Every animal ages, but when are they a senior? And, what can I do?

– Written by IC Koutzarov, owner Big Dog Company –

Our animals are getting older, and although you would like to, you cannot stop time. But fortunately we have enough 'tools' to detect certain age-related diseases early, to remedy them, to slow them down, or to relieve the pain. How do you recognize if your dog is a senior? And what should you do if your dog is a senior? We discuss that in this article.

In short, you can divide the stages of a dog's life into:

  • Puppy
  • Junior
  • Adult
  • Senior
  • Geriatric

But when is my dog ​​or cat a senior? Although a dog/cat ages faster than humans, the statement "1 dog year is equal to 7 human years" is too simplistic. Among other things, the size of the breed plays a major role, a Great Dane (unfortunately) does not live as long as a Chihuahua. In addition, there are other factors that play a role: genetics, nutrition, external and internal stress factors.

Dr. Richard T. Goldston has developed a table comparing the ages of dogs and cats to the ages of humans. Here you can clearly see that the heavier (larger) the dog/cat, the sooner the senior stage is reached.

My dog ​​is senior according to the table

You may now be looking with furrowed eyebrows because you don't notice that your dog is senior (old). Yes, he has a few more gray hairs around his snout and eyes, but he still runs around the Forest with ease every day.

Good thing, too!

Being a senior does not necessarily mean being sick/less active! But reaching this stage does mean that the years will play tricks on your four-legged friend, especially on the inside, for example:

  • The animal moves less and is slower and sniffs more, which can lead to obesity.
  • Conversion processes, such as protein synthesis, are less efficient
  • The peristalsis of the intestines is slower (passage speed of food)
  • Burning and absorption of food reduced
  • Organs work less efficiently, for example the filter function of proteins in the kidneys.

Measuring is knowing…

When your dog reaches senior age, you can regularly (once a year, the older the more often) have a blood and urine test carried out by your vet (geriatric profile, incl. SDMA). This provides insight into, among other things:

    • Number of red/white blood cells, the volume of the cells, and their size
    • Whether there are inflammatory cells (which may indicate inflammation in the body)
    • The organs are tested: thyroid, liver, pancreas and kidneys (the kidneys are often the first to show age-related problems. Ask the vet for the SDMA test
    • B12: you can opt to include extra B12 in the blood test
    • Urine: The PH value of the urine and the extent of any protein loss (kidneys)
  • For other, unexplained symptoms (coughing, wheezing, frequent stretching) you can also have an ultrasound scan of the organs. This is how I found out Muffin had a tumor on her spleen.

Based on the results, you could possibly adjust the food and adjust the diet with supplements. This will be a topic for a future newsletter. In the meantime, if you have any questions, you know where to find us! (info@bigdog.nl)