let me give you some helpful tips.

1. Change the dog foods. Unlike when your dogs where young, when dogs grows older they don’t need the same amount of food that they once had. Replace your previous dog formula with a senior dog foods. Senior dog foods have few calories, perfect for preventing obesity and other related illnesses for dogs. However, if your dog still asks for more, you can do so. Try adding green beans or carrots in his meal. He will definitely love them.

2. Play and exercise. It doesn’t mean that because your dog is old that they should also stop from exercising and playing like they once had. The more your dog moves around, they will be able to keep moving and maintain adequate functioning and self concept. You can still bring your dog to a short distant walk in the park.

3. Watch the diet. As your dog grows older, be careful on the things you feed him. Diabetes, pancreas, heart and kidney diseases are common in older dogs. Make sure you give them foods with low fat, low calories and rich in protein. A home made food is also healthier compared to commercialized foods.

4. Visit your vets regularly. Provide a regular veterinary check up for your dog to monitor whether they have thyroid irregularity, diabetes, UTI, heart or kidney problems. Routinely check up is very important especially for older dogs since this period is the time where in many diseases and illnesses may incur at this particular stage.

Keeping your dog thermoregulated all the time is also another way of taking care of your older dogs. Because older dogs has cold intolerance, a large heated dog beds will be best for him. And to fully take care of my older dogs, I always buy a large heated dog bed for them. They are comfortable to sleep with and definitely keep my dog well thermoregulated especially during extreme temperatures. Vets recommend them! You should have one now!

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§357 · December 31, 2009 · Pets · · [Print]

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