Improving My Senior Dog's Quality of Life

Recently, my dog Hugo celebrated his (approximately) eighth birthday. Over the past few years, I've noticed the usual signs of old age creeping up on him.

As a large breed dog, Hugo was considered a Senior from around 6 or 7. It's been such an interesting and rewarding process to walk Hugo through, learning about his new needs as an older boy.

I am determined to give Hugo the best quality of life until his very last day, so here are a few ways I've been working to improve his physical, mental, and emotional health:

Physiotherapy

Physiotherapy is an umbrella term that encompasses a wide range of treatments and therapies - from hydrotherapy, to massage therapy; joint and muscle conditioning; laser therapy; and acupuncture (SASH Vets). 

Physiotherapy in all its forms can be hugely beneficial for senior dogs, helping them to recover more quickly from injuries, and is also helpful for pain management for diseases such as arthritis (Dybczyńska et al, 2022). Mobility is also correlated with overall quality of life in elderly dogs (Frye et al, 2022), so it’s incredibly important to keep our dogs’ moving and as pain free as possible. 

Physiotherapy is often viewed as expensive, there are a range of ways to access it. Some practitioners offer online consults; there are a number of courses aimed at pet guardians; and there are also several YouTubeand social media accounts that can provide guidance. However, if it is accessible to you, I always recommend working with a qualified rehabilitation vet to begin with. They can offer you a tailored exercise plan to continue with in your own time, as well as feedback specific to you and your dog.

Hugo loves his daily physiotherapy training. He'll usually run straight to his wobble board or raised platform and start offering behaviours straight away. It really is such a good way to keep him fit and healthy; to manage his arthritis pain; keep his range of movement excellent (we've had great feedback from several vets on this!); and also a way for us to bond and have fun together.

Exercise

Just before turning seven in March 2024, Hugo's arthritis became significantly worse. Over the course of a few months, he went from enjoying long walks to barely being able to hobble down the road to our gate. This had a significant impact on his quality of life, as you can imagine.

Thankfully, our vet team was on the case very quickly. We got him started on both long-term and short-term medications, and since then we’ve been increasing our walks as he becomes more comfortable. He's obviously a senior now and doesn't enjoy the 5km walks we used to do when he was much younger - but he's now regularly walking 1.5-3km each day.

In human medicines, we have a saying ‘what you don’t use, you lose’, meaning if we don’t keep our bodies moving, we’re going to lose the ability to do so. As for humans, exercise is essential for our dogs to live a healthy, comfortable life.  That was the main reason I worked so hard to get Hugo back to walking again. I was sure that if he was out of action for too long, his overall health would degrade to an unmanageable level.

With senior dogs, we need to make sure they are receiving an appropriate level of exercise, and are minimising the chance of injury. Consult with your vet to find out what an optimal type and period of exercise would be for your dog.

Here are a few general ideas that help for me and Hugo:

• Short walks, with a focus on sniffing and environmental interaction

• Physiotherapy (as mentioned above)

• Scentwork (allows the dog to move at their own pace)

• Low impact exercise, such as swimming or water wading

• Dog sports altered for senior dogs (puppy runs at lure coursing, hoopers, agility with lowered jumps, flyball with baby jumps)

• Scatter feeds across the lawn, instead of food in a bowl

• Mantrailing and tracking

Pharmaceuticals

Unfortunately, it's common to see a lot of pushback against medications, particularly those used for age-related concerns such as arthritis. 

If you have any concerns about a specific drug, I always recommend talking to your vet about it. Ask specific questions, and if you are not satisfied with their answer, you can always ask for a second opinion from another veterinarian. It is important to take these concerns to a medical professional - rather than to social media, or even your dog's trainer. Unfortunately, misinformation surrounding medications of all kinds is rife and spreads quickly. It's okay to be worried or sceptical; there are people who are educated and able to help.

All that aside, in the vast majority of cases, pharmaceuticals are hugely beneficial for senior dogs. They can even be life saving, giving you several more months or years with your beloved companion.

As I mentioned previously, Hugo’s various arthritis medications have given him so much life back. He has been able to start walking, exercising and enjoying training again. These medications were essential to his wider, more holistic treatment plan. 

Some medications your dog may be prescribed if they have long term pain (Canine Arthritis Management):

• Pentosan polysulphate (sometimes known under the brand name Cartrophen)

• Grapiprant (sometimes known under the brand name Galliprant)

• Paracetamol (sometimes known under the brand name Panadol)

• Firecoxib (sometimes known under the brand name Previcox) 

• Meloxicam (sometimes known under the brand name Metacam) 

If your dog has been diagnosed with any other health issues, they may need medication for these as well. In certain cases, these may contraindicate with pain medications. As always, check with your vets.

