Watching a Dog grow old is crazy.

[trumad]

My dog seems to have gotten old overnight. He's a 13 year old pickingese...anyone with a Pickingese knows that they look old at birth... but he looks even older.

Pretty darn sad seeing him struggle with the most mundane things. He can't jump on the couch anymore...he tires easy....limps a bit...kind of like we do when we get older but more sudden.

I love Dogs... it's kind of like watching our own lives in a condensed version.

[bigwillq]

1. ....

[shenmue]

2. Hugs

[Terra Alta]

3. watching a pet grow old is like watching a family member grow old.

It isn't easy.

Best wishes to him, and to you as well.

[roguevalley]

35. because I maintain their teeth, my dachshunds lived

to be eighteen and twenty. Its very hard. Don't fret if the time comes to be kind. It is the right thing. Hard but right.

[elfin]

4. My Westie turned sixteen yesterday

Nearly completely deaf and blind, but still has a scamper at least once a day.

Fell ass over teakettle down the stairs yesterday, so now carry him down in the morning until his early morning wobbles disappear.

However, still makes me laugh each day and somehow manages to take over the entire queen bed at night.

Unlike your dog, he still looks like a pup, which somehow makes me sadder.

[avebury]

5. I hear you. My dog is a 14.5 year old Jack Russell/Chihuahua mix

and his age is starting to show. He is an only child now so he doesn't like to go outside unless I am with him. He is getting cataracts although he sees well enough to let me know everything that goes on outside our front door. But getting up and down from furniture is tough at times. If he is on the bed our a piece of furniture in the living room and I leave him alone too long he will bark for me to come and get him. But he is my best buddy.

[Adsos Letter]

11. We have three dogs and one is a Chihuahua/Yorkie mix

We jokingly refer to him as a Chorkie. He's almost four, and he guards this place like a hawk.

[madokie]

7. We just lost our Border Collie of 15 years

It is like losing a best friend or better yet a family member. I'll be long time getting over this one for sure.

[Person 2713]

31. Take care & my condolences

[AtomicKitten]

8. omg I'm dealing with same

My now gray-faced girl is 13 and really arthritic. My son has to carry her up and down stairs to use the facilities in the backyard. It seems like I adopted her from the rescue just yesterday. God I hate this part of the life cycle. It comes way too quickly.

[MADem]

9. Get him a ramp or stair-step for the couch.

Get some powdered turmeric either at your Asian grocery for very little money, or through Amazon you can get it at not too bad a price in bulk, or pay through the nose at the froufrou store and get caplets with turmeric in them. Add those to your dog's wet food. Turmeric is simply a spice popular in south Asian (Indian, Persian, etc.) cooking--it also has pain-relieving properties. It's bright yellow, doesn't have a strong taste. My dog gets some everyday--helps enormously.

The limp is probably due to a sore hip, the turmeric might help; also a heating pad applied to what looks like the affected area (dog will let you know what feels good) will help, especially on humid days or days when the weather is changing.

Dogs don't complain but they do have aches, and if you can relieve them it can really improve their quality of life. I don't expect you to take my word for this, so here's an article on the topic (FWIW, it works for people, too):

http://www.yourolddog.com/9144/benefits-turmeric-dogs/

[trumad]

12. will do..thanks

[tammywammy]

25. Check the Drs Foster & Smith site.

My bed is pretty high up and I figured it wasn't good for my cat's shoulders to be jumping down from there onto hard wood. I bought some stairs from that site and they've held up well. They're wooden but covered in carpet.

[Gloria]

17. My dogs are on HEPATO SUPPORT....

turmeric, of course, Alpha Lipoic Acid and other incredible things such as silymarin to protect the liver!
All the stuff I take!

Also check out the Platinum line of supplemental powders.....the one I give mine (vet prescribed) has joint things in it as well
as all sorts of micronutrients and things they can't get in dog food.

[MADem]

19. Good stuff. Milk thistle is a good thing for the liver.

It's important to keep our pooches as healthy as we can manage! And it's not a bad thing for people either!

[Stonepounder]

23. Stairs are great for older dogs.

We have a 11 yo, diabetic English Toy Spaniel. He has some arthritis in his hips. We can tell when there is a weather change coming because he uses the steps to get up on the couch or into bed. When he's feeling good he makes the jump without the steps. But it makes us feel better knowing the steps are there when he needs them.

[Adsos Letter]

10. Our Beauceron is 16.

She has started having some pretty serious trouble with her hips, and is about deaf. Her distance vision is gone as well.

We baby her, and the vet always says her bloodwork is good for a dog her age, but I'm afraid it won't be long now.

[Kber]

13. 11 year old boxer

Watching her skin tone deteriorate, tire after walks, and sleep most of the day.

Taking her in Thursday to get a couple of suspicious lumps checks out. No idea what we will do if we get bad news. Probably nothing.

[Sanity Claws]

14. I'm watching a cat grow old

It is hard. My boy is 15 and has diabetes. Some other ailments too. He can't jump very well anymore. I sometimes wonder how much longer he will be with me.

[RebelOne]

15. My Rottweiler died at age 13, which is past a Rottie's lifespan.

She had bone cancer and liver cancer. It broke my heart watching her deteriorate. I finally had to have the vet end her misery.

[Gloria]

16. I cried when my Slick (the min pin) had to have tooth extractions

At that point, I knew I had an aging dog....

