Essential Wellness Senior- Dogs
Seniors: Have special needs that we can support through natural remedies. Learn how to help support their immune, respiratory, circulatory, digestive and nervous systems. You can greatly enhance their physical well being, by soothing aching muscle, elevating joint discomfort and reducing joint and muscle deterioration. You can make a big difference in aiding your Seniors.
Let’s talk about Aging in dogs
Aging dogs experience the same ailments as people do when they grow older. The clinical symptoms of aging are easy to recognize. Dog may lose the lustrous coat and have grey hairs, develop brittle nails and appear slow and stiff. Less easy to identify are inherent changes.
• Nutritional needs: As dogs age, their metabolism slows and their caloric need decreases faiul to adjust your dogs diet can lead to obesity in senior dogs.
• Skin and coat changes: As with people, older dogs may start to grey. The coat may become thinner and lose its lustre, however, this may be a sign of nutritional deficiency rather than old age. Dog owners should be encouraged to groom their dogs more, with special attention being paid to the anal area. This will be a good opportunity to check for sores and tumors. Dry skin may be a problem for older dogs. Fatty acid supplements should help alleviate the condition, while improving the luster of the coat.
• Changes in eating habits: Older dogs are more likely to develop tooth and gum disease. This can often be painful, causing a loss of desire to eat.
• Decreased mobility: Many senior dogs experience a reduction in mobility as they age. This is often due to arthritis. Large breeds of dog, dogs with an inherited tendency to develop intervertebral (IV) disc disease (bassets, dachshunds), and dogs that have experienced a previous trauma are more likely to develop arthritis.
• Arthritis can range from mild to debilitating — preventing dogs from carrying on with their regular routines. While older dogs may have problems moving well, they should always be encouraged to exercise to reduce loss of muscle tone and mass.
Inherent changes associated with aging may include reduction of vision, deafness, sclerosis (hardening of the internal tissues), build-up of metabolic waste, swelling in the extremities; inflammatory bowel disease, diverticular disease, degenerative joint disease (osteoarthritis), osteoporosis, hypertension, cardiovascular disease, breathing difficulties and kidney problems.
• Vision: Ophthalmic examinations should be in the physical examinations of senior dogs and cats. Older dogs frequently develop nuclear sclerosis, where the lens of the eye is clouded. Despite this, the dog’s vision is not impaired. Cataracts commonly occur in senior dogs and cats, and some may develop glaucoma.
• Hearing: Losing the ability to hear clearly is common among older companion animals. Slight hearing loss is hard to assess. More often, hearing loss will progress to an advanced degree before the owner becomes aware of it. Oftentimes, dog owners view the symptoms of hearing loss as negative behavioral changes. A dog may snarl and snap when approached. The dog owner will not realize that this behavior is simply because the dog had no idea that someone was approaching and reacted from instinct.
• Another sign that a dog is suffering from hearing loss is failing to obey commands. The owner may view this as the dog acting out, but in fact, he simply cannot hear them. The same applies to cats that suddenly do not come when called.
• Changes in urinary habits: Urinary incontinence is a common problem in older dogs, particularly females. dog owners should be made aware that senior animals likely don’t know that they are passing urine and/or couldn’t prevent this happening if they were aware. Senior animals should never be scolded for inappropriate passing of urine.
• Decreased heart function, the heart begins to lose efficiency. Mitral valve problems are particularly common in smaller breeds. Diagnostic tests such as radiographs, EKG, and echocardiograms are effective in diagnosing heart disease.
• Decreased immune function: As dogs age, their immune systems fail to function as effectively. Infectious diseases are therefore more common.
Genetic predisposition, lifestyle and previous trauma are contributing factors to the rate and extent that a companion animal ages. Dog owners should seek help as their dog starts shows signs of change.
Can aging be delayed? Aging in dogs is a normal degenerative process of cell and tissue structure and function associated with dehydration and lack of elasticity in superficial and deep tissue. However, the processes leading to dehydration and lack of elasticity can be addressed and, to an extent, delayed. There is a growing trend toward approaching the problems of the aging dog through complimentary services. These may include nutrition, herbs, acupressure, and massage, as well as traditional medicines. The popularity of the holistic approach has been growing in recent years because it offers an adjunct to the standard or traditional treatments for canine health problems and provides some real choices for older dogs.