Tag: senior dog

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What is it like to Adopt a Senior Dog with Heart Problems

This article is an expansion of Fiona’s submission for our #WhatsYourReality campaign. We recommend reading her story before proceeding with the article.

1. Why did you choose to adopt Bebe despite knowing that she is a senior dog?

I heard about her adoption from a friend on Facebook.

At that point in my life, I was faced with the loss of another furkid. With all of the pets’ products and food laying around at home, I wanted to donate all of it to the shelters. I did not want to have another pet. So when my friend showed me the Facebook post, I wasn’t a bit interested. 

But the story with Bebe was, she’s a senior dog that had been in multiple foster homes. I didn’t know what issue she had that made so many adopters returned her. When I went to meet her for the first time with my friend, I have an instant affection for her and I did not want her to live her senior life living in homes that might not even love her. 

At that point, I told myself that adopting Bebe wouldn’t be that bad as well because I just have a few years with her. Thinking that it will be easy, but right now I’m regretting it.

Knowing that our time together is limited just makes me treasure and cherish our time together more.

2. Bring us through your training process with Bebe.

Everyone said that training a senior dog is tough because they already have a personality in them and it’s isn’t easy to bond with a senior dog. But Bebe was making things easy for us. Despite all of the pee accidents on our sofa for the first 3 months, subsequently, she is toilet trained and she knows what I want from her.

I didn’t bring Bebe for Obedience Training because I didn’t think that she needs to. For the first few months together, I only walked her at 6 am and 10 pm. During those hours, there isn’t much human traffic and dogs so it makes walks easier for us and for me to observe her under those situations. 

Over time, I slowly introduced her to my friends’ and cousins’ dogs. I’m super thankful and lucky that she has no reaction to puppies and babies. She’s actually really well behaved and friendly, which confuses me all the time as to why she was moved from home to home. It took us 6 months for her to be comfortable with us and trust us.

3. You mentioned that Bebe had been diagnosed with a grade 5 heart murmur. Tell us more about the condition, and how it affects her daily life.

Having a grade 5 heart murmur didn’t really deter her from having a time of her life. Even though I try my best to control her excitement whenever she sees her friends in the park or getting overly excited whenever she sees food, having a grade 5 heart murmur didn’t change her life much. 

She does tend to cough a lot after having sudden zoomies, and also sometimes I forget that she’s 11 years old, not 11 months. Other than that, she’s a really happy dog and she makes everyone around her head over heels ?

4. How has Bebe changed your life since adopting her?

Having Bebe pushes and motivates me every single day. She made me so disciplined because her walk and mealtimes are set from the start. So I have to shift my schedule around to fit hers. 

Initially, it was really difficult for me as my job requires me to be on 24/7 standby. But I’m very lucky to have understanding colleagues to help me as well. 

Plus, not forgetting that she’s always there for me at my highest and lowest and is a great wing woman. She made me learnt how to take care of someone and putting someone as a priority before me.

5. Any advice for new pet owners who might be interested in adopting a senior dog?

Please really do think twice before adopting a senior dog. 

Her vet visits set me back a minimum of $300. A senior dog has a personality and character mould, so training and bonding with them take more effort than adopting a puppy or younger dog. 

But of course, once you win the senior dog over, the accomplishment, love and affection you get is something that cannot be described and you will definitely feel that you have unlocked an achievement! I hope all of us adopt senior dogs because they really do deserve love and affection like any other dog too! 🙂

Editor’s note: Senior pets are as independent as they come, but do you know that your home can be made more comfortable for them? Roberto Lopez shares insightful tips on preparing your home for your senior pet.

Read our other articles on senior dogs here.

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Community Stories

As I go gray, I want my hooman to know…

I opened my doggo eyes to the warm sunlight and I think of my younger days where I would bounce up and run out to play. Somewhere in my 13 years of life, things changed.

It was not because I have become less playful, neither was it because the toys weren’t fun anymore. It’s simply because I couldn’t gather the energy to move like I used to. And that’s okay because it’s natural, right? Every doggo ages eventually.

As I go gray, I want my hooman to know that…

Age spots are a part of my aging journey.

You may have noticed that when you bathed me with your tender hands, my skin has more dark spots than when I was a pupper. I know you are concerned about why my looks started changing but I guess, it’s just a fact we both had to accept. Much like how grandma and granddad get their spots when they age.

My fur will turn lighter like how your hair will turn gray.

