If your dog is having any issues with their eyes, a visit to a veterinary ophthalmologist is highly recommended. They have technology to do a very detailed eye exam and can then prescribe appropriate medication.
My two dogs here have very different problems but they both have issues that need to be medicated. Even if you want to stay conservative, at least get good consult, exam, diagnosis, treatment recommendations from a specialist if possible.
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#ophthalmologist #dogsofinstagram #sisters #vetmed
I wish I could bottle up her devotion for me. She is 14 years old and gets sweeter by the day.
We usually try to get her to stop barking bc it's kind of annoying but tonight I decided to soak up her enthusiastic noise.🩷🐾🐶🩷
#ginabeautiful #happydog
We weren't looking for easy when making decisions about treatment options for our little Lucy's broken back right foot. I am a veterinarian and even I found it difficult to disagree with other veterinarian's confidently stated assessments and advice.
In the end, I followed my gut and my decades of veterinary experience and opted to find her a comfortable brace to support her foot. That was no easy task but she has a very good brace for long walks. Around the house, she puts her foot down plenty as you can see in the video. She's doing really well, broken foot and all.
If needed in the future, we can always do more invasive surgery. But in the meantime, I see a very happy pain-free Lucy Lemonade.
My advice to others, get second and even third opinions when you really really aren't connecting with medical advice for your pets who have disabilities and need ongoing support.🩷🩷🩷
New Product Alert to help middle aged and older dogs!! Read on!!
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Of course, I was eager to start our old dogs Gina (14), Dean (13 1/2), Annie (12 1/2), and Evie (12 1/2) on Leap Years. Being the ultimate skeptic, I was reluctant to credit Leap Years when shy little Annie started showing up with a smile for treats and walks. Her appetite has improved dramatically and when I recently caught her walking around with toys in her mouth, there was no question that Leap Years was responsible for her newly engaged attitude and enthusiasm.
Deanie, Evie, and Gina also seem much more cheerful in their daily activities and interactions with the other dogs and human family members. They are noticeably more playful with each other and have an increased sense of happiness.
Piglet and the younger dogs are enjoying their older siblings' new enjoyment of life in their daily routines, improving their quality time together. It makes me feel really happy that I'm able to provide my older dogs with a little boost of vitality with Leap Years. If you want to see these effects in your dog, try Leap Years! Visit leap years.com and use my code DRSHAPIRO for 20% off your first order.
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@leapyearsdogs #leapyears
This is the most boring video with a really important veterinarian dog mom message. .
Walking dogs is one of the best parts of having dogs. But the activity is not static. It changes for good and not so good over the years.
Going from walking a fast paced two miles to a half a mile at a snail's pace is a huge change that requires a new mindset. There's a wide range of emotions that accompany the experience of caring for aging dogs. Mobility has a huge impact on the lives of senior dogs.
Even with meds and supplements, at some point, we are all called on to change and figure out how to enjoy spending time with our old dogs within their limitations.
Spending the time and staying present during the slow sniff walks should be a healthy part of being a dog mom or dad. It's part of being there for our dogs!🩷
Why is Deanie breathing so loudly?
This is not normal for any dog. We do see loud distressing breathing commonly in brachycephalic breeds which is a result of congenital defects bred into those dogs.
Surgery for stenotic nostrils, elongated soft palette, hypoplastic trachea, and other defects help those dogs breathe more comfortably.
But for a dog like Dean, who doesn't have those issues, I worry about a mass or some other changes happening to his respiratory tract.
Dean had a malignant thyroid tumor removed from just behind his larynx and trachea a year and a half ago. So I worry that there might be a recurrence of the cancer when I notice him breathing like this. But knowing Dean and seeing the way he's got his head placed on a blanket that is sticking up into his neck along with his harness that is sticking up into his neck, I'm much less concerned.
Once he moved to a different bed, his snoring and loud breathing resolved, thankfully.
There are many treatable issues that can cause snoring in dogs. So be sure to check with your vet if your dog's breathing patterns have changed.
Someone just stopped their car and yelled out the window to me, so are those all available?
There was my opportunity to cut the number of dogs I have in half, but I chose to answer with a no, they are mine, and continued walking.
