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Dogs are living to a much greater age nowadays than in the past. In the wild they would not have been able to survive beyond the age at which they could defend themselves from predators and rivals and find food. In common with other companion animals, they are living much longer, and, over this period of time, slow mental and physical changes take place.

In this article, I am going to outline some of the major physiological changes that occur, some ways in which we as caregivers can help them, some of the illnesses that affect older age groups, and some therapies that may be helpful.

Physiological Changes in Ageing: The nervous system: Messages travel down the nerve fibres of a dog in its prime at 6,000m per second. In older dogs these slow down to 1,300m per second.

The lungs: The lung tissue loses its elasticity with age, reducing the efficiency of respiration.

The circulatory system: The blood vessels lose their elasticity, making small haemorrhages more common e.g. in the brain tissue.

The brain: The consequent lack of oxygen to the brain reduces memory and learning. It can also affect personality and irritability.

Signs of Ageing: By the age of 16, most dogs will have lost some of their brain function. They may show signs of disorientation, changes in social relationships, changes to their diurnal rhythm, and incontinence. By the age of 16, 20% of dogs pass urine or faeces in the house, 25% of dogs sleep less at night and more in the daytime, and 60% interact less with their human companions (although they may go through a phase of increased attachment). More than 70% are disorientated, getting stuck in corners, going to the wrong side of the door when asking to go out, barking for no reason, and gazing into space. Neutered males get less aggressive with age, but neutered females tend to get more so.

Hormonal control and Ageing: Elderly dogs tend to secrete more stress hormones, even when relaxed. Training them to be more relaxed can help give them more control in later life. There is also a general reduction in brain neuroendocrine chemicals, especially dopamine.

How we can help with Ageing Dogs: We can help slow down ageing by gentle mental and physical stimulation. Massage loosens up stiff joints, improves circulation, and induces relaxation. Mental stimulation can increase the number of connections between neurons in the brain.

Feeding a diet high in antioxidants and vitamins can help. An older dog needs about 20% fewer calories, and some dogs gain weight with maturity. As always, any change in diet should be made gradually.

We as care-givers need to accept that our dog is ageing.

Over-exercising does more harm than good, so we need to allow the dog to set the pace. Older dogs can become confused by a change to the usual routines. As the skin glands produce less oil with age, more frequent grooming will help your older dog. Consider brushing its teeth daily, and provide more frequent toilet breaks.

Complementary Therapies and Ageing: Acupuncture can be particularly helpful with the pain of arthritis etc. Like acupressure and shiatsu, it also reduces pain by relaxing muscles.

T Touch therapy is a touch therapy that can be learned by the care-giver, and can be very calming in anxiety as well as helping many stress -related problems - which, as we now know, can give any symptom.

Musculoskeletal problems can also be helped by osteopathy and chiropractic, as well as massage as discussed above. All these touch therapies are beneficial mainly in animals that enjoy touch, and can increase stress in those that do not.

Nutritional therapies involve altering the diet slightly to benefit the dog. The role of diet in helping ageing has already been discussed. It is notable however that when a dog declines to eat, for example during an infection, it does so for good reason, (such as to starve the invading organism, and concentrate energy on the immune system rather than digestion,) and should not be forced. The commonest nutritional problem in dogs is overfeeding, causing obesity, and it is important for us to help our animals and help educate caregivers where this is problematic. However, beware that any strict, unbalanced diet given over a prolonged period of time may lead to malnutrition.

Herbal remedies can help with specific ill health. Examples include comfrey to help ease sprains, marigold for digestive disorders, garlic for respiratory infections and digestive upset, and echinacea for stimulating the immune system.

Aromatics and aromatherapy oils used with animals should be selected by the animal from a choice made on the basis of symptoms - a trained animal aromatics therapist can be pivotal in selecting the right balance. The nature of homeopathy and other vibrational medicines leads to them being more effective when targeted at the whole spectrum of symptoms and personality rather than at a single region of the body.

The beauty of spiritual healing and Reiki is that the dog will take whatever healing energy is needed, without a specific diagnosis being made. It is absorbed into whatever parts of the body, mind and spirit require it, stimulating its immune system and other natural means of self-healing. It can help with physical, emotional and psychological conditions. As the dog nears the end of its life, healing can help both the dog and its caregivers to come to terms with this, which helps with the process of passing over and with bereavement. Healing can be supplemented with use of crystals such as amber and carnelian.

Summary: In this article I have discussed the physiological causes for the signs of ageing that we see, the symptoms & signs experienced, and ways in which we can help, particularly touching on complementary therapies.

