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After many questions and requests, today we're finally going to talk about caring for older dogs. Hi, I'm Carlos, a clinical veterinarian at Small Animals. Welcome to the Happy Pets and Families Channel. You have to accept it now. Time passes for everyone, including your dog, and we all get older. At these stages of life, you have to be aware of all the changes that you can see happening to your dog. But the eternal question always comes up. At what age do we consider a dog to be senior in these cases, it depends a lot on the size and breed of your dog, because depending on these factors, that your dog's senior stage begins after seven years of age. But especially when you're going to have to be more vigilant is after 10 years of age. Because it's especially from this age that they start to show ailments that you'll notice much more. For all these reasons, today I'm here to tell you how you can help your dog when they reach a certain age and have entered the most geriatric stage of their life. Well, today we're with Marta, who is Kui's family. He's a little dog who seems to hold the longevity record in the neighborhood.

He's already 18, 17 being the same.

As 17 years, which is a huge amount for a dog.

If you've seen him, personality has soured a bit more than anything physical. What I notice, Carlos, is that he's more on his own. There are days when he wakes up excited and runs around the park. And there are days when he dead up a trapdoor so he could go upstairs and before he would jump. Now he doesn't jump anymore unless you show him a reward. That's when he gets motivated and jumps. Here, come on, come on, come on, come on. He's not coming up. Look what he's got.

In fact, since we came and made him the cookies almost two years ago, I've seen that his behavior has changed a little. He looks a little older.

Yes, yes. He has shins.

Yes, that's true. His face is already gray. There are many dogs that have reached a certain age who also want to move much less. If he only wants to walk to the end of the block, turn around and come back home and have only done his pee and poop outside, it could be because he's feeling a little more tired or less willing to walk those days. Don't scold him or drag him or pull on the leash. Take charge of this situation and be understanding with your canine companion.

My dynamic, Carlos, is whatever the dog wants if at any given moment he wants to play, he plays. If at any given moment you don't want to go out, you don't go out. It's about adapting to his pace, because right now I understand that's what he wants. We have always been into long walks, and now it is true that he gets tired much sooner. Also, since he is a dog with a strong personality, when he gets tired, you have to go at his pace, which is none at all. And when he crosses the zebra crossings, he has decided that since they are waiting for him, he goes slower. I don't know what he associates it with.

He has trouble leaning on the crosswalks behind him.

Yes, he has a hard time going up the stairs. Sometimes he stumbles when going down as well. So we have seen that his steps are also shorter. He is still active, but he does it for a shorter time. He is used to being with us, so. So he sees us and does it. That's it. But if new people come, he can greet you with a little more energy. He has more time to relax. He is a little active again, but not before. I mean, before it was continuous. Now it is a little more intermittent.

But in addition to your dog's paws hurting, there are other reasons why your dog may not want to walk as much. We've already talked about some of these on the channel, such as when older dogs suffer from some type of heart disease. In these cases, dogs don't want to walk or may even faint in the street because the effort they're being subjected to is so great that they can't handle it. If you want to delve a little deeper into the subject, we've left the video up here so you can check it out. And above all, whenever you take an older dog for a walk, you have to keep them on a leash. I always say this whether the dog is old or young, but in this case it's much more important because your dog may have a little less hearing or even less vision. Therefore, they may not be as aware of the dangers that may be approaching them. If you keep them on a leash, you're giving your dog a life insurance policy because you'll be more aware of everything that moves around them. Take great care with their diet. If I'm telling you that most older dogs want to walk a little less, if you continue giving them the same amount of feed that you were giving them before, or you give them poor quality feed, what you end up achieving is that your dog gains weight. And that in the end is disastrous for the Joints because your dog has to move much more weight every time he wants to walk and go to the park to do his business. When you start looking back over the years and you say, well, this dog is already 15 or 16 years old, so I started buying him more specific natural feed with a different composition to strengthen his heart since he had a small murmur and he recovered, etc. There are feeds for older dogs already in geriatric age that help you with this task. These feeds have slightly fewer calories than feeds for slightly younger dogs, so that even if your dog doesn't want to run around the park as much as he used to, he doesn't end up getting fat. And that ends up taking. Well, some of you will tell me, well, what I'm going to commend that you do this because all you'll achieve is that your dog will be hungry. On the other hand, if you use these other foods, you'll have all the energy and nutrients that your dog needs. And most importantly, they'll feel full, which is ultimately what we're also looking for with food. And before you ask me in the comments, which I know you always go there, are these foods more expensive? Well, yes, they tend to cost a little more than regular foods because they're adapted. Another variant important aspect that I have to recommend regarding feeding older dogs is that you can start considering giving them canned food as well. Sometimes some older dogs tend to have problems with their mouths and that makes them not want to eat dry food simply because chewing on it hurts their teeth. Many times in these cases, when their mouth is cleaned and any teeth that are in poor condition are extracted, the dog's behavior changes completely and they want to eat almost the same amount of food again before wet food or canned food will be a great ally for you to help your dog drink more water. Older dogs often drink a little less water. They forget to go to the drinking fountain from time to time. And precisely if you give them part of their feeding as a wet diet, you will make them eat and not you will make them eat and drink at the same time so that they do not have to go to the drinking fountain to hydrate themselves, but simply to the food bowl.

