How Old is that Doggie in the Window? By Veterinarian Dr. Cassie Jones
How Old is that Doggie in the Window?
By Veterinarian Dr. Cassie Jones
Have you ever adopted a pet of somewhat unknown age and been assured that he or she was 2-3 years old? Boy, I have heard that a million times and have had to estimate reality as everything from 2 months old to over 10 years old! “My 5-year-old dog acts like a puppy, like he’s a teenager! So how old is that in people years?” “How old is my dog in dog years?” What?! Unless we take that trek to Mars or on to Jupiter, on this planet a year is a year. Yep, your 5-year-old Golden Doodle is, you got it, 5 years old. The 7-year rule we have always imagined is not particularly accurate. A 1-year-old dog or cat can have puppies or kittens, so that first year is “worth” a lot more than seven. The first years go fast! And a 15 year old dog or cat is, I like to think, like your grandfather. Those older years lengthen the aging process.
A few years back now, I started seeing a promising trend in clients’ concern for pets as they were aging. We must see our own doctors more frequently and for different reasons as we age so, naturally, we think about this with our pets from time to time as well.
Senior-at-Seven
Research shows (those scientists are always studying something, you know) that most dogs and cats do start to show signs of aging around this age. Larger breeds of dog, like Great Danes or Irish Wolfhounds, can be considered really very old by this age yet some smaller dogs, like small terriers or little poodles, are still quite young at this age. There is no perfect scale for aging a pet, but this one, from the AVMA, the American Veterinary Medical Association, comes close. It is a surprisingly good summary of how to think about your aging pet.
Signs of aging can be visible, like a graying muzzle on a dog, cats don’t grey nearly as much. It is thought that cat hairs have more melanin or pigment cells in them. (I wish I had cat hair, instead, I get to let my “silver-lining” show, I guess.) Other noticeable clues that you pet is becoming a senior include aging changes in the eyes, possibly cataracts, and diminished hearing. I find it very interesting that many people do not realize their pet is losing vision or hearing. This has nothing to do with the people, but rather how well the pets start to adapt and accommodate, long before we notice it. They know your routine, they can smell their way around pretty well still, and they can feel vibrations that we tend to ignore, like footsteps on a wooden floor or a garage door opening or closing. I have had clients who did not know their dog was blind until they moved the furniture drastically one day! Oops! And I have had clients who did not really notice their dog was going deaf because they had been trained so well with hand signals to come, sit, stay and so on
What else happens with the aging pet?
Some visible behavioral changes in the very elderly pet population can be signs of cognitive decline or dysfunction. Your old dog may get stuck in the corner and forget how to get out, or forget why he went outside, only to “do his business” once he gets back in the house. Oops, poops, there was a reason he went outside, he just forgot what it was! That makes it tough on us caregivers at times. There are medications that can help but simple things like limiting access to certain parts of the house, leaving a light or radio on and being certain to let the dog go out to poop and pee before bedtime are some of the more straightforward things we can do.
Weight loss that is unexplained or weight gain can be signs that organ function is changing. Sometimes the only or best medicine is a healthy diet much like we would have when aging: lower salt, higher fiber, be careful with the carbs, measured amounts of high-quality protein, even probiotics. An age-appropriate healthy diet can make a difference! As can regular age-appropriate exercise. Your knees and your dog’s knees have a lot in common…
Signs can also be unseen, like the aging changes our joints and organs go through. Older pets start to develop diseases that we associate with aging as well. It can be gradual, but a senior pet can become quite debilitated with arthritis. First, an optimal weight can make getting around easier and extend the lives of our pets in greater comfort. Additionally, orthopedic beds and raised feeding bowls can be helpful as well. Joint supplements, and appropriate-species NSAIDS can provide welcome relief (see your veterinarian for sure on this). And, lastly, laser, acupuncture and other integrative modalities can provide relief.
Other invisible diseases include heart, kidney and liver disease. And just like our aging bodies, our pets can benefit from early diagnosis treatment for many of these. Similar diagnostic modalities exist for our pets, too. Radiographs, EKGs, screening blood and urine tests, along with a physical exam and more are readily available. “You won’t know if you don’t look,” I always say. So those senior wellness exams can be life-saving by detecting problems when they are small or easily managed.
A statistic that surprised even me: almost 50 % of pets over 10 (human) years of age die from cancer. Dogs get cancer at about the same rate that people do, on average- some breeds may be more prone to certain types of cancer as well, and cats get cancer but at a slightly lower rate than we do. Pet rats that live to old rat-age, which is about 2 years old, get a fair number of cancers as well, as do birds rabbits and most other pets.
Now, it’s true out pets do not have as long a life expectancy as we do, and that loss of a pet at any age can be hard. I have had my share of senior, and a few not-so-senior, pets pass on and have felt and dealt with the same thoughts and emotions as anyone would. But I have decided that, as hard as it always is, I know that it means I will get to have lots of cats and dogs in my life. Each successive new best friend has bigger and bigger paw-shoes to fill as I have had some pretty awesome 4-legged companions in my life. If a hamster is senior at two years-old, imagine how many I could have taken care of in my life?! I actually can’t imagine that to be honest! I also know it means I will have only two tortoises, Pyramus and Thisbe, as they are as old as I am with similar life expectancies.
May all your pets live long and well.
Dr. Cassie Jones, veterinarian, principal owner and founder Point Vicente Animal Hospital in Golden Cove, Rancho Palos Verdes. Past President of the Palos Verdes Peninsula Land Conservancy Board of Directors. UCLA and UCDavis. Native plant enthusiast and collector of art that captures something of what we are all about. Husband Lewis Enstedt, peninsula native and cat mom to Howie and Dewey.
Point Vicente Animal Hospital
pointvicentevet.com
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