Hey everyone. I've been reading Robyn's site for a while and I really enjoy it. This is my first post I think.

I have a senior dog, Spot. He's a dachshund mix and he's great. He is now 12 years old (getting a special birthday treat tomorrow) and is beginning to show some signs of aging. He is unfortunately obese (my fault, but my mom used to overfeed him and give him junk food, like cheese or potato chips...), but he's losing weight now that I take him for walks daily. He is going gray, but I'm not real worried about that.

Recently he had to have a tooth extracted, and seemed to get sick when I gave him a prescribed Rimadyl tablet for pain afterwards. I couldn't take him to the emergency vet and I waited it out, and he seems fine now, so maybe it was just an after-effect of the anaesthesia? I guess I won't know.

He's going to the vet next week for a booster shot for periodontal disease prevention (he got a vaccination against it when he was getting the tooth pulled), since our vet said it may not be safe to put him under for dental care in the future as he ages.

I'm wondering if anyone has any special tips for taking care of old dogs? I know to watch for signs of CRF (my cat unfortunately had this and passed away in December at the age of 15; he also had diabetes and liver cancer, but up until the end he was so strong and with palliative steroid therapy, BID Sub-Q fluids, insulin shots, and vitamin/mineral supplementation he lived well with the cancer for six months). I'm moving to Maine this season with my mom and I'm really looking forward to spending time on the beach with him, and maybe even letting him do some swimming if he's up for it. I give him a daily multivitamin twice a day and also twice a day I give him a glucosamine/vitamin/omega-3 supplement called Joint Kare.

welcome to the group Ralph. It doesn't sound like you need any tips :D .

Thanks. :lol:

I don't know how valuable my tips are. My last dog died January 2005, and my family will not allow me/us to ever get another one.

My tip would be to have a yearly blood panel done on your dog even if he seems fine. Hopefully, that will catch any issues early enough to treat. For arthritis, I've used Cosequin for my cats (they have one for dogs). Also, I suggest a weekly physical exam of the dog by you. Feel him up all over. Tumors are very common in older dogs. They're not always cancer. My dogs had fatty tumors and some weird tumors (Schmoo had this black growth thing). Clean and check his ears and eyes. Check his rear and anal glands which often become impacted with age. Trim and check his nails. Older dogs are more likely to break off long nails or dew claws.

I've had three cats now with CRF (chronic renal failure) and one cat who was diabetic. My oldest cat has CRF, hypothyrodism, asthma, arthritis, a bad heart, and who knows what else.

Good luck with Spot!

Thanks Robyn for all the advice!

Spot has a fatty cyst on his chest he's had for about 2 or 3 years now. The vet offered to remove it but she said it was probably harmless and unlikely to cause problems and so I decided to spare him the operation.

His fat abdomen makes it almost look like he has a pronounced tuck right in front of his hind legs, which made me wary of CRF (my cat who had it had a very pronounced tuck as his kidneys atrophied). Fortunately he had his kidney function checked and all levels are normal; he also is not drinking excessively. He's about 25 pounds, and drinks less than a quart of water a day. I pulled up the skin of his back and it went down immediately which also helped me be a little less worried about that.

How do you go about cleaning a dog's ears properly? I also wanted to start brushing his teeth but he won't tolerate it :/

Cleaning ears has the basic manuvers of a human ear. A few drops of doggy ear wash...rub in...then lift the ear and with a tissue wipe it out. But don't do too deep. What's left over and drizzles too deep, they'll shake out like if you had water in your ear. And don't do it too often cause you'll dry out the inside of the ear. I have the same luck with brushing teeth...we've just keep dry kibble around for teeth scraping.
My pet list in my house over the years:
Blendy (cocker/pom mix) died of old age at about 22
Tammy ( shepard mix ) put down at about 7..uncontrollable violent,bit a neighbor, rescue.
Pauper ..Tammy's son..died of old age at about 18.
Waldo..( Lab mix ) rescue..died of liver failure at 15, violent..bit another neighbor
Coco...(dalmation) rescue..survived malnutrition, died about age 7, survived about 5 years with 2 blown anal glands, finally was put down during exploratory surgery of cancerous tumour. She was ALOT of work, but she was worth it. Hated men. ( Real fun when I was dating ).
Jerry ( chichuhua mix )..rescue..hit and run,left for dead. Took me almost a year to get him to walk an almost straight line. Almost totally blind. Vet never could say how old he was when he died. He was almost totally deaf too, so we worked with vibration and smell...until his dirty diaper got in the way. Man, would he get pissed off. ( He hated men too ).
Tommy ( beagle mix )..he was the nurse and my assistant to Coco and Jerry. He's about 13 now, has fatty tumours ( not worrying, none are stuck--free floating in skin ), and on baby aspirin for his arthristis.
Buddie ( german shepard )..too big for his own good. NOT socialable at all... :angry:
now the cats:
Sadie----grey short hair, otherwise known as the PIG--she likes hot food and marshmellows.rescue
Gracie--siamese, the mean one
Lucy---Chatty Katty calico that talks to birds..rescue
Missy--long haired tuxedo..rescue
and Sam died of liver failure ( we didn't do the skin test, we could have caught it sooner ) and Nakita, a long haired calico of old age.
sorry it's long...lot of pets ( babies )...cause 2 in diapers

