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The doghouse

If you're worried about your pet's health, please speak to a vet or qualified professional.

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Original poster

a thread for those of us who have elderly dogs.

32 replies

crispface · 23/01/2011 20:45

and how best we can support them in their old age.

My lovely dog is 13.5 (ish - rescue dog) and doing fairly well. Her hearing and eyesight are starting to fail her, although she is still sprightly and energetic and I don't have to lift her into the car boot yet . I have started putting essential oils at the top and bottom of the stairs (a different smell for the top than the bottom) for her to get used to ready for the day she goes totally blind.

does anyone else have any tips?

OP posts:

MotherJack · 23/01/2011 22:49

Seriously, you reckon she can't smell the difference between upstairs and downstairs without the oils??

Original poster

crispface · 24/01/2011 09:37

I don't know motherjack, she probably ca in this house, but when we leave her with other people (my parents for example) I will use the same oils so she won't fall down their stairs (I hope) :)

OP posts:

mollymax · 24/01/2011 09:41

My beautiful, smelly Border Collie is now 15. She is deaf, going blind, arthritic but we still love her to bits.
I feel sad thinking of her getting old and will not be with us for much longer.
Does anyone know if dogs get smellier the older they get?

WoodRose · 24/01/2011 10:55

Our border collie (almost 13) was definitely smellier and his breath was rank until I changed his food a few months ago. He is now on Royal Canin senior and he is looking and smelling much better. My poor boy has cushings disease and it hurts so much to know that he won't be with us much longer. He is very much my special boy and I can't imagine ever feeling the same way about another dog .

MotherJack · 24/01/2011 15:07

Ahhh! I see your thinking crispface.

My previous dog certainly got smellier as he got older, but it was a nice increased smell - slightly cheesy and very comforting

mollymax · 24/01/2011 17:26

I certainly don't find the smell comforting!!
She has also started following me around more, like a little lost lamb.

Scuttlebutter · 24/01/2011 17:48

This should be an interesting thread. I love oldies. We've got a senior greyhound girl who's about 12, another grey boy who's 11 in a fortnight (cue party!! ) and a junior boy of nearly 7. Have also fostered some lovely oldies. Am very lucky with having greys, as they often live into their mid teens. Our vet is great, and is very evangelical and positive about older dogs. His favourite saying is "Old age is not a disease" and we like his approach.

Another one here who finds sniffing her dogs very comforting indeed.

Original poster

crispface · 24/01/2011 19:23

yes my dog is a lot more smelly now she is older (mostly her breath and ears) but not in a "doggy" way - most people comment on how well our house smells given our pets (we have a lot of animals)

I am hoping I have a couple of years left with our dog, though I am prepared for this being her last - she will be spoilt this year

OP posts:

waitwhat · 24/01/2011 20:36

I have a 12 year old Staffie called Steve. He is still going strong but his gorgeous face is pretty much completely grey haired now.
Just the thought of him passing on scares the poo out of me. He has been my furry shoulder to cry on since i was 15.

And I'm a dog sniffer too! Glad there are other's out there[bgrin]

Tolalola · 24/01/2011 21:52

We have a 14ish (according to the vet) year old rescue.

I got her 10 yers ago when I took her from a supermarket car park where she was slowly starving to death. After months of trying, I only managed to catch her when she got to weak to run away.

She's a bit grumpy now and definitely getting smellier (there's no WAY you'd want to sniff her! and her senses are less acute.

She still loves going in the car. It's going to be so weird without her .

Tolalola · 24/01/2011 21:52

Argh! too weak, obv.

MotherJack · 24/01/2011 22:55

Dog sniffers of the world unite! It is notable though that the "dog sniffing appreciation society" on this thread all have very short coated dogs.

PMSL at the Stafford called Steve. My cheesy Stafford died aged 11 (last September). I still have his blankie in a dustbin liner. I sniffed it the other day and cried [bsad]

I now have a semi-cheesy rescue staffoo, aged 9 (we think). She smells (slightly) and therefore, is. [profound]

P.s. Do you think Slubber will be reading this, Scuttle, and longing to post her newly discovered de-cheesing tips?

Scuttlebutter · 24/01/2011 23:05

No, she'll be putting plastic bags round his paws!! Maybe she'll be sent to get wellies but will misbehave instead

Actually with a wading lab, she will be a very busy person, and I think the battle of the smell will be one she is never destined to win - only keep at bay.

Must admit sniffing a greyhound is a very different proposition to a long haired breed. One of our old family dogs was a spaniel/collie cross with long dense fur that soaked up oomska and he thought he was a hippo. No ditch, puddle, stream or swamp could be left alone. You sniffed him at your peril. Whole ecosystems were evolving in there.

My favourite sniffee is called Andy. He is neither philosophical nor profound; in fact he is embarrassingly stupid - am sure the other greyhounds secretly laugh at him, but I love him and the way he smells.

