She is on canine glucosamine, and whilst she will take cod liver oil, she loathes apple cider vinegar - have a large container of it sitting grinning at me now! Brilliant stuff if she would touch it...
Food wise, the main issue is that she has always been picky over food. If she is upset she goes off her food and has to be tempted back onto it. Also she has to have a diet that is 100% natural - no additives of any kind. So her meals are hand prepared daily, and she gets as much variety in them as is possible. Today is grilled chicken liver and sardine (head and spine removed, other bones left in), with boiled rice and pureed vegetables. Also a couple of raw chicken wings for supper. Yes, we are spoiling her, but hey, she is old and stiff, and it is the least we can do.
Sleeping arrangements are as follows:
Daytime, she has an old extra soft armchair next to a warm radiator that she curls up on. Nighttime, she curls up under the quilt at our toes.
Her teeth are great, they are incredibly clean and strong, and her heart is still as strong as ever. She is by no means blind or deaf yet, but not as aware and she is not happy about that. I think the fact that she knows she is less able is annoying her, as she has always been the top dog in the group, and now of course is less qualified for that position. Although the other two are perfectly happy as minions, thankfully. Still, she is less confident when on walks, especially if we meet another dog. So we try to keep her brain occupied - she has always been too clever really. Opens doors, that sort of thing.
She has not had any more accidents toilet wise since my last post, so crossing my fingers that she was just extra tired. We have started her on lots of short walks where we try getting her to go a bit slower and enjoy the scenery - part of the problem is that she still wants to run as fast as she ever did, and this exhausts her. But she of course only knows that she enjoys the running part...
Anyhow, went to a different vet after your comments. He said she could make it to fifteen tops, more likely twelve, due to her overall physical condition. We are sadly not talking about a well bred dog here. Mum was feral and very poorly put together, dad was a pet but sadly the result of puppy farming. So genetic stuff is not the best there. Mum was PTS due to attacking a child, about a year after we got eldest dog. Dad lived to be nine, then suffered renal failure.
Still with proper care, new vet believes she can reach twelve to fifteen. However, now that the effects of aging are starting, she will only get worse, and I guess he still wants us to be prepared to do the right thing by her other than bury our heads in the sand. We will of course attempt medical treatments, but there will be a point when that becomes more selfish than caring and how do you spot that point coming?
We both have this horrid image of us trying to keep her going and her hating us for it...this happened to one of my parents' cats: they could not bear to part with him, and kept trying new things, and he was just a shell of himself by the end. DH has said he will make the decision, as she is closest to him emotionally and he feels that it should be his job to decide. I have promised to go with them when it is time.
Eldest dog is currently trotting about the back garden, tucked up snugly in her little coat, and occasionally headsmacking the collie when he gets too excited. Yup, still boss dog!
I will speak to our new vet regarding vivitonin, thank you. He has booked us in for this Saturday coming. He wants to look into other options regarding her joints.