Living with Senior Dogs

There’s no question about it, old dogs are special. There’s something about the unwavering loyalty of a grey-faced dog that could melt your heart. Living with an old dog can present some unique challenges. To help ease the transition into old age, here are a few great and subtle changes you can make to ensure they still have wonderful quality of life.

Yoga Mats or Similar for Traction

Older dogs often have trouble getting up and moving around on slippery surfaces like tile or wood floors. Rather than investing in carpeting your whole house, try Yoga mats or carpet runners in the high traffic areas. This will help your dogs grip as they move around and will minimize the impact on joints and ligaments that’s created from sliding.

If mats aren’t an option, a product like non-slip boots or Dr. Buzby’s Toe Grips could be a great way to help your dog out. I used these when Reggie had a leg injury and they were very helpful on slippery surfaces.

Another way to improve your dog’s movement everywhere is to keep their nails trimmed short. Long nails can drastically change the shape of your dog’s foot and over time, can cause major damage. Keeping your dog’s nails trimmed down short enough that they barely reach the floor will improve the long term health of the foot and will allow your dog to move around using the…