It’s Senior Month! It’s that time of year when we discuss all things senior for our older patients. A huge part of having senior pets is recognizing different things that they are trying to tell us like when they are in pain. Let’s talk about dogs and how we can recognize pain in them. Catching pain early is key in treatment and that’s why you, the pet parent, is the best person to recognize pain at home in your dog. Pain in dogs can range from excessive licking areas of the body, limping, drooling, difficulty standing from a laying position, not eating, excessive panting, aggression when they are normally not and disruption in sleeping patterns. Identifying these signs early can help us figure out where the pain is coming from and allow us to treat it. Our senior pets have a lot going on as they age just like us, their needs and body change. Our small dogs are considered seniors at 10 years old, our medium/large dogs are seniors at 8-9 years old and our giant dogs are considered seniors at 7 years old.
There are so many things that can cause pain in our senior dogs, from arthritis to kidney disease and many gastrointestinal issues like pancreatitis can cause a lot of discomfort. Ruling out what’s causing the pain is the first step in treatments. By treating these painful conditions early we can extend the lives of our senior dogs and keep them comfortable into their senior years. Chronic pain can trickle down to affect all aspects of their lives and yours so we need to identify it and treat it quickly. In clinic we use the pain scale to assess where our senior dogs rank in pain. But you can always use it at home as well to see if your dog is painful.
Ruling out where the pain is coming from and treating it quickly is key in the health of our senior dogs. Chronic pain especially can affect all aspects of our dogs’ lives to the point of them not wanting to socialize, not eat, not be active and can impair their cognitive function. So, once we identify pain, we need to treat it right away so it doesn’t have negative effects on other aspects of their lives. So, by you, the pet parent recognizing early signs of pain at home we can help rule out issues and treat those painful conditions to keep your senior dog happy and healthy.
Comments