SadieMay,
I admire you so much for taking in rescues. My daughter use to be with a rescue group and had to stop....she was keeping too many of the the dogs (and you know alot of them are huge) and it was so emotional when the rare chance came for one to get a good home. What a great person you must be.
Ellen

HATS OFF TO SADIEMAY!!!!!

I get these to clean out my animals' ears if they're not overly dirty:
http://www.drsfostersmith.com/product/prod....cfm?pcatid=572

It's important to check the ears at least weekly. My dog Schmoo had recurrent bacterial and fungal infections in his ears that required medications and made his ears hurt a lot.

He was a nipper but actually let me brush his teeth which he was in his bath. I didn't do a very good job but it was something. A few months before he died of liver failure, he had surgery to remove his weird black lump on his back and a lump on his rear, and I had his teeth cleaned. They pulled two rotten teeth.

Surgery is risky for older dogs but, if there comes a point when Spot really needs surgery, you can have them clean the teeth at the same time if possible.

You've had a lot of animals, SadieMay, with a lot of problems! I'm sure they all have/had good qualities too!

From Waldo on, all the animals literally 'came to me'. After postings at vets and stores, notifying the police, and letting neighbors know, they just stayed put here.
When I would show up, my vet would say 'what you find this time'. :rolleyes: I go to one of the 'known' pricier vets but he did good for me. Gave me discounts, billed me when I got laid off ( he doesn't bill ). I still go to him, pay regular prices now...arrgghhh...but I know somebody else is getting a deal so that's okay with me. It's a fair payback. We don't spoil outright, but the dogs are the only ones around with an AC in their doghouse. :rolleyes: <_<

Thanks for the advice on ear-cleaning. I think I'll get those Ear Clens pads; they seem really convenient. It's funny, but on the Fosters & Smith site, it's cheaper pad-for-pad to buy the smaller quantity.

I'm probably going to get Spot insured this week; I was laid off from my job last year, and where I live it's hard to find a job (especially if you're young and just got out of high school like me) and so money is a big concern. I think insurance would be a good way to safeguard against diseases and vet bills, especially ones that are common in older dogs.

Spot doesn't seem to like when I touch his belly when checking for cancer, which I've started doing lately, but I never feel anything out of the ordinary. Often his stomach feels hard though, but the vet said that was because he is so overweight. I missed two days of walking him but took him for an especially long one today to make up for it. Sometimes I have to carry him home because he doesn't want to come back. :lol:

Get a doggy stroller, that way you won't have to carry him. My sister uses one when she's out jogging with her dog. <_< :D

:lol:

I do have a stroller/bicycle trailer I used to take Snowball (my cat) to the vet for a few times he was ill, but the only vet within cycling distance (I mean with a poor cat in a 3453243 pound trailer on my back wheel) decided to refuse to see him since he was under the care of another vet as well (this nearby vet was the one I had been taking him to for a long time, but I needed a second opinion as to his treatment; the new, farther away vet wasn't the best, nicest, most honest, or most economical, but they gave him a much better quality of life with steroid therapy and so I do have to be grateful) and her ego apparently couldn't handle that; she said it made her uncomfortable. <_< :angry:

Vet medicine where I live isn't very advanced or open-minded I have to say.

Sounds like you are on the right track with your baby!! The most important thing at this point would be to get the weight off of him! The walking is great and the swimming will be even better. Also consider putting him on a senior diet if you haven't already. Usually the back of the bag tells you to feed a little more than they actually need to eat ~ :D I guess to sell more dog food! You should also feed him according to what he should weigh not his actual weight! I would feed him about 1- 1 1/2 cups per day. That is if he is an average size dachsund. The weight loss will be the best thing you can do for his health and since his breed is prone to back issues, you help lower the risk of a problem with that!! The yearly bloodwork is a great idea also!! Good luck with your baby!!!