Hi all,

Can we talk about care for elder big dogs? I would like to hear your stories about caring for your elder dogs, things you did not make them comfortable and specifically things you did to provide enrichment when mobility is declining.

Our sweet girl Daisy is nearing 13 and having mobility issues (she is a Newfie X Black lab). Last year she had a tumor removed from her hind leg which seems to have caused some nerve damage, then not long after that she has GVD, which was very scary, but we got her into care early and no stomach needed to be removed. She is on Gabapentin, thyroid tabs and Stilbestrol. She has had some benefit from cartrophen, but far from a drastic improvement. She is eating Hills prescription diet with a therapeutic dose of glucosamine, but we also give her more glucosamine just in case. We can't give her any NSAIDs like Metacam as they gave her a serious lower GI bleed last time. People who give their dogs CBD, how do you figure out dose?

She has not bounced back as we would have hoped and is now mobility challenged. I know the heart is usually what goes for big does, but as far as we can tell her heart health is good, just joint pain and nerve damage. We build a ramp for her to get down into the backyard as it is two steps down from the deck, but she struggles with a step up to the door sometimes. Her back end is weak and sometimes if she is bumped, she will just fall. She has a hard time getting up sometimes so we have added 7 new rugs to the house in places she regularly lays down to ensure she has traction to get up. Sometimes in the morning or after a long sleep we have to help her butt up. To make matters worse, it is that time of year her in Sothern Ontario where the weather oscillates from rain, to snow, to ice, to more ice. Despite us trying to pick places to walk where the sidewalk is well clearer, she still has big falls. She insists on doing her business on the boulevard which means negotiating her up an ice patch, into the snow, where her hind legs are not often strong enough to push through the snow. This results in more falls and issues.

Her walk pace is what I would call a slow saunter. We are still walking about 2km a day with her broken over 3 walks. I am thinking this is too much, but my hubby keeps pushing to do at least this much. How long would you walk your dogs at this age? I am going to push harder for shorter walks, more back yard time and try to encourage in-house activity.

Cognitively she is still all there. She still wants to go, she want to do stuff, she want enrichment but I am at a bit of a loss for what to do. She was never into at home play, she does not like the rowdiness. She was once wild for fetch, but understandably now not interested and would not in the house anyway. For a while we fell back on giving her a lot to chew, but we have overdone some of her chew treats to the point she is no longer interested in them. She will not take pigs ears or oinkies anymore. Sometimes she will take a good chew on the yack cheese chews. She used to love destroying stuffies, but not she just carries them around. I try hiding treats places, we have shag carpets that would work as snuffle mats for our other now-dearly departed dog, but Daisy will not go look for the treats. The only thing that works is walking her around in circles in the house with the treat bag in my hand.

We know the time is nearing. Please don't comment if you just need to tell us that - we know. I am looking for ideas and things to help with her quality of life.

any ideas would be appreciated or I would love to hear your stories.