MotherJack · 24/01/2011 23:31

You have a greyhound called Andy? This is too much. My previous Pot-bellied Pig (staff) had a good walking Heinz 57 friend called Robert (who was 20.... really. We never saw him when he would have been 21 )

Oh dear - I can imagine a wet lab. In fact, I have smelled a wet lab. I can understand Slubber's determination for tips on de-stinking now. Hopefully she will have taken up my suggestion of taking up heavy smoking as a pastime. Always a winner

Dogs, like people must have individual smells, either appealing to the smellant/smellee, or not. And you said oomska again. It was on terrestial the other night. I thought of yooo!

Milliways · 25/01/2011 17:15

My Long haired GSD is 11, and we have just spent £85 at the vets getting anti-biotics as he has decided to chew another cyst into revoltingness!

Love him really, but he is getting very smelly now and has the odd accident as ehen he needss to go, he has to go NOW.

Last one got to 11 then went downhill rapidly, this one still has loads of life left in him though.

Tolalola · 25/01/2011 18:34

Our old girl is on daily medication now: Thyroid pills and Temaril, which stops her from itching.

She's got a big lump on her shoulder, near a spot where she had a tiny tumour taken out a couple of years ago, but I don't think we could put her under GA any more, or that recovery from a big operation would really be on the cards...just trying to do what's right and fair to her.

blummineck · 25/01/2011 19:15

My girl is a GSDX and 9.5 years, I had to take her to the vets last week as she was generally unwell, and didn't want to walk very far, so it looks like it may be arthritis... poor thing.

Her eyes are getting that blue haze now and she's not as fast on the old walks, oh and she's moody in her old age, anyone elses dog like that??

minimu1 · 25/01/2011 19:29

My oldie is a 14 year old lab who smells like smokey wood - it is divine and she is going to be the first dog to live for ever!!!

A bit grey around the muzzle and likes to admire the view more than walk for miles but loves being out and about and is up for anything.

She is not moody but is great at controlling puppies and foster dogs takes no nonsense and certainly shows them the ropes.

Tolalola · 25/01/2011 19:33

Yep ours is quite grumpy, blummineck. But she's actually been way better since she went on the thyroid pills.

She's not nasty, but she doesn't suffer the puppies bouncing on her too much any more.

She's also getting the 'blue haze' in her eyes.

BellaMagnificat · 25/01/2011 20:02

Oh my - see my other thread re The Scary Squishy Lump.

I adore my older girl who is very sprightly and active still.

As I said on that thread she is my heartdog and I love every greying hair on her sweet little body. We have been through much together. She kept me alive at one very bad point in my life and we're very close.

She isn't moody - just her usual self. Her greying muzzle is the giveaway, however. Rather like her Food Lady's hair!

There is someething very precious about the loyal love of an older dog.

Milliways · 25/01/2011 20:03

Mine is getting Grump too! We say "lie down here" and he gives us a filthy looks and moves to exactly where HE wants to lie down. DS is getting nervos of him too as he is getting aggresive at times (when he thinks he can get away with it). Shame, our last GSD was a darling from birth to grave and never gave us cause for concern, present GSD has always been a bit nervy and needs watching.

Getting smelly too - but that may have been worse by the sore he has, hence expensive trip to vet for more anti-bs today. (He gets cysts and likes to chew them, so they get horrible in his long hair :( )

BellaMagnificat · 25/01/2011 20:05

Just seen the reference to dogsniffing. I'm out of the closet! I do that!!! I love their ears best. Also their pads whcih smell like corn based crisp snacks

WoodRose · 25/01/2011 20:49

Corn puff pads - yum!!

Scuttlebutter · 25/01/2011 22:35

Just to add that if your dog is grumpy, it may be because they are in chronic pain, especially if they have a condition like arthritis. May be worth having a chat to the vet to review pain meds etc. Just come back from the vet this afternoon with our 12 year old bitch who has arthritis. Can't be cured but we manage as thoroughly as we can. Have just stepped up her treatments a notch - we review her pain meds/management very regularly. Apart from her reactions to other dogs she doesn't know, her temperament in the house is as sweet as ever - she really is the most adorable creature, and I love her whiskery grey muzzle and beautiful eyes.

I love oldies - she had a tough early life, bless her, and we think she deserves to have a life as comfortable and pleasureable as we can make it for her.

And she smells delicious too! Except for the occasional fox dung moment, but we don't talk about that. I think of it as her guilty pleasure...

blummineck · 26/01/2011 18:20

I think you're right scuttle, the vet put her on a dose of painkillers for 5 days, shes been without them a couple of days and shes struggling again, I'll get her back into the vets tomorrow night, I think they want to do bloods to check she can have pills longterm etc.

Dogs do hide their pain well don't they, poor things...

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