senior dog care - search results

I’ve had relatively trouble-free dogs for a while. Long enough to forget how bad an owner can feel when one of our pets puts us between a rock and a hard place. I have a friend who owns three dogs: a senior Chihuahua; a middle-aged probable Lab/Cattle Dog-mix; and 5-year-old Lena, a tall, lanky, who-knows-what-mix. Lena used to be (my dog) Otto’s BFF. They are still friends, but don’t get to see each other a lot, ever since Lena tore her ACL and had surgery

Recently we enjoyed meeting our new brother in law, and providing day care for his 4-year-old Border Collie, Sis. Arriving from northern Idaho, he was totally unprepared for the reality of traveling with a dog during a northern California heat wave. We were more than happy to offer our home and shady fenced yard to Sis so her owners could sightsee without endangering her in a hot car.

A recent headline for an article on petfoodindustry.com read, “Thank goodness for the humanization of pets.” The article discussed how industry sales data and recent surveys of pet owners suggest that pet foods that are made to appeal to human appetites are responsible for most of the growth in the industry.

Whole Dog Journal readers have learned how to identify the best commercial foods when they shop for their dogs. But whether you feed dry kibble or canned food, even the best commercial diets can be improved with the addition of appropriate fresh foods. Keep the following things in mind when adding fresh foods to your dog's diet.

Behavior issues, from simple good manners infractions to the more concerning problems of phobias and aggression, appear in dogs both large and small. But while training to modify behavior issues might look the same regardless of size, in other respects, the bigger the dog, the bigger the problem. When a Dachshund has a lapse in housetraining, the cleanup process is significantly easier than if an Irish Wolfhound has an accident. If a Havanese frantically jumps up on your elderly Aunt Tilly, the collateral damage is less than if a Great Dane does the same. And if a Yorkie is terrified of riding in the car and refuses to get in for an emergency trip to the vet, he can be picked up and placed inside – not so when a Newfoundland steadfastly refuses.

I spent a half day at my local shelter recently, working with a half-dozen large, adolescent dogs who have been languishing there for two or more months. Not one of these dogs knew the cue “sit” but they were friendly and healthy and in need of homes.

Osteoarthritis is the number one cause of chronic pain in dogs, affecting one in five adult dogs, with the incidence more than doubling in dogs seven years and older. It is a degenerative disease that causes pain, loss of mobility, and a decreased quality of life. Signs of arthritis include stiffness when getting up or lying down, limping, slowing down on walks, pain after exercise, or reluctance to jump or climb steps.

Teaching your dog to eliminate on cue is such a valuable trick" once your dog knows how

holistic