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7 Senior Dog Care Tips: Keeping Your Dear Old Dog Comfortable

Julie Buzby DVM, CAVCA, CVA January 30, 2020 10 Comments

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Integrative veterinarian Dr. Julie Buzby shares seven practical senior dog care tips that you—as your dog’s biggest advocate—can put in place now. By the end of this article, you’ll be equipped with home modification tips for making your dear old dog comfortable and happy.

Old black dog with grey around eyes and muzzle

If you share your heart with a senior dog, then you know that your journey together means having a “Plan B.” Of course, we would all prefer to follow “Plan A” in all aspects of our lives (marriage, career, health), but that is simply not the way life works. One of the ways we can find contentment in life is learning to be at peace with plan B, C, D, and beyond. This includes making adaptations for your senior dog that will bring extra comfort throughout the golden years.

Senior dog care at home

While senior dog care is very individualized, I’ve discovered seven ways that you can make your dear old dog comfortable and happy based on my experience with my own patients. These are simple modifications you can make in your home. Maybe only two or three of these “plan B” adaptations will resonate with you today. In another year or two, perhaps others will help you help your grey-muzzled dog.

Also, these are tips for your dog’s daily comfort. They work in tandem with other components of senior dog care and wellness, including:

  • making regularly scheduled senior dog veterinary visits
  • knowing your dog’s vital signs
  • keeping your dog at a healthy weight and body condition score

7 tips for making your dear old dog comfortable

1. Teach your dog how to use a ramp before it’s needed.

I always tell my clients that a dog jumping up concerns me, but a dog jumping down scares the dickens out of me. When dogs jump down and are subjected to the laws of gravity, it can be a recipe for disaster.

Aging dogs with elbow, shoulder, cervical spine, or neck conditions are particularly susceptible to injury from jumping down.

That’s why I recommend dog ramps as a home adaptation for older dogs. Ramps can aid dogs when getting in and out of cars, on and off of beds, and up and down from furniture. (Stair steps are an appropriate alternative to ramps. However, the ramp is my favorite because its the simplest for the dog’s body and brain to navigate.)

dog standing by ramp as a solution for senior dog care
A dog ramp offers a safer alternative to jumping for getting in and out of vehicles.

It’s important to note that it’s better to start teaching your dog to use a ramp before he or she needs it. Using a ramp does require some training. Yet, with practice, it’s a practical way to keep your senior dog safe when moving from higher to lower heights (and save your own back!) Having this plan B modification in place before it is needed alleviates fear for your dog and the potential for injury in the future.

2. Add safety features to your senior dog’s bath time routine.

If your older dog struggles to stay upright on all four paws or has decreased muscle strength, standing in a slippery tub for a bath can be a terrifying experience. Placing a dog in a tub instantly changes the way a dog’s paws interface with the “ground”. If a dog doesn’t feel stable, the dog’s entire body tenses. His or her pupils may even get bigger, triggered by the hormones associated with stress.

The fight-or-flight reflex sometimes results in a scramble, which means slipping and sliding in the tub. Not only is this anxiety-inducing for your dog, but it can also result in injury.

A golden retreiver getting a bath as part of their senior dog care regimen
Adding a non-slip bath mat to the tub is an easy home modification to make.

To help keep your senior dog comfortable (and this is true for all dogs), place a non-slip bath mat in the bottom of the tub. Alternatively, placing a non-slip bath mat in a shower and showering with your dog is a creative solution for large breed dogs.

3. Elevate your senior dog’s food and water bowls.

If your geriatric dog has cervical disc issues (neck problems), back problems, or front-end lameness, elevating food and water bowls is a simple modification that often yields immediate results. It prevents the chronic, repetitive straining motion of repeatedly bending down to floor level to pick up bits of kibble from the dish. This senior dog care tip creates an easier, safer way for an older dog to enjoy meals while keeping the neck in a more neutral position.

Elevated dog dish for a senior dog
You can make an elevated dog dish like this one to help reduce strain on your senior dog during meals.

Incidentally, I have seen this simple change help my grey-muzzled patients who had stopped eating completely. The elevated dish adaptation took the pressure off, literally, and restored comfort and dignity to dinner.

4. Make your couch or your dog’s favorite chair more accessible.

Does this scenario sound familiar to you? Your aging dog wants to get on the couch. It’s her favorite spot. However, her hind limbs are getting weaker, she has joint pain, and jumping up and down is not only difficult physically, but emotionally frustrating.

