6 Tips On Keeping Your Senior Dog Happy & Healthy

Recently we celebrated National Puppy Day, but what about the other side of the coin when it comes to caring for our more senior canines? What are some ways we can keep them on a path to a happier and healthier journey to a longer life?

Check out these six tips on keeping our older dogs happy, healthy and well on their way into their senior years and beyond:

Opie and Dixie Senior Dogs

 

1. Watching Out For Toxic Wildlife

Many of us enjoy the great outdoors with our pets and protect them from hazards like predators and other potential threats. Don’t forget about much smaller critters like mice, rats, squirrels and other rodents. If ingested, they could be packed with poisons or toxins meant to eradicate them from local businesses or other homes. While wildlife removal experts and animal lovers disagree with this practice, it’s still occurring and could be deadly to our companion animals.

2. Keeping Exercise Options Open

Just because your pooch is adding more birthdays to their life, they shouldn’t be packing on more pounds as they continue to age. Be sure to check with your veterinarian on age-appropriate exercise options that are both safe and effective for you and your four-legged-friend. For example, for an older canine who is experiencing arthritis, or other muscle or joint issues, perhaps swimming is a better option compared to walking.

3. Making More Trips To The Vet

Speaking of regular visits to the veterinarian’s office, sometimes these doggie doctors will recommend more visits as your canine advances in years. Adult dogs are typically seen once a year, but similar to pups, often older dogs need to be seen more often.

4. A Better Diet Leads To A Longer Life

As tempting as it is to treat our pets with human food or other unhealthy dietary options, a balanced diet free from added fats, sugars and excessive salt will lead to a much longer life. As a dog continues to age, so does their digestive system and often they can develop a more sensitive stomach that makes it difficult for them to digest certain foods.

 

Opie and Dixie Senior Dogs

5. More Attention With Grooming

Keep an eye on your older pet for the onset of skin conditions, hair loss, hot spots and other issues that can creep up on them in later years. In this case, when it comes to grooming, senior dogs need their nails trimmed more often compared you their younger counterparts. They also need to be brushed regularly as they tend to grow matts more than younger dogs.

6. Giving Them Comforting Care

Be sure to check out our products page for items that can offer our aging pets more comfort in their advancing years. For example, some dogs will experience problems with their ears as they grow older and our Organic Ear Wash can help to stop these pooches from building up extra wax or bacteria that could lead to future complications with their hearing.

Keeping all of our pets safe, happy and healthy using all natural products is at the core of our very nature (pardon the pun). So let’s all do whatever it takes, using any means necessary to make our dog’s golden years amongst the very best days of their lives (and excuse the soap opera reference).