adapting to dog aging

rustyboy21

Rusty had the mindset that he wanted to go out, but after 5 minutes of being out, you could see he wanted to come back home. He still thought of himself as a pup.


He was funny, even up to the day we lost him, he wanted to be upstairs, sleeping in my bedroom, on his snoozy bed and blanket we had from day 1, all torn and ragged, but his. I still have it in my bedroom, where it was placed. The cat is now sleeping on it ! lol


You will know when things aren't right, I think that is quite a way off for you yet though.

zaksmum

gettingready wrote: »

Zara is going to be 8 this August....:(

Lucy is coming up to 12:eek:

And even my "puppy" Jack is 6 this week.

I feel sick at the very thought of how short our beloved dogs' lifespans are.

mtbbuxton

I have a 10 yr old whippet and it's perfectly normal for her to spend most of her time asleep or lazing about. Once out and about, she's full of beans and enjoying herself. 8 isn't old for a whippet/whippet mix and depending on her make up, your girl may only be middle aged.

As others have said, she may be starting to have a few aches and pains, so it may be prudent to have a Vet check just to rule out any pain she may be hiding.
Do you give her any joint supplements? If not, now would be a good time to introduce something such as glucosamine and chondroitin. The choice can be a bit mind boggling, but I'm sure you'd get lots of advice if you started a separate thread on here.
Above all else, just enjoy her. We don't know how long we have any of them for, so enjoy each and every day together.

M x

Adora-Bell-Dearheart

Thanks all again! We've got such a responsibility to our pets to make sure that we give the best care we can, I'll definitely try the glucosamine, will speak to vets about it or would the ones from health shops be ok? X

mtbbuxton

Adora-Bell-Dearheart wrote: »

Thanks all again! We've got such a responsibility to our pets to make sure that we give the best care we can, I'll definitely try the glucosamine, will speak to vets about it or would the ones from health shops be ok? X

Until recently, we used just the chemist bought human supplements for our 26kg lurcher, which contain 400mg Glucosamine and 100mg chondroitin. At a recent Vet visit, we were advised to start him on Synoquin tablets, which are a Veterinary grade version of glucosamine and chondroitin. They're much more expensive, even when bought via online suppliers, but they do seem to be having a positive effect on him. We also use turmeric, but that's a whole other thread :rotfl:
My whippet isn't actually on anything at the moment, due to other heatlh issues we're concentrating on, but it is on the agenda for adding in as soon as possible.

M x

roobee13

Hi OP,

mtbbuxton makes a great point about joint supplements. I've been giving them to my rescue lab (I say lab, he's a bit of a 'heinz 57') since I got him as he used to struggle after walks, I think his bones weren't as good from being mistreated whilst still growing. My other lab (who I've had from a pup) now also has them. He turned 7 last week and still bounces around like a puppy!! Prevention is better than cure and all that.

Other posters are also right, you will know when something doesn't feel right and by the sounds of it you have nothing to worry about just yet

zaksmum

I've got my old dog Lucy on Yumove which does seem to help her mobility.