As you stroke my fur and look through my pupper photos, you gasped as you see how much my colour changed. It might seem like a little bit of colour gets washed off with every bath, which would be funny. However, it’s just that my body stops using energy to make colours for my coat so that I can have more energy to play with you.

English Cocker Spaniel Puppy Sitting On Ground Beside Grass

I wish I can walk a little further.

Nothing is better than some walkies with my favourite hooman, especially the reeeeaaalllly long ones. But my tiny little legs hurt inside with every step after some time, probably because of arthritis, weaker bones or simply fatigue. I can’t tell you when I am in pain, so all I can do is to stop a little while when it hurts. If you caught me limping, that’s because I was trying to keep up with you. Every day, I try to move a little further than yesterday.

My eyes that may have turned hazy, still see clearly.

When I see your worried look as you look me in the eyes, I knew my eyes did not seem as bright as they were. I know you are worried that I might be going blind. But, dear hooman, please don’t worry too much about it. My hazy eyes can still see you clearly and I am grateful for that. Nuclear sclerosis is the reason why my eyes are slightly blueish now. However, it is different from cataracts. I wish to see your happy face more while I still can, please do not worry as I can still see very well.

Pawn Pug Sitting on Beige Floor

Wrinkles are my evidence of memories with you.

With every walkies, zoomies and time spent panting living with you, my skin leaves precious folds to remember the good times we had. The first area you might notice where I have wrinkles would be my neck. The skin gets slightly loose and saggy. While it changes how I look externally, these marks on my body are beautiful souvenirs from the good times we have so I love every fold on my skin. I hope you love them too.

I am grateful to you, my dearest hooman.

In a blink of an eye, thirteen years have passed. While I don’t know how much time we have left to spend together, I just want to say thank you for giving me a good life. I know you sometimes blame yourself for not doing better but I wish you can find comfort to know that I enjoyed and appreciate everything you have done for me. I hoped I have been a good girl that doesn’t cause you any trouble and I will continue to strive to do so.

Lastly, I know you might already be thinking of my departure one day. Even though it is painful to separate, I wish you can be with me until my very last breath. And I hope that that is not too much to ask for in exchange for all the good memories we had created together.

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Community Stories

How to Care for an Older Dog

Most of the time when people look at Belle, they assume she’s about one or two years old. And that’s very understandable because she’s pretty white considering that she’s a Golden Retriever. Usually, you can tell a Goldie is getting older when the fur on their face is a lighter shade than their coat. 

So when I tell people that Belle is 11 years old, they get very shocked and they usually say something like “wow she looks great for her age!”

Of course, when you take a closer look, you can tell that Belle’s getting behind her years because her legs aren’t as steady as before and she gets out of breath after long walks or even after a trip to the park.

Diet

As Belle got older, one of the biggest changes would be her diet. The food (dry and wet) she eats now is catered towards senior dogs and the vet has advised me to not give her as many treats as before. Which is a good thing because it’s extremely important for senior dogs to not be overweight otherwise it’ll be a big strain on their bones and limbs. 

Apart from her food, I also give her her daily dose of Glucosamine soft chews. It definitely helps her limbs because she still enjoys walking (sometimes running) up and down the stairs in my house. 

Exercise

When it comes to bringing Belle out, I guess the important thing to take note of is when she lags behind me because she’s always on my left. I usually take that as a sign that she’s had enough exercise for the day. Sometimes I bring Belle out to the pool as well because swimming is definitely less taxing on Belle’s limbs as compared to walking. It’s a great form of exercise for her too because she usually sleeps like a log the minute we get back home. 

Of course, when Belle gets too tired to walk anymore, she immediately lies down on the ground and only moves after a lot of encouragement. That’s when I step in and carry 23kg of fur, bones and flesh. 

Grooming

Grooming-wise, not much has changed to be honest. Every 6 to 7 weeks, I send Belle to the groomer’s where she gets her fur and nails trimmed and she comes back smelling like flowers. It’s also important to do daily maintenance as well. For example, cleaning her ears every night after a walk will help to prevent ear infections. 

On top of everything mentioned above, I think the most important thing is to still shower a lot of love to your dogs. Everyday I still smother Belle with loads of hugs, kisses and baby talk. Everyday she would get up (even if she’s sleeping) when she hears me call her name and walk towards me to greet me. When I first got Belle back in 2010 when I was only 14, I never thought too far in the future about her as an older dog; all I wanted was to have fun with her everyday. Now that I’m older and more aware, I know that one day I’ll have to say goodbye to her. But in the meantime, I’m still going to spoil her rotten because to me, she’s still my best friend and the number 1 Goldie in the world.