How to Take Care of An Aging Dog

This is not my typical post, but it is exactly what I am dealing with right now. If you are not a dog person, a lot of this probably won’t make sense. 🙂 If you are, you will probably be faced with some of these issues at some point, if you haven’t already. Hopefully these tips that I am learning about how to take care of an aging dog will be helpful for you.

.

I need to be upfront with you though, these tips are coming from my experiences, not from an expert in the field. We have had several dogs over the years, and they have all lived pretty long lives. It seems like they all went downhill so quickly that we didn’t have the same issues we are having this time. This time I am truly learning how to take care of an aging dog.

.

Meet Wile E., who will be 16 in July – he’s the little one!

.

.

Isn’t he adorable? He has always been such a spunky, spirited little guy who kept us laughing. If you ever left the front door open, even for a second, he would be out in a flash – running through the neighborhood, making his “mark” on everything! Rarely could we catch him. We would have to wait it out (while watching for cars from a hiding place). When he got tired and thirsty, he would make his way back home.

.

.

As you can tell from the picture of him with Ally, he is definitely the boss! You can sense that she is really laughing at him when he thinks he is putting her in her place.

.

It is sad to see him in such an elderly state now, but he does not show any signs of being in pain. He has had lots of changes though – he is almost completely deaf, he has lost most of his close-up vision, and he is missing a few teeth. These changes are what has led us to make some adaptations and adjustments in how we take care of him. Here are some of the things that have worked for us as we have learned about how to take care of our aging dog.

.

Have a Great Veterinarian

.

I know everyone probably loves their vet or they wouldn’t stay with them. We have used our vet for so many years. She has taken care of many, many of our babies. She is wonderful! It is so important to have someone you trust and who will actually listen to you. Before we found her, we were not that fortunate.

.

Medications

.

As you can probably guess, Wile E. is on several different medications. Some of these have worked wonders for him for years. I literally have our vet’s contact information in my “favorites” on my phone. There is always something that needs to be refilled. You can really tell a difference in him since he started taking the meds. He feels so much better.

.

Medication Tips

• Keep their medications in a twice a day medicine box.
• Check your options for pick-up or home delivery to see which is the most economical.
• We found that pill pockets worked best as far as pockets are concerned because they are softer and more pliable. These worked for several years!
• Just recently, it has become hard for him to get down the pill pockets. I started trying everything – cheese, lunchmeat, peanut butter, and many other things, but nothing worked with him. Then I found it – FROZEN COOL WHIP! He loves it, it is soft and pliable, and it doesn’t get stuck in his teeth.

.

Special Dog Food

.

Check with your vet on the type of food you give your aging dogs. We had to change his dry dog food several years ago, and it made a huge difference. He still eats the same dog food, but we have started supplementing with the same brand of food in the canned version. It seems a little easier for him.

.

.

Sleeping Arrangements

I know I will get mixed responses on this, but our four legged babies do sleep in the bed with us. This has never been an issue in the past, but it has become like sleeping with a newborn – one eye is always open. He sleeps very soundly, but I am always afraid that he will wake up and jump off of the bed. That used to not be a problem, but now he is a little fragile, and the bed is very high.

.

We bought a small dog bed for the bedroom, but he doesn’t ever use it. We know that he is comfortable in our bed, and we don’t want to change things up on him now that he is aging. If your four legged aging baby will sleep in a dog bed, there are some really nice memory foam beds you can get to help with any aches or pains they may have.

.

He does have a rather large dog bed in the laundry room where he sleeps during the day. If you need a spot for a “dog room,” a laundry room works great. It is out of the way, and the food, water, and a bed will usually fit nicely.

.

Safety for Your Aging Dog

.

Wile E. does a lot of pacing! In fact, every time I talk to someone on the phone they either ask what the strange noise is or they already know and tell me they can hear Wile E. pacing. His nails click on the wood floors with every step he takes.

.

As he is pacing, he tends to get right under your feet! We are constantly telling each other to, “Watch out! Wile E. is right behind you!” If you have an elderly dog, they may tend to get right under you or your company. Many times it is easier to put them in the “dog room” for their protection and your guests’ as well. You never want someone to get hurt tripping over your dog.

.

Any time we go to the refrigerator or pantry, he sticks his head inside, but doesn’t back out when we do. I don’t know how many times we have almost closed his head in the door. We have to watch out for him constantly.

.

We believe we see some signs of Doggy Dementia (pacing being one of them). Another thing we have noticed is that on occasion when we come home from being gone, he is outside. It is as if he is looking for us. Some days he can figure out how to go in and out of the doggy door but not always. Now when the weather is bad, we keep the doggy door closed.

.

This is a totally new thing for us, because he has always had the run of the house and the yard. Safety is more important though!

.

Keeping the House Clean with an Aging Dog

.

We are not a family who has a magazine ready home at all times. Our home is lived in, and we enjoy it. However, I have an issue with germs – I like to know the house is clean. Wile E. has always used the doggy door to go potty; we have never had an issue with that. Just recently, he has had a few accidents in the house. Luckily, they have almost all been on the wood floor. That sure makes for easier clean up than the carpet.

.

I can give you a strong warning about what NOT to use as a solution. If your aging dog is like ours and paces constantly. Do not lock them in the laundry room with a doggy gate if you leave the house! You will be in for one huge mess if they POTTY and then pace! This is a strong warning!

.

We have put a few preventative measures in place at this point:

• Bathroom Routine – When we are here, we take him outside about every two hours.
  • I have found that when he first wakes up, he will potty better if I hold him for a little bit until he is fully awake.
  • Sometimes a very small treat will get him fully awake and ready to go potty.
• We keep a small moving blanket in the laundry room floor. We tried the potty pads, but they didn’t work well for us with his pacing.
• We keep all of the bedroom doors closed since they have carpet.
• We have two doggy gates blocking the den area (which has carpet).
• The most ridiculous thing ever – the only way I could block the dining area was to lay the chairs down, side by side around the carpeted area. There are large open areas, but he usually doesn’t mess with them.
  • Of course if we have company, I will put them back at the table.
  • On a funny note, we came home from church Sunday to find Wile E. trapped in the middle of the dining room. He got through the chairs to get into the area but couldn’t figure out how to get out of it.

.

Did I mention that this is the most ridiculous thing ever???

If we forget, or the preventative measures don’t work:

• We keep a mop by the back door.
• We keep the carpet cleaner handy.
• We keep lots of patience and remember that he can’t help it.

.

Products to Help Care for Aging Dogs

.

These are the products we use or have used. When we ran out of potty pads, we put down a small moving blanket. It worked great and was washable. This saved us quite a bit of money.

Favorite Dog Ranch & Rescue Site

I have followed The Lone Star Dog Ranch & Rescue for several years on Facebook. They have the most amazing place in Anna, Texas. If you haven’t seen their page, check it out when you get a chance. I have learned many things from their experiences! Here is a link to their site.

.

For read more about Wile E. and Ally along with a rescue testimony, read the post “Rescued.”

.

I don’t know how many of you have elderly dogs or are facing these types of issues. Our pets are so much a part of our families that you do what you need to do to take care of them, but it can be hard. I hope these things we have learned about how to take care of an aging dog will help anyone who is in this situation or who will be at some point.

.

If any of you have other tips or ideas, please share! I am especially interested in other ways to block my dining area! All suggestions are welcomed!

.

Have a Grace & Joy-filled day!

Susan

disclosure: affiliate links are used on this page. Thank you for supporting Home with Grace and Joy. When you purchase an item, I receive a small commission at no additional cost to you.

“When I am filled with cares, Your comfort brings me joy.” Psalms 94:19