Set up your senior dog to thrive

Puppy-proofing a home is a no brainer for many people and a topic widely discussed. However, there is less awareness and fewer discussions about adjusting our home to the needs of an ageing dog. Let’s have a look at what adaptations your golden oldie might appreciate and benefit from.

Many of us have experienced an older family member or friend (or perhaps ourselves!) dubiously eyeing a couch and declining to sit on it because they know they would be struggling – or failing – to get up from it again. Adjusting the physical features of a home to meet the changing abilities and needs of a senior is part of the standard age care provided for humans. What about our golden oldie canine (or feline) family members?

Home Assessment Checklist for better Quality of Life into Older Age for Dogs

• Meal times
• Dog beds
• Other furniture
• Slippery floors
• Playing & socialising
• Stairs & thresholds
• Outside areas
• Car travel

Meal times

Many older dogs experience stiffness, muscle loss or discomfort (often due to arthritis) along their spine and particularly in their backend. Stretching down to eat from a bowl on the floor can be quite a strain and make them feel unstable on their legs. Raised bowls for eating and drinking can help a dog to feel more comfortable while doing so. It’s also helpful to make sure the bowls stay in place securely and neither fall off the raised platform nor wander all over the floor as your dog tries to eat or drink. Set up the meal area on a non-slip surface. As a dog’s core strength diminishes their legs tend to splay apart on smooth floors such as tiles or floorboards. Also, any water spilled on these adds a hazard. Make sure to clean up any spills immediately.

Keeping your dog’s weight healthy as they age might mean changing what and how much you feed them. Read more on that topic in my blog article What’s the right weight for my dog. Loss of teeth or issues swallowing are conditions that require a change in what type of food you feed and assessing if it’s safe any longer to let your dog chew bones.

dog beds

Just like our older human family members or friends might struggle or fail to get up from a sofa again that’s perhaps too low and too soft for them, our dogs experience similar difficulties with their beds. Too squishy and your dog might not be able to get up again easily to change position or get off it. You want a nicely padded surface to support an older body but one that is firm rather than too soft. There are great orthopaedic options available from many brands. The bed also shouldn’t be too high or have a lip to have to step over to get in. The above mentioned loss of core strength not only causes splaying of legs on slippery surfaces but can also cause your dog to keep slipping off their bed while they are resting on it. A good remedy for that is a bed with three raised sides but remember to keep the entrance side as low as possible.

other furniture

Access to any furniture your dog is allowed on such as your sofa or bed might need to be adapted by providing a ramp or steps. These should be wide and sturdy enough for your dog’s size and weight as well as covered with a non-slip material. Just providing a ramp or steps might not be enough, your dog might still try to jump up and down like they always have. You need to show them and supervise them as they are learning this new way of entry and exit. Be gentle, patient and persistent.

slippery floors

Are any of the floors your dog has access to tiled, laminated, polished stone, concrete or wood? These are all slippery surfaces that the older your dog gets the more they will struggle navigating them. Rugs, runners and mats in these areas help your dog to walk more safely and hence feel more confident. Provided, of course, they are rubber-backed or otherwise secured to the floor.

Alternatively, there are an ever growing variety of dog boots available who help a dog with grip and traction on slippery surfaces. Not all dogs take to them, especially the ones with sensitive feet.

Trimming your dog’s hair between their pads short and keeping their nails to a length just off the ground is really helpful too. When you hear your dog clippety clopping on your floor you know their nails need a trim. Watch the video below by Dr. Leslie Woodcock DVM, about the significance of cutting a dog’s nails properly and the far-reaching postural and health consequences if you don’t. If you don’t feel equiped or confident to trim your dog’s nails and fur between it yourself, find a groomer or ask your vet.

playing & socialising

As dogs age and experience a decline in mobility or strength their confidence might be impacted, they might feel a bit more guarded and act in a grumpy or defensive way towards other dogs. Their declining physical stability can make them prone to be ploughed over by boisterous dogs where in the past they might have easily absorbed being bumped into. A deterioration in their sight and/or ability to hear makes them slower to recognise and respond, not to mention any stiffness or other body weaknesses.

