Care Of The Giant Breed Senior Citizen

[SpikesPuppy]

My Newfoundland, Spike, will be celebrating his 8th birthday in 2 weeks. He is doing well but has aged noticably in recent months, and his skin has become more sensitive with some issues cropping up. Hopefully all that is under control now with a diet change- he hasn't had any new sores in a while.

He doesn't seem to be in any pain or obvious discomfort when moving but occasionally his back legs will take a while to 'work' if he's been laying down for a while. Could this be his legs 'going to sleep', maybe due to his weight? He is around 65 kilo at the moment and lean/ideal IMO. As I said, it doesn't seem to bother him, he just waits until his legs work again and then does his thing.

Occasionally he will stumble when walking, and his back legs will give way a little but he doesn't seem at all bothered by this either. He will run around the yard, chasing the littlies, etc.

Getting him to excercise isn't the easiest, but he now does 3 short strolls a day (around the block), he has always been more comfortable at home so has never really done long walks, most of his excercise in the recent years has been done in the backyard or at the golf course across the road where we play chasey, but I am worried if we play chasey now he will hurt himself if he falls or leaps up onto me.

Aside from being a bit quieter, and a bit grumpier with the other dogs/more easily startled when sleeping, he seems quite happy and content. And he is still very enthusiastic about his food But as I mentioned first up, he has aged quite a lot recently. Still happy but 'old'.

He is booked in to see the vet next week, for a check up and whatnot but I was mostly posting to ask if anyone who has had experience with very large seniors and has any tips or advice they could give me to make his 'golden years' the best years of his life 8 isn't a bad run for a Newf, especially considering I know nothing about his breeding so hereditary problems, lifespan of the parents, grandparents, etc are all a mystery. But of course I hope he will be around for his 9th, 10th, 11th and beyond as long as he is happy to be here. He's a very special boy and means the World to me.

[peibe]

What a beautiful old boy LOL

Is he on a Joint Guard? I had an old foster with me that I kept until she passed over, the joint guard made so much difference to her mobility

[SpikesPuppy]

He is currently on Glucosamine & fish oil tabs (the same as I take LOL). Maybe I should look into changing to a specific dog/animal formula? He doesn't have any obvious signs of arthritis or stiffness in his movement, just the legs collapsing or not working the way they used to that seems to be the biggest problem (but he doesn't seem to notice?!).

He is my Grand Old Man Actually, mum's Shih Tzu is almost 14- we reckon they are about the same in 'dog years' though.

[shmoo]

I dont have any advice but I hope Spike feels better soon. Sounds like he is doing well for an 8yr old Newf. Fingers crossed he sticks around for a while longer.

[Poodle wrangler]

Sounds like you're doing a lot to keep him as healthy as possible- weight, supplements, short walks regularly .

Perhaps the vet can check out his legs and advise if a medication for arthritis might make him more comfortable? Or, if s/he thinks it's something else.

Best wishes for the grand old man

[scratchcat]

I'm with peibe. Get some Joint guard. My beautiful Rotty passed away in February at the age of 11. I discovered Joint Guard late and wish I had put her on it sooner. The time she was on it, I believe made a difference. She had a cruciate operation in both rear legs when she was young so suffered arthritis in her later years. I'd recommend to at least give Joint Gaurd a go. Good luck, I'm sure Spike is spoilt just as much as my Pepper was.

[stormie]

hi Spikes,

I have a 14yo golden retriever that displays the exact same symptoms as your newf. Getting up from a sleep is much harder for her, and her backlegs also fall out from under her occasionally. Her problem is in her spine (when she puts her dead down and stretches her back is when her legs tend to fall out from under her) and she also has arthritis in her joints. I have elevated her eating and drinking bowls to help with her spine, and also have her on carprofen tablets (its whats in Rimadyl, just without the flavouring, and half the price!). She had a course of cartrophen injections too which helped a little, and I still give her the occasional jab of it when she isn't looking so good. The carprofen tablets make the most difference though. Even a day without them and you can tell. Also keeping her lean really helps with the added strain on her joints.

Sounds like your newf is in great health for his age!

[Rappie]

I think a check up with your vet is a great idea.