On June 20, he will be in remission 2 years...he had a small mast cell tumor removed from his hind leg. No way it could be a clean
surgery...He is on Chinese tea pills and 50 mg of Kinavet every day. A year before I had nursed my first dog Toro with herbs and brought him back from a huge mast cell tumor that had suddenly appeared...but, there was no Kinavet then, so after several months of feeling well, he just stopped eating and I knew it was time. I think I cried for weeks....

Vet is amazed and gratified and I am loving him every day. Recently discovered he has an enlarged heart, but is not in heart failure yet.
We think he will be 14 this fall. I enticed him for 2 weeks before I grabbed him. He had been wandering for 8 months...Animal Control couldn't catch him, with traps, nets or anything! I simply put out food and moved it up the driveway, opened the door, then started sitting and moving the dish close to me. Finally, I picked him up and he's been with me ever since. He is my miracle dog as he helped rehab me after back surgery as I had to walk him. Sometimes I cry thinking of life without him, or little Tico (chi/corgi mix).

My darling Slick....
I've written about him quite a bit...the first time right after the 2008 election....

https://insightanalytical.wordpress.com/2008/11/04/today-a-stress-free-post-what-could-be-better-than-a-true-story-about-a-november-miracle-dog-with-pics/

The teeth and the turning point...

https://insightanalytical.wordpress.com/2010/02/26/my-dogs-teeth/

I know how hard it is to see your dog struggle with age. Love him to death, love him EVERY MINUTE!!!!!

[thecrow]

18. On the bright side, small dogs tend to have longer lifespans.

I lost my precious beagle in March...she was 18. So far, I miss her every day.
I feel for what you are going through...suddenly you realize they are aging.
My advice is to be a little kinder and just love them while you can.
Ask your vet for any help they can offer.

[madinmaryland]

20. Watching your pet grow old (or myself, in my case) is always sad...

but watching joeybee12 going over the edge is more than humorous!

[swilton]

21. I have 2 pugs and a chihuahua mix

All three dogs were rescues - the Chihuahua mix I found beside the road. The pugs are now 6, 9 and the mix is 11. The 9-year-old pug had eye surgery this past year and that was and is still a financial challenge...But I couldn't think of losing him. I think about their aging a lot, as I do my two elderly cats at 14 and 16. I just dread the pain that I will go through when I lose any of them.

[jtuck004]

22. I read once that animals live such compressed lives to better teach us the importance of enjoying

and using what we have been given.

After decades of watching old friends leave, I am tired of learning that lesson. And I appreciate every single one who came to stay with us.

[840high]

24. My 16 yr old cat is going through

this - breaks my heart.

[Generic Brad]

32. Same with my 14 year old cat

All we can do is make her comfortable and constantly clean up her accidents.

[840high]

33. Yes. Hugs to you.

[Gore1FL]

26. I had to lose my best buddy in 2011 It's tough to watch.

I almost lost my new rescue last year after a pit bull attack to us to our species-specific emergency rooms.

Both cases, as you said are so much condensed versions of our own journey.

[mountain grammy]

27. I feel for ya. It does seem to happen overnight

thought my last girl would live forever, healthy as a tick, my husband always said. 15years and she told me in a hundred ways she was done. I finally obliged. It took 5 years to heal and find a new love, they better bury me before this one goes.

I love dogs too.. wonderful creatures.

[mike dub]

28. Sending hugs your way, trumad.

Other DU'ers mentioned ramps. Also there's a brand called Orvis that makes a really good foam-block ramp that's covered in a suede like material that we have for our aging miniature dachshund. It's easier on her back

Hugs

[oldandhappy]

29. Hug and scratches to each of.

[calimary]

30. Yeah, I know what you mean. All of a sudden, Goldie's black muzzle is now salt 'n' pepper.

We don't know how old she is. Neither did the animal shelter people. They figured because her teeth were good she had to be on the young side. So that might make her nine or ten now. Crazy old girl. Still capable of playing like a puppy!

[nilesobek]

34. My Jack Russell terrier is 16 years old

and is full of tumors and struggles to do things like go outside and do his thing but he's still full of love and hope and greets me when I come home.

[zappaman]

36. Yeah, my black lab is having the same issues.

It sucks but we know when we adopt that one day we are gonna have to end their pain.
I cherish her as the days seem to get shorter.

[Ratty]

37. Makes me appreciate my damn annoying younger cat

When he does things that make me crazy:

- Jumping onto my back from the far kitchen counter when I'm preparing his breakfast (and scratching me and tearing my shirt!)
- Making me miss a shot in a computer game because he head butted my mouse hand
- Jumping onto my shoulder EVERY time I use the toilet (can't a guy poop in peace in my house?)
- Demanding 10 minutes of pets by head butting my limp hand right after I turn out the light to go to sleep

Aaaurghh! I just want to throw him across the room sometimes. But I remember what it was like watching my last cat get old. She stopped doing things like that. She didn't want to go out anymore because it hurt too much to jump down from the window. She just wanted to spend the day in her sunny patch on the porch. So when I feel the anger well up in my stomach when crazy current kitty deliberately provokes me I find myself smiling instead, calming down and thinking he and I haven't got too many more years of his youthful bluster left. He's approaching middle age and someday soon - too soon - I'm going to miss those things that used to drive me batty.

So I poop with a cat on my shoulder, what's the big deal? In a few years that bathroom's gonna seem kind of lonely.