Helping your old dog navigate the aging process

We’re full on dealing with this here, if you’ve been a regular reader, you’re aware of what’s been going on. Our Jack Russell Terrier, Asta, is 19 years and nine months old. Just this year, and really in the last several months we’ve seen a marked downturn in her overall health, but even more startling has been the fact that she has full-on canine dementia - the absolute equivalent of human alzheimers disease. This has been the cruelest part of it all.

This is the way she spends her days now. Well, laying down a lot and sleeping too. But she started ‘messing’ in the house … more often, then a lot, a few months back. It got to the point where I was mopping the tile floors on a daily basis and we were going through paper towels by the case. The carpet cleaner got an almost daily workout. The wood floors in the house were really taking a beating, since we didn’t always see the pee spot until it had dried.

I tried diapers. She hated them and got them off in record time. That was actually pretty funny. Finally, we gated off our exercise area in the master suite, with her crate, a lot of pee pads and such. This has been a far more workable solution, and she actually doesn’t ‘mess’ so often.

Putting her out the door - and we have a dog door - is problematic, since she doesn’t know where she is, why she’s there, or how to get back anymore. That was in large part why she’d come right back into the house from being outside, and immediately pee on the floor. We’ve discussed the fact that with winter here now, and the fact that the back yard will be deep with snow soon, this is going to become an even more distressing problem.

She walks in endless circles and gets ‘stuck’ in corners of the yard or the house. You have to pick her up and turn her around.

She doesn’t want to go walk. She also doesn’t want to play or be held particularly. She’s deaf as a door post, and you have to exercise particular caution to not startle her - which happens easily. You can get bitten rather easily if you’re not careful.

And yet, there are mornings, just after she wakes up and is hungry, that she still races around like a puppy. For the most part, she still seems to enjoy food - as long as it’s Little Cesar. We give her the daily thyroid pill, and for a while an estrogen pill. That was for what we initially thought was simple incontinence. It did help.

All of this is why were especially wanted to listen to NPR’s Fresh Air today, and their interview with a distinguished veterinarian about how to care for the older dog - and end of life issues.

I found Dr. Dodman’s information to be helpful and filled with care and wisdom. I was also interested that he feels that children should be completely involved with end of life decisions regarding the family pet. I agree. This is an important learning moment for children.

What would we do without NPR? Can you imagine getting this sort of valuable information on regular commercial radio? I can’t.

I thought some of my readers might find this helpful, too. It gave Mr. Maven and I the opportunity to further discuss the ‘when’ issue about Asta. We’ve decided that we’re still not quite there yet, but it’s soon.

Interview with Veterinary behaviorist Nicholas Dodman (you can also ‘listen’ to the full interview on the NPR website):

As dogs age, taking care of them becomes more difficult. Owners of aging dogs often struggle with their pets’ dementia and incontinence — as well as navigating through the maze of end-of-life care decisions.

Veterinary behaviorist Nicholas Dodman is the head of the Animal Behavior department at Tufts Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine and has worked with aging dogs for decades. He says that old age isn’t a disease, but a stage of life for pets and owners to navigate.

Dodman recently collaborated with other vets from Tufts University as well as writer Lawrence Linder on a reference guide for owners of older dogs, called Good Old Dog: Expert Advice for Keeping Your Aging Dog Healthy, Happy and Comfortable.

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