My clients have shared with me creative solutions to help their beloved dogs, and I’d like to pass them along to you. In fact, one client simply lowered the couch by removing the couch legs! That’s a devoted dog dad! While you may not be ready for something that drastic, you can come up with ideas by looking at your dog’s environment and being creative. One simple alternative is to move some couch seat pillows to the floor, which effectively “lowers” the height of the couch while simultaneously providing a “step” up to the couch. Or your dog may just be content to lie on the pillows now at floor level.

Senior dog lying on pillows
By moving your dog’s favorite couch pillows to the floor, you can make your dear old dog comfortable.

5. Keep a nightlight on for your senior dog.

As dogs age, their vision becomes less accurate. In some cases, this is due to cataracts, but more often than not the cloudiness is caused by lenticular sclerosis. Lenticular sclerosis is a change in the dog’s lenses that occurs with age. It is not considered pathologic, and your veterinarian would be able to distinguish the two.

However, as your dog’s vision begins to diminish, it can be fear-inducing for your dog and even cause a fall or injury. For this reason, I strongly recommend that you add a nightlight in your dog’s sleeping area and in the hallways of your home. If your dog wakes at night, which is common for senior dogs who suffer from doggie dementia, the light will help contrast the darkness. Your dog will feel more comfortable and be safer too.

6. Add reflective tape to stairs.

While we’re on the subject of vision, let’s imagine what it is like for a dog with poor vision to stand at the top stairstep and look down over a flight of stairs. Often, it is difficult for a senior dog to determine where one stairstep ends and another one begins, not to mention they may be intimidated physically by the prospect of doing stairs. We need to give them all the help and support we can in navigating the obstacle.

Sad pug sitting on white wood stairs
A dog with poor vision may have difficulty navigating stairs.

Adding reflective tape to the front edge of each stairstep is a simple home modification that will help your dog differentiate between each stairstep. Making this adaptation not only helps keep your dog safe, but it also helps increase your dog’s confidence when moving from one floor of your home to another.

7. Reduce the chance of slip-and-fall injuries by adding traction to your dog’s paws.

Now that you’ve helped create definition between each stairstep by adding reflective tape to the stairs, let’s go one step further and help your dog navigate slippery surfaces like hardwood floors.

Confident spotted dog wearing green ToeGrips and message, "ToeGrips help senior dogs gain traction on smooth stairs and slippery floors

Asking a senior, arthritic dog to navigate hardwood floors may be asking the impossible. Our grey-muzzled companions do their best to comply, but it takes a toll on them physically and emotionally. Dogs don’t complain. But getting up from and walking on hard, slick surfaces puts them on a trajectory for slip-and-fall injury on stairs and floors and drains dogs of their confidence.

If your older dog struggles to walk on hardwood floors, I recommend ToeGrips® dog nail grips. Because a dog’s natural mechanism for traction is to engage the nails like soccer cleats, dogs don’t slip on grass or dirt. But hard nails can’t grip hard floors. The non-slip nail grips fit on to your dog’s toenails to provide instant grip. This simple adaptation gives your dog the traction needed to walk confidently on smooth floors like hardwood or tile.

Dr. Buzby's ToeGrips dog nail grips
BUY TOEGRIPS NOW

In full disclosure, ToeGrips® dog nail grips are my patented product. I founded the company because this simple idea so dramatically improved the lives of my senior patients. However, a picture is worth a thousand words. To see ToeGrips® in action, watch these videos and reviews shared by happy dog owners around the globe.

Enjoy happier golden years with your senior dog

Sharing your heart with a senior dog is one of the most rewarding experiences in life. Helping your dog navigate “Plan B” by making home modifications is part of the journey. If even one of the senior dog care tips on this list helps you help your dog live more contentedly, comfortably, or safely, then it’s “Plan B” for the win. You’ve made the journey through your dog’s senior years happier…for both ends of the leash.

What adaptations do you make for your dear old dog’s comfort, health, and happiness? 

Please comment below. We can all learn from each other.

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Filed Under: Our Blog: The Buzby Bark, Senior Dog Care

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Brenda rich says

    November 3, 2022 at 8:10 am

    do you have a hospice dog nurse they can come to your house and check your dog and it’s so could you possibly tell me what it cost because I have a toy poodle and he has a heart mover he’s totally blind but he’s just not acting right and he is old and if you could possibly give me a call I would appreciate it my number is 317 833-8491

    Reply
    • Julie Buzby DVM says

      November 5, 2022 at 1:59 pm

      Dear Brenda,
      I am so sorry your little pup is showing some concerning symptoms. I am not directly affiliated with any veterinary hospice services. My best advice is to call your local vet and ask if there is a mobile vet practice they would recommend. Another option is to look at the website for Lap of Love which has a listing for veterinarians all over the country that do hospice and in-home euthanasia services. http://www.lapoflove.com
      I hope you can find the help you need for your sweet boy. Bless you.