Well, then, what do you prefer? The feeds that I mentioned before, specific for their age or wet food. Okay, there is wet food specific for the dog's age. And of course you do not have to replace all the dry food that you normally give your dog with canned food. Canned food, apart from the fact that they will cost you a lot and it will Be impossible for you to follow it for a long time. Can also make their mouth a little dirtier because having wet food, their teeth are cleaned a little less. That's why I tell you to only give them part of their feeding.

When. Since he already has the mind of a very old person, if I am upset, he gets very upset. What I want is to be able to enjoy him as much as possible. So, for example, I don't go away for a whole day because even if he has food and water, he is emotionally upset. In fact, many times he doesn't eat or drink until I arrive.

You know that your dog can also have dementia. This seems a little strange because we usually think of dementia and imagine a grandparent who no longer recognizes his grandchildren. But dogs that are already a certain age can also suffer from this type of behavioral disorder. Many times these dogs at home do not recognize where their food or water bowl is. In some cases, they even stop recognizing their family. In the last case of senile dementia that I treated the that was precisely what happened. The dog had stopped recognizing his family and was behaving aggressively towards them. He had even bitten them. They were desperate. They had tried to approach him very carefully, to pet him, to calm him down, but the little guy didn't recognize them. They didn't know what was happening to their dog at that moment. When he was diagnosed with this disease and given the right treatment, his attitude changed completely. He's back to his old self. He's still a little grumpy because he's been a little grumpy all his life. But thanks to giving him that opportunity, we've given him many more years to be able to enjoy his family and for his family to be able to enjoy him. It's true that he notices a lot of changes in location and environment. So I try not to take trips longer than three days, because even though he's well cared for when I'm not there, over the years, Carlos, what I've noticed the most is the emotional dependence.

Keep your house tidy. Yes, I know this isn't the channel.

But if not there, over the years, Carlos, what I've noticed the most is the emotional dependence.

Keep your house tidy. Yes, I know this isn't the channel, but if you keep your house tidy, you'll help your dog to orient himself better in it and suffer less from these moments of momentary distraction. You also have to keep all of this in mind every time let someone come and visit you at home, because the presence of people he doesn't know can destabilize him and make him feel insecure and very stressed. Despite all the advice I just gave, you will help your older dog live happier with you. When you have a dog that is over 10 years old, you should take him to the vet about every six months. Although I personally recommend that he visits the vet every three months for a good checkup. Remember that the sooner an illness is detected, the sooner we can do something to help your dog and prevent any illness from getting worse.

But hey, he's still a puppy.

For me, the great thing about Labradors is that they have these somewhat young attitudes all their lives. And that's it for today's video. If you liked it, give it a like and share it with everyone. And remember to subscribe if you haven't already. Thank you very much for following the Happy Pets and Families channel and we'll see you in the next one Video. Jose. I see you with an evil smile and with your phone in your hand. That's what's happening today.

You might like to know this.

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