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    Old Dog 101 - Tips & Tricks for Senior Dog Care
    Old Dog 101 - Tips & Tricks for Senior Dog Care
    Old Dog 101 - Tips & Tricks for Senior Dog Care
    Ebook75 pages1 hour

    Old Dog 101 - Tips & Tricks for Senior Dog Care

    By Hope Morgan and Erik Jauch

    ()

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    About this ebook

    We offer tried-and-true recommendations that won't break your bank account for dealing with a number of old dog issues including arthritis, seizures, dementia, incontinence, old dog vestibular disease, weight management and giving medication.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherBookBaby
    Release dateJun 22, 2015
    ISBN9780990664710
    Old Dog 101 - Tips & Tricks for Senior Dog Care

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      Book preview

      Old Dog 101 - Tips & Tricks for Senior Dog Care - Hope Morgan

      Suck

      Introduction

      Congratulations! If you are reading this book, it means that you have done such a wonderful job caring for your dog they have gotten old. Or maybe you are considering adopting an older dog from a shelter or rescue. Well, regardless of your motivation for reading this book, you have the sensibility to be aware that senior dogs need special care and I’m here to help. My name is Hope and I run a senior dog sanctuary. I have spent decades caring for old dogs, 24/7, and I would like to impart my real life experience, tips, tricks and practical suggestions in caring for senior dogs.

      This isn’t the type of book where I’m going to tell you to get a CT scan every month, consult a celebrity dog psychic working on the Lifetime Channel, pre-emptively put your dog on a waiting list for a heart transplant or feed your dog organic liver from some semi-endangered black footed duck that can only be imported by rocket ship from Paris. This book is for the typical person with a real life and who is living with a real senior dog who has real senior dog issues. Like me. Now, I’m not going to assume you have unlimited funds and unlimited time…but if you do, great! By all means, a CT scan once a month couldn’t hurt. I guess. Although, please, skip the duck. For the duck’s sake.

      This book is not an exhaustive manual on general dog care. I am mainly focusing on the things that you are likely to encounter having an older dog. Thus the title of this book. Old Dog 101 – Tips & Tricks for Senior Dog Care.

      And let me say this; even though old dogs require more care and possibly more expense than a younger dog, you will be repaid a million-fold for the attention and love you provide as a dog reaches the end of their journey. There is nothing more sacred then being there for your pet when they reach this stage in life. When you are willing to be loyal, loving and patient with the problems that naturally arise in the aging process, what you get in return from your dog is priceless. You won’t regret your commitment. Trust me on this one.

      I have dedicated my life to caring for senior dogs because there is something about them that is amazing and beautiful to me. The vulnerability, the sweetness and depth. The cloudy eyes, the missing teeth. Their spirit and loyalty is profound. I can’t imagine my life without them.

      Before we start, take a deep breath and give your dog a big kiss.

      That was step number one.

      See? That wasn’t too bad, was it? This is going to be easier than you thought.

      Eat and Drink, Live or Die

      I can guarantee one thing about getting old, and this goes for people as well as dogs. You either get heavier or thinner. Of course there are certainly exceptions to this rule, but 98% of the senior dogs that show up on my doorstep are either very overweight or very underweight. That’s just the way it goes.

      One reason for excessive bulk is lack of exercise. I’m sure you know what I’m talking about. As you age, the thought of spending your Saturday on the couch watching Dancing with the Stars and devouring a bag of Cheetos is much more appealing than that six mile hike uphill both ways that your doctor suggested. Well, it is sort of the same thing for your dog. We tend to get a little lazier as we age. Our bodies hurt a little more on a regular basis. It takes longer to recover after exercise. We eat more. We get tired more quickly. It happens. Conversely, what if you don’t eat enough? This could be because your appetite just isn’t what it used to be. Or you simply start burning more calories than you take in. Or maybe your teeth hurt and eating is painful. And then there are the situations that could make you go either way. Maybe you have a chronic illness that makes you either eat too much or not enough. Maybe you have to take medication that messes with your appetite. Or, more likely, you have a combination of several of these factors. Well, this all applies to your dog just like it does to you. So here are some tips to help with eating and drinking issues.

      Eating

      What should you do if your dog is just too fat? Well, I sort of gauge this depending on the dog. If your dog is what I call a super-senior which would be over eight for a large dog and over 15 for a small dog, I don’t put them on any kind of radical diet. In my opinion, and I need to stress that this is MY OPINION, at this point in your dog’s life, why bother?

      I remember a story my grandma told me. She had just turned 85 and was living alone in her house. She had macular degeneration, but was still managing really well on her own. One day, right out of the blue, one of her children (my aunt) decided she and her husband should move into my grandma’s house and take care of her. Well, once moved in, they insisted my grandmother should have a healthier diet. Keep in mind my grandma was not ill and had no health issues other than being old and beginning to lose her vision. My aunt and her husband took salt and sugar completely out of my grandma’s diet. They also denied her any caffeine, so there was to be no more coffee. She thought this was ludicrous. I mean, she was 85…why start a no salt, no sugar and no caffeine diet at this point? Were these sacrifices going to give her another quality 85 years? Or six months? Two weeks? Anything? And no caffeine? My grandma loved coffee and chocolate, so she took to hiding instant coffee and chocolate bars between her mattresses.

      My point of sharing this with you would be, if you have limited time left, why not

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