*A quick note on supplements. In addition to registered pharmaceuticals, there are dozens (if not hundreds) of supplements designed to help your ageing dog. Supplements can be tricky to navigate. Most have very little scientific literature behind them, so be careful who you choose to trust.

Training

One of the more common impacts age can have on our dogs is the development of Canine Cognitive Disorder (CCD). CCD resembles dementia in human patients, being characterised by behavioural as well as physical changes such as disorientation; changes in interacting with both familiar people and strangers; "forgetting" learned cues; changes in sleeping habits; and house-soiling. It may also show up as worsening or changing of already present behaviour issues such as anxiety, reactivity, or aggression (Svicero et al, 2017). 

Unfortunately, as with dementia, CCD is too poorly understood for us to know how to cure it, or prevent it entirely. However, there are some ways we can help our dogs deal with cognitive changes and slow the process.

An excellent way to do this is to keep your dog's brain sharp with regular training. For humans we suggest crosswords and other puzzles; for dogs I love to suggest anything that involves a bit of problem solving - noseworks, trick training, and enrichment puzzles are some of my favourites.

"Old dogs can't learn new tricks" is an old myth that I still come across quite frequently in my work. It's simply not true! Old dogs love learning just as much as younger dogs do, though some may need a little more patience when presented with a new problem to solve.

In recent months, Hugo has started to show a few concerning cognitive changes, which are inevitable as he starts to age. However, I've made sure to keep his brain moving just as much as his body. Interestingly, some recent research shows that frequent physical activity across the lifespan, and especially as dogs enter senior years, can help prevent cognitive dysfunction (Bray et all, 2023). 

Regular Vet Care

Finally, I prioritise frequent, thorough vet care for Hugo. 

My younger dogs receive annual checkups, and go to the vet when they’re sick or injured, but on the whole do not spend much time at the vet. With Hugo, I'm more aware of how quickly issues can become serious. Hugo has six-monthly vet checkups, which coincide with his cartrophen injections. We also monitor some of the health issues he's had in the past to make sure they don't reoccur.

Unfortunately, many people actually take their dogs to the vet less as they age, and potential health concerns are more likely to be brushed off as "old age" (Wallis et al, 2023). Obviously, this can lead to major issues being missed until it's too late, and can contribute to a severe drop in quality of life. 

Regular vet checkups will ensure any new issues that pop up can be quickly identified; previously diagnosed issues can be monitored; and treatments adjusted if necessary.

I hope this was a helpful look into some ways I've worked with Hugo to ensure his golden years are long, happy, and healthy. Hopefully I've also been able to give you some ideas for easing your own senior pup into this next stage of their lives.

References:

Bray, E. E., Raichlen, D. A., Forsyth, K. K., Promislow, D. E. L., Alexander, G. E., & MacLean, E. L. (2023). Associations between physical activity and cognitive dysfunction in older companion dogs: results from the Dog Aging Project. GeroScience, 45(2), 645–661. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11357-022-00655-8 

Canine Arthritis Management (No date).  Common Medications. https://caninearthritis.co.uk/managing-arthritis/common-medications/ 

Dybczyńska, M., Goleman, M., Garbiec, A., & Karpiński, M. (2022). Selected Techniques for Physiotherapy in Dogs. Animals : an open access journal from MDPI, 12(14), 1760. https://doi.org/10.3390/ani12141760 

Frye, C., Carr, B. J., Lenfest, M., & Miller, A. (2022). Canine Geriatric Rehabilitation: Considerations and Strategies for Assessment, Functional Scoring, and Follow Up. Frontiers in Veterinary Science, 9, 842458–842458. https://doi.org/10.3389/fvets.2022.842458 

SASH Vets, (no date). Physiotherapy. https://sashvets.com/services/physiotherapy-vet-service/ 

Svicero, D. J., Heckler, M. C. T., & Amorim, R. M. (2017). Prevalence of behavioral changes in senile dogs. Ciência Rural, 47(2), Article 20151645. https://doi.org/10.1590/0103-8478cr20151645 

Wallis, L. J., Radford, A. D., Belshaw, Z., Jackson, J., Kubinyi, E., German, A. J., & Westgarth, C. (2023). “Just old age” – a qualitative investigation of owner and veterinary professional experiences of and attitudes to ageing in dogs in the UK. Journal of Small Animal Practice, 64(7), 425–433. https://doi.org/10.1111/jsap.13610