By: Alison Grimston

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Alison Grimston is a holistic doctor and animal healer specializing in connecting and informing animal therapists. Her natural animal therapy website informs the public about animal therapies while connecting animal therapists worldwide. www.TheNaturallyHealthyPet.com

Every dog owner has experienced how frustrating it could be when their puppy or dog pee in the house. Housebreaking your puppy is one of the most important aspects of dog training. Barely the mere odor of dog pee in the home could be upsetting.

Regrettably, the instance your dog have taken the first step to pee in the house he or she will most likely keep on going on the same spot again and again.

Gosh, those adorable dogs and their precious and clever tricks! Don’t we enjoy the way they play fetch and run and jump and come around and lick us affectionately and pee all over the carpet and…

Pee all over the rug? Well we do not love that aspect of dog ownership, now do we?

Dogs can easily be housebroken and trained to let their owners become aware as when they want to go outdoors and make a little weedle or another bigger job, just prior to that happening - and occasionally afterwards also - the inside of your house turns into Rover’s marked territory.

The stains and odors of Phydeaux’s small mishaps and dishonorable discharges can leave a long-lasting impression on carpetings and rugs, furniture, and some other items in your place whenever they are not attended at once.

Whenever you are fortunate enough to catch Duke in the act of alleviating himself all over the Persian rug that was a given to you by your favorite family member, take the steps that have to do with the dog’s training and then attend to the poodle puddle immediately.

Utilize a rag or some paper towels to absorb every bit of the mess as possible and then clean the region with a mix of cold or tepid (never hot) water and some sort of cleansing agent.

Peroxide works well at removing the chance of a spot in addition to the smell, but it shouldn’t be employed on positive fabrics or dyes.

A dab of dishwashing detergent (the type you use in the sink, not the dishwashing machine) blended with water can do a decent job on these fresh stains also.

As for spots that have been allowed to sit for some time you will require to take somewhat more drastic steps. Organic cleansing agents like Spot Shot acts better on blots like these and should be chosen over chemicals.

If you do decide to apply chemicals, hydrogen peroxide is your friend once more since it can act as a fantastic stain remover. Once again you will prefer to dilute with warm water and apply it to the surface area.

Some scrubbing will be required, but it should be done as gently as possible, depending upon the kind of fabric. If we are talking about carpeting, some vigorous scrubbing will likely be okay since the fibers are designed to handle a bit of a beating.

If the dirty items are washable fabrics like clothing, towels, or small throw rugs, the stains should come out in the wash. Place the item in the washing machine by itself with the regular washing detergent that you’d ordinarily use and a little bit of color safe bleach (whites can and should be done with regular chlorine bleaching agent).

The best way to deal with doggie urine stains is to prevent them from happening to begin with, which can be achieved through careful and meticulous dog training.

If the episodic whoopsie does occur, do not lose your head. Deal with the dog in the suitable fashion and rest at ease in the knowing that, in almost all events, pee washes out.

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When it comes to potty training puppy you should always be prepared for a few little accidents along the way. In fact, without these accidents it can be difficult to show your beloved puppy exactly where they can and cannot go. That said, on the whole, the process of potty training puppy would be much quicker and a lot easier if you get into a routine that means your puppy is unlikely to make mistakes.

As with all forms of puppy training you should use reprimand and reward. Only ever use verbal reprimand and only when it is absolutely necessary, but in comparison you should give your dog as much praise as possible when they do something well or do it correctly. In the case of potty training you should reprimand them for going indoors but only if you catch them in the act and you should reward them when they go outside.

You should remember that puppies will need to go and potty roughly half an hour after every meal but they will also need to go first thing in the morning and last thing at night. However, these are unlikely to be the only occasions they will need to go out and you should learn to read your puppy to know when he is sniffing for somewhere to go or is just exploring the house and trying to recognize the smells. Initially you should probably be letting your puppy out every two to three hours.

While your puppy is training you should not leave food down for them and instead you should have set meal times. Wherever possible, stick to these same times every day because this will help your puppy learn a routine of eating and going outside at the same time every day. As well as using the same time for your routine you should try to make everything as constant as possible. If you use a particular door to take them out on the first visit then you should continue to use this door.

When everything goes well and puppy does manage to potty outside then you should praise them and possibly even give them a tasty treat. If you do this regularly they will associate walking out of that door to go to the toilet and being given a treat for doing so. In the even you catch your puppy in the act, pick him up before he’s finished and take him outside. Once he finishes outside, give him praise and a treat.

About the Author
Puppy Potty Training and Dog Training product reviews so you know you are only teaching your dog the very best techniques.