      Reply
  2. Alison Parker says

    April 24, 2020 at 6:09 am

    Taking care of a dog is always fun and hard. But the loyalty wins at the end. I think everyone should follow your tips.

    Reply
    • Julie Buzby says

      May 3, 2020 at 10:27 am

      Thanks, Alison! This is beautiful: But the loyalty wins at the end. ♥️

      Reply
  3. Sue Nankivell says

    February 16, 2020 at 8:59 pm

    My senior Standard Poodle has always been a little intimidated by a short flight of hardwood floor steps, and it’s gotten worse as he has aged. He will go up them but not down anymore. I have added carpet strips that are secured to the steps but it hasn’t made a difference in his willingness to navigate down. Any suggestions as to how to help an older dog navigate stairs other than add reflective tape? I don’t think that will make a difference. He uses a ramp to get in and out of my small SUV but won’t use it to go down this short flight of stairs (it’s not quite long enough, either). I haven’t seen any products that address this issue. I’m wondering if maybe firm foam wedges secured to the stairs to create a de facto ramp would work.

    Reply
    • Julie Buzby says

      February 25, 2020 at 11:54 pm

      Hello Sue, I completely understand what you are saying, and I’d highly recommend ToeGrips (https://toegrips.com) for this issue. I’ve read many testimonials over the years from owners of dogs with issues on stairs that were helped by the traction and security that ToeGrips provide. 🙂

      Reply
  4. Kezia Plummer says

    February 6, 2020 at 11:07 am

    I bought my almost 13 year old cocker spaniel anti slip doggie slippers. They help him chase his ball without sliding across the wood floors. He can also navigate the wood stairs without losing his grip. They were only $12.99 on Amazon and he wears them well. We love our boy??

    Reply
    • Julie Buzby says

      February 8, 2020 at 8:37 pm

      Thanks for your comment, Kezia. There are certainly a variety of options out there for slipping dogs, and it’s great that you found one that is working for you. ♥️ The issue I have with boots and booties is that they attempt to give dogs traction as we would a human. But a dog’s natural mechanism for traction is to engage the nails like soccer cleats. So using a nail grip option for traction (like https://shop.toegrips.com/products/toegrips) enables a dog’s innate biomechanics. The other concern I have is that boots and booties cover the paw/toes and diminish proprioception—covering the receptors that help the dog know where his body is in relation to gravity. More details here: https://toegrips.com/dog-boots-truths-dogs-wish-you-knew/

      Reply
  5. Karen Crawford says

    February 1, 2020 at 10:42 pm

    My Honey is almost 12, and currently recovering from knee ligament surgery. For better footing, she has toe grips, which I feel help on the hardwood floors. Now I want to get either steps or a ramp to help her get up and down from the bed and into and out of the car. Any recommendations? I looked at both Petco and Petsmart and wasn’t too impressed.

    Reply
    • Julie Buzby says

      February 8, 2020 at 9:07 pm

      Hi Karen, Thank you for the feedback on ToeGrips. I’m so happy to hear that they’ve helped Honey post-surgically. Incidentally, one of my other favorite products for dogs with cruciate issues is this one: https://shop.toegrips.com/collections/collectons-all/products/new-zealand-deer-velvet-for-dogs-veterinary-formula. To address your question, I am a huge fan of steps/ramps and completely agree with your desire to implement this to help for Honey. Unfortunately, I don’t have a brand recommendation, but I do know there are some DIY options online.

      Reply

We welcome your comments and questions about senior dog care.

However, if you need medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment, please contact your local veterinarian.

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About Dr. Buzby

Dr. Buzby with a golden retrieverDr. Julie Buzby has been an integrative veterinarian for twenty years and has earned certification by the American Veterinary Chiropractic Association in 1998, and by the International Veterinary Acupuncture Society in 2002.
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Dr. Buzby’s Blog offers tips on how to give your dog the happiest life possible. The content is presented solely for informational purposes and may not be relied upon to replace face-to-face medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment by professional pet healthcare providers. [more]

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