This book is copyright ©2011 Chris Walkowicz and Bonnie Wilcox DVM
Designed by S Bush
Cover design ©2011 S Bush
Cover image © Alyona Ryazanova | Dreamstime.com, modified by S Bush
Photos © Jan Carson, Ruth Samuels, S Bush, Dreamstime and 123rf photographers.
This edition published in 2011 by Puppy Care Education
Published by Puppy Care Education at Smashwords
All rights reserved
E-book ISBN: 978-1-921879-75-3
Disclaimer:
No information in this book is given as, or intended to be taken as, specific medical advice for your puppy or dog. It is given as general information only. Only a veterinarian who has examined your dog is qualified to give advice about the medical health care of your puppy or dog.
Reminder:
No part of this book may be reproduced in any form, except for the inclusion of brief quotations in a review or article, without written permission from the author or publisher.
Copyright:
This e-book is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This e-book may not be resold or given away to other people. If you would like to share it, please buy a new copy from Smashwords.
Books by C Walkowicz & B Wilcox D.V.M.
The Complete Q&A Book on Dogs
Enjoying Your Older Dog - Old Dogs, Old Friends Book 1
Caring for Your Older Dog - Old Dogs, Old Friends Book 2
Books by Amy Fernandez
Operations Manual for the Chinese Crested
Operations Manual for the Xoloitzcuintli
Origins of the Modern Bulldog
History of Veterinary Care
A Short History of Dog Grooming
Books by Puppy Care Education Staff
Pure Breed Pets
The Cavalier King Charles Spaniel
The Chihuahua
The Australian Silky Terrier
Dog Grooming
Dog Grooming - Long Coats
Dog Grooming - Clipping your Dog
Other Books
Rehoming Ferri
Caring for Your Older Dog
Old Dogs, Old Friends
Book 2
by
BONNIE WILCOX, D.V.M. & CHRIS WALKOWICZ
~
Dedicated to old dogs and the people who love them.
~
Blessed is the person who has earned the love of an old dog.
SIDNEY JEANNE SEWARD
~
CONTENTS
CHAPTER 1: The Reclining years
Lifetime Care
Observation
Nutrition
Genetics
Environment: Stress-free
Veterinary Care
Industry
TLC
You
CHAPTER 2: Slowing Down the Clock: Treating the Problems and Diseases of Aging
Aware and Informed
The Senses
Muscles, Bones and Nerves
Reproductive System
Hormonal Imbalances
Urinary Tract Problems
Stroke
Cardiopulmonary Disorders
Digestive System Dysfunction
Liver Disorders
Cancer
CHAPTER 3: Paying Tribute, Day by Day
Watching for Changes Day by Day
CHAPTER 4: Dealing with Bereavement
The Next Move
OTHER BOOKS BY PUPPY CARE EDUCATION
A scant few years ago, when you crawled out of a cozy bed for 2:00 A.M. backyard jaunts in answer to demanding puppy squawks, you thought this was a long way off. But one day, seemingly just a moment or two after wiping up the last puppy puddle, you notice a gray whisker on your best friend's muzzle.
Emotion suddenly clouds your vision—you can’t bear to think of losing your buddy. You hug him, realizing you've got a gray hair or two yourself. Then he drops his favorite ball at your feet and barks an invitation to play. Hey, there's plenty of life in the old guy yet!
Pets are living longer today. In the past fifty years, their life span has nearly doubled, a cause for rejoicing. A recent veterinary study showed that now, after puppies are weaned (infancy, as in humans, is the greatest danger period), the average life span has increased from 5.1 years to 8.7 years. By the time the dog celebrates his first birthday, life expectancy reaches twelve years of age. In a 1988 survey conducted by Dog Fancy magazine, 48 percent of the respondents owned dogs aged ten to twelve. Another 35 percent had thirteen- to fifteen-year-old dogs, and several happily reported having dogs of fifteen to twenty-plus years!
The 1990 edition of the Guinness Book of World Records lists an Australian Cattle Dog named Bluey as holding the record for canine longevity, at twenty-nine years, five months. Bluey worked as a stock dog for his owner, Les Hall, in Australia for nearly twenty years! Close on Bluey's heels is Adjutant, a black Labrador Retriever who accompanied his gameskeeper owner, James Hawkes, around the Revesby Estate in England for twenty-seven years, three months.
Even if our pets could triple their life spans, it would still be too soon to lose them. There's never a good time to lose a friend or member of the family. Although it's not so, sometimes it seems as though our dogs age overnight. Susan LaCroix Hamil explains this in an article, "As Time Goes By," in Dog Fancy magazine (March 1989). In contrast to human aging, which takes place mainly during the latter one third of our lives and is spread over a period of twenty-five years, the canine equivalent is only four years. Therefore, Hamil says, "Significant changes can occur in your dog's physical appearance and organ systems in as little as three to six months."
As a practicing veterinarian and a dog breeder for more than twenty years, we would like to help others relish and remember the good times with these special dogs and ease the difficulties.
In Caring for the older Dog each chapter covers a topic of concern in your relationship with an aging pet: adapting to change, health, and paying tribute to our old friends. The two health chapters should serve as reference guides for the future.