A diminished capacity to see or hear might need you to keep your dog on leash always when in public even if in the past they were a reliable off-lead dog. Some dogs experience a deterioration of their mental faculties, they get a bit senile. When my dog Louie was about 11 years old I started to notice that not only more and more often he simply didn’t hear me call him because he was increasingly going deaf but that he also sometimes got disoriented about where he was when we were out for a walk. Twice it happened that he got lost in his own world sniffing. I had walked on with my two other dogs. When I turned around to see if Louie was coming I saw him standing there looking around as if trying to find his bearings. I called him which he seemed to hear but must have sounded as if it’s coming from the other direction. Good dog he was he promptly moved towards the sound … except it was away from it! We don’t live on a busy road but it was still concerning. I started trotting after him (with two very reluctant Mastiffs in tow), calling louder and louder. The louder I called, the faster he ran – away from us! If this was a cartoon, it would have been very funny. Eventually he came to our driveway which he recognised luckily and turned into. When we showed up behind him he was so surprised.

The first time this happened I thought not too much of it. But then it happened again and I knew I either had to stay close to him or keep him on lead from now on.

Once I lost Louie on our property, we have an 8-acre treed space on our property where we walk our dogs off-lead. It was winter and already dusk when we went on our evening round. Louie again somewhere got lost in his own world sniffing. When I noticed that I couldn’t see him I started calling. Good luck trying to find a brown dog amidst bushes and trees as it is getting dark! I could see the sense of relief on Louie’s face when we found each other after several minutes of looking for and calling him. I felt so relieved too.

And then there is the ageing dog who doesn’t have the sensibility (yet) to know when to stop and ends up feeling very sore after playing for too long or too rough with another dog or with you. Limiting off-lead time with their doggy friends to shorter periods and instead walking together more might help manage a more appropriate activity level. If you have a ball crazy dog, start introducing scent games – using their nose is one of the most satisfying pursuits for a dog – and make them a part of your interactions while you decrease the ball playing time. When you throw the ball, do it low to the ground and without bouncing it to prevent jumping and twisting – a little more joint friendly.

stairs & thresholds

Stairs inside and around the house that cannot be avoided need to be made non-slip. Installing gates or other barriers to prevent your dog using stairs unsupervised are a good idea. If it’s just a few steps that your dog needs to navigate a ramp can be useful. Harnesses with handles and backend harnesses are helpful to support your dog going up or down stairs. If a dog is small and light enough, carrying them can be an option too as long as this can be done safely.

Is there a tricky thresholds somewhere in your home that your ageing dog struggles crossing? It’s important to make either side of it non-slip for proper traction and to avoid slipping. Would installing a ramp help? Or adding a step?

Is there a doggy door in your home? Can your dog still use it with ease or has it become a tripping hazard? If crouching is necessary to get through it, can your dog still do it or have they become too stiff? Could you install a bigger door? If not, the same consideration as in the paragraph above about thresholds are helpful.

outside areas

As a dog’s body ages they might experience more stiffness and less coordination which can lead to less mobility in their legs. They might lift their legs less and sometimes drag their toes. Can you adapt your dog’s outdoor paths to make them non-slip and even? Are there loose or chipped pavers that could be repaired or replaced? Are there holes in the lawn that your dog could step in and stumble? If you can’t fix a hazardous area, can you fence it off?

car travel

Your dog might have jumped easily in and out of your car in the past but can they still do so with ease? There are steps and portable ramps that can aid your senior dog getting in and out of the car safely. If your dog is small and light enough, you might lift them in and out.

What about during travel? Has it become difficult for them to brace when turning corners? Are they slipping from side to side? Can you use a harness and seatbelt? A crate that’s padded? If your dog travels on the back seat a car hammock is helpful to prevent them from falling into the footwell. Your dog might not regulate their body temperature as easily anymore. Make sure they don’t overheat or get too cold. Panting can be a sign of feeling too hot, trembling can indicate feeling chilled.

#itsmyhometoo

Canine Arthritis Management has put together a Home Assessment Tool offering tips how to modify your home environment to assist your dog to achieve a better quality of life into older age. 

amazing grace

Let’s take a moment of awe and appreciate animal’s amazing ability to adapt to whatever life presents them with. Going blind – they continue to move around your home as always (just don’t you move around the furniture on them!). Getting a leg amputated, they soon move around as if they’ve been a tripod all their life. Completely loosing mobility in their backend, they take to their new wheels like a duck to water.

When they do struggle it’s often because we, their humans, struggle with their changes. We feel awful because they no longer are in their prime … and we completely miss the blessings and beauty of that new life phase. Our dogs are amazing and full of grace how they allow life just to unfold. They are fast to accept and then embrace their new now. Allow. Accept. Embrace. Can you do it?