What's so strange about this is that this woman has driven past me regularly when I take walks for the past 10 years at least. I can only imagine what she and others think of my dog situation.
not have eight dogs. And if they do, they don't live around here. So I guess it is unusual to see somebody walking so many dogs over so many hours in a day. Most people probably wouldn't get them into this bind, but I'm not sure which one I wouldn't have gotten out of all these eight dogs, and Susie before. so while I don't see us staying as an eight dog family as our dogs leave, at this point, I'm in it for the long run and will forgo a social life in exchange for the madness of eight adorable canines.
When you get four young dogs in less than two years, you're gonna have four old dogs at the same time. Our carpets are now lined with waterproof pads. Gina is almost 14 and has aged dramatically in the last two months. We are hoping she has something treatable with medication to help with her excessive water intake and urination. We just started a new medication yesterday so we will know very soon how things are going to go in the long run.
Dean is almost 13 1/2 and with oral and injectable meds for arthritis, he is maintaining his ability to get around. He had thyroid cancer one year ago and seems to be doing well on that front.
Little Annie is 12 1/2. She's not a big eater but other than that and her icky teeth, she's doing well. And little Evie who's 12 is losing her hearing, gets a little more tired on walks. But she still enjoys coming to our school visits, where she is surrounded by children, her absolute favorite thing in the world.
It's really really hard to have this many dogs aging this quickly, but I am thankful that they have had really amazing lives.
Balancing anticipatory grief and enjoying our old dogs is a daily challenge. It's absolutely a normal and necessary part of having dogs, but it is really rough at times.
This video from this afternoon shows where they all are very accurately. They are still a really tight, sweet group.
I just took them all for a walk. It was short but again they really enjoy each other's company. They know where to walk. They all have their positions on either side of me as we go down the road. It's quite a nice sight.
Have a good night, everybody
Sometimes easiest is not the best way.
We love our little Lucy Lemonade. So glad she's feeling well and happy.😊
Geriatric hearing loss is interesting. It tends to be slowly progressive with only subtle hints that it's happening. Here our 13 year old Deanie is standing by the door wagging his tail as he can hear me calling him. But bc he has asymmetric hearing loss he is having trouble placing the sound. When he realized I was behind him rather than on the other side of the door he was standing in front of, he turned around to say hi with a big smile.
What's the significance of geriatric hearing loss? Pet parents need to remember that their old dogs are not ignoring them and that they have to take extra care to keep their old dogs safe. If Dean was outside in a dangerous situation, I would not be able to call him back unless he was looking at me.
Enjoy our two old dogs kicking up some energy as they were really happy to have the little girl dogs and their mom home. Btw, the little white dog barking is also losing her hearing at age 12. And the big white is deaf in both ears.🩷
This is Lucy the Snowbell. I met her when she was a tiny new puppy. Long story bc that was 18 years ago.
Lucy was always very wild, jumpy, and squirmy during her vet visits so we changed from house calls to meeting at Norwalk Vet Hospital for her medical care.
At some point the logistics didn't work for us so she became a patient at the vet hospital. She collected a quite a few chronic health issues but overall had a very happy life.
One year ago I got a call from Lucy's mom asking me to come for end of life care. Lucy had been having seizures and was diagnosed with immune mediated platelet disease.
When I got there she was up and about, walking quickly away from me, and definitely not ready to go to heaven.
So we embarked on a full year of palliative treatments for her platelet issue, severe allergic dermatitis, UTI, Westie lung disease, and seizures.
We treated all of her issues conservatively and kept most flare ups at bay.
She did very well. Her family kept up with meds and baths, supported her, and enjoyed her.
I saw her every few months which was good for me to assess her quality of life and help guide her family in caring for her various issues.
The last time I saw her a few weeks ago, she was very quiet. Her breathing was somewhat labored, and she wasn't her usual old dog feisty girl. We talked about the changes and making the dreaded decision to say goodbye.
Today she was ready. She was calm, the sun was shining, her family was with her, and she left very peacefully.
I always feel sad for the family. Losing a dog like Lucy is crushing. It's the end of a very long life chapter for them. Sorting out grief, balancing with beautiful memories, and living through such a loss is very personal, but also part of having and losing a beloved family dog.
From a veterinary standpoint, it's also especially sad when I close the book on a dog I've known for so long. Many of the dogs and cats I help with end of life care are not long time patients. Some clients