Agree with others about starting a joint supplement (for anyone who is interested Joint Guard Treats for dogs and cats were advertised in a vet journal that arrived this week - I assume that mean that they are / will soon be available) prior to having real problems, I would also add an omega oil supplement. Regular gentle exercise is very important, it doesn't matter if it is only short walks - anything that keep the joints moving, involves some weight bearing and isn't strenuous is fine, even if it's only a stroll or a potter around the block. With giant breeds, if you can encourage them to sleep on something that is raised off the ground (trampoline bed, foam mattress etc) it can make it a little easier for them to actually get up from lying down. Often the combination of mildly uncomfortable joints, slightly reduced muscle tone due to age and a big body can make it that little bit harder to stand up. Obviously something warm and soft to sleep on as well. I recommend trying a course of cartrophen too - the way I explain it to clients is that sometimes we may not see a huge effect from the injections but I think that in the 20-30% of cases where there isn't a marked clinical improvement, there is still a positive change at a cellular level - there are just other factors that mean that the benefits of the drug cannot make a visible difference.

I always start with the aim to support the function we've still got without "serious" drugs.

If I think pain is the major problem then I will start pain medication (not always NSAIDs) to see if we can keep them more comfortable. Sometime however, we really need an antiinflammatory drug to make a difference and that is when I add the NSAIDs - preferably checking blood work first.

[MyMontage]

Yep had this experience with our old OES Monty....by the time I got to him he was already arthritic in his back legs, so much so that I would have to help him up sometimes. We did the cartrophen injections which worked really well. Took him for short strolls just as you do, and just made sure that he was warm and had a nice bed to lie on rather than hard floors. He was also on glucosamine and fish oil. Plus I always made sure he was not too heavy. It was something he would just cope with, nothing that made him unhappy (or so it seemed)...he had all the love he could get. Lived till the was 13!

[nellybly10]

Agree with others about starting a joint supplement (for anyone who is interested Joint Guard Treats for dogs and cats were advertised in a vet journal that arrived this week - I assume that mean that they are / will soon be available)

Thanks Rappie, I just checked VetnPet Direct which is where I buy my pet products from (inc Joint Guard) and found the new treats so they must be available now! I might try these next time I am due to buy

Here is the link to their web page if anyone is interested:

Joint Guard Liver Treats

[SpikesPuppy]

Thanks for the replies everyone

Will order some Joint Guard tomorrow (payday..... but it'll all be gone by the end of the day, the joys of pets ), Spike already gets Omega oils nightly and his bowls are raised.

Getting him to sleep on something comfy has always been difficult- he prefers the carpet. He has several beds (a tramp, a large crate mat, blankets, towels etc) but he's just never really liked them. He does like gettng up on the couch, which we don't mind but try to discourage as this is when he seems to get the most stiff (possibly because he is curled up?), but I guess he knows what he likes best.....

And we are off to the vet at 11am tomorrow- getting him into the car will be interesting, fortunately it's not a long drive

He's a happy chappy though.

[MonElite]

My Rex is going to be 8 very soon as well and has also aged a lot in recent months. Noticeable arthritism in his feet, less movement etc.

I give him 4 fish oil capsules daily, two glucosamine capsules with shark cartlidge and also got MSM powder which is a natural anti inflamatory, (this is instead of giving him the real drugs) I only give it to him when I think he is in some kind of discomfort.

perhaps you can add a chiro visit for Spike once in a while, keep him warm and comfy. Massage areas you think can be hurting.

Excercises as he likes, non forcefull but if he is lazy than get him mowing gently, dont let him loose the muscle tone. and dont make him fat. Feed him food that is easier to digest.

Edited September 30, 2007 by myszka

[SpikesPuppy]

Thnaks everyone.

We had our check up today and the vet is very pleased with him She said pretty much the same thing as people said here, put him on Glucosamine & fish oil and a supplement like Joint Guard if he needs it or as a preventative (Have ordered a tub).

She doesn't want to give him the injections yet, I will take him back in a month and we will see how he is going, or can go back earlier if I think he needs it.

bcause of his size, he ages around a year each month, or so we figured anyway.

Spike has been going to the same vet since we got him, and did puppy school there, so he loves her and she knows him pretty well too.

Oooh he hasn't lost his cheekiness either!!! The bugger stole not one, but 2 pig's ears from the shelf while I was paying no one noticed until I heard him go *crunch*. Bless him