Speaking of old dogs....
Posted on 02/03/2006 5:45:10 PM PST by girlangler
Fetching support for old dogs
By: ROBERT SLOAN, The Enterprise 02/02/2006
Jacky Franklin and his hunting partner of 13 years, Tyler, are all smiles after another day afield. When you combine dog years with actual human years, you get a pretty good idea of what a 10- to 13-year-old Labrador retriever must feel like when it gets the command to jump into cold water and swim out through mud and muck to get a duck.
I hadn't really given that much thought until recently when my own lab, Big Nose Kate, slowed up on her enthusiasm to make a retrieve. She'll be 12 on Feb. 12. In human years, that converts to being 64. Over the years, she's been a great companion. Still is. But recently, she's lost a lot of her hearing, is slow to get up and isn't too wild about leaving her warm and comfortable Orvis bed that's strategically positioned under the kitchen table.
Things like arthritis and, well, old age tend to slow both us and a good retriever down. But it doesn't always keep us from making the hunt.
A couple of weeks ago, I was down at the Elm Bayou Hunting Club when Jacky Franklin came driving up out of the field on his four wheeler. On the back was his white, muzzled hunting companion Tyler. He's a black lab that just celebrated his 13th birthday on Dec. 29, making him an impressive 68 in human years. I thought it was ironic that both of them had a head full of white hair.
We got to talking and the topic soon turned to old labs and how to care for them.
"I wasn't too sure about hunting him this season," said Franklin. "But he more or less made the decision himself. When I'm loading the truck, he's there and ready to hunt. Over the years, he's been retrieving doves, quail, pheasants and geese. We went teal hunting in September and Tyler made a long retrieve and came back with a bird we had given up on. That's when I knew he still had the drive and the instinct. He's had a good training background and was a master hunter and a hunting retriever champion. He also got first and second in obedience training in shows at the Astrohall."
Like a whole lot of other old labs, Tyler knows what the drill is. It's just a matter of getting out there and being able to function as an old retriever. Like us hunters, where there's a will, there's a way.
These days the way afield is driven by medication that helps relieve the aches and pains from canine osteoarthritis and, well, the aging process. There was a great ad in a recent issue of Ducks Unlimited magazine. The photo showed a hunter with a mature lab in a flooded rice field. The caption was, "what if you had to retrieve on sore legs?" It's an advertisement for Rimadyl.
Franklin gives Tyler Rimadyl tablets twice a day. I've got Big Nose Kate on Zubrin, a once-a-day tablet that controls the pain and inflammation associated with canine osteoarthritis.
Medication for older dogs can be a major difference in how well they perform afield. And also, how they relax during the day and night. As a lot of us are finding out, living with aches and pains is no fun.
Dr. Alfred Wehner, a veterinarian at Calder Animal Clinic in Beaumont, said the key to keeping old Labs in shape centers on a good diet, exercise and weight control, like maturing humans.
"If you take a dog out of the field and leave them at home like a couch potato, they will lose muscle tone and gain weight," Wehner said.
"A good carrying weight in an older Lab can vary, just like with people. It can range from 55 to 90 pounds. You want to keep them on a high fiber, low fat diet. A high protein diet is not good for the kidneys. Just like humans, older dogs get arthritis. Their joint fluids dry out, and that results in inflammation of the joints. Zubrin and Rimadyl are similar. Zubrin is like Celebrex. Both are non-steroidal anti-inflammatory medications."
Wehner said that common sense can add years to a dog's life with exercise and weight control.
As in humans, a good diet along with daily exercise and annual exams goes a long way in keeping your hunting companion in shape and good to go for another season.
How do dog years compare to human years?
The following chart is a general estimate, based on information at http://pets.htmlplanet.com/comparing-dog-years-to-human-years.html
Ages vary slightly from dog breed to dog breed, according to the Web site.
Age in Dog Years, Age in Human Years
6 months, 8 years
1 year, 14 years
2 years, 20 years
3 years, 24 years
4 years, 30 years
5 years, 36 years
6 years, 40 years
7 years, 44 years
8 years, 48 years
9 years, 52 years
10 years, 56 years
11 years, 60 years
12 years, 64 years
13 years, 68 years
14 years, 72 years
15 years, 76 years
Can we extend lives of dogs with better care?
Why are canines today not living longer than those in the past? They are fed superior diets that are commercially produced using almost perfect formulas. Puppies are being better managed and fed superior rations. With all of these improvements there still has not been a significant improvement in their total life expectantly.
The problem might lie in the fact that they have already reached their biological threshold. For humans, we know that it is 120 years, which means that for most of us we have not reached the genetic limit of what is possible. Because we have a genetic threshold of 120 years, managing stress, diet and exercise takes on a new meaning and explains why humans have been able to almost double their life expectancy.
Whether man will be able to extend the life of his best friend now seems to depend on how well science can be put to use. If their biological limit and their genetic threshold already has been reached, the potential for extending their life might require the use of new technologies and our creative ability to approach this subject with new ideas.
Doggie PING
Ping for all dog lovers.
I used Rymadil for a dog I had (she died in 2001, and I still miss her) who had severe arthritus and it made a world of difference.
And yes, Calpernia, I went and got that old yellow lab from the shelter two days ago. He is a HORSE, he is so big. His teeth are worn to nubs and he has a sway back. And a really bad cough (I'm taking him to the vet Monday).
He is so sweet the people at the shelter said I didn't have to pay the $25 fee to bring him home. They all fell in love with him, but he was basically not going to be adopted, but would have been euthanized (and they probably think I am a one of kind idiot to take on a sick, old dog).
So, I'll make his final days good ones, and make him comfortable. Feed him a mixture of softened dry food and canned food. I put a dog aspirin in his food, and bought some hand warmers to put under his blanket. Used some dog ear cleaner to clean out his ears (they were gross).
He lays outside my kitchen door and howls for me every time he hears my voice. My setter is jealous and my cat hates him, but it'll all work out in the end.
I went to brush him and he flinched, kinda acts like he's been abused or hit. Built a bonfire outside tonight and when he saw the stick in my hand (to stir the fire) he acted scared.
He definitely was somebody's pet at one time, doesn't like to be alone. But he also has been hurt by humans.
I got him to keep my other spoiled dog company, now I have TWO of them begging me for attention. Kinda defeated my purpose, but he is sweet, so it's okay.
I still miss my guys.
Hasn't slowed down a bit
She gets an off leach 3.5-5 mile walk every day and I could eat her dog food (human grade)
I want her to be the world's oldest lived dog
Speaking of old dogs....
Good Girl.
You will shower each other with love.
I'm privileged to share my life with a 14 year old Golden. He was always a medium gold shade; now is head is completely white. He's only known this one home. He lives in the house, has a doggy door, knows the routine, keeps all of the rules. God's prefect creation.
He doesn't hear much; but he brings in the newspaper every morning; still eats good, and enjoys his daily walks.
He is a GREAT companion/pet. We've tried to do all of the right things for him, and I'm proud to say that he hasn't had 15 minutes of bad luck in all of his 14 years.
We were able to give him training (or better put, I took lessons in tracking and hunting). He earned his CD title as easy as pie.
I'm attune to knowing when his quality of life deteriorates. But for now, so far -- so good!
Thanks for this great story.
It makes me furious that dogs have to die when they're only 16, and sometimes much younger. When I get to heaven this is going to be the first thing I ask God about.
My mutt Maxx is half Lab, half Border Collie. 15 years old. Last few years, he has been getting a little stiffer.
I started giving him some supplemental Vit C (500-1000 mg/day) and also supplemental Vit D.
He has, in the last week or so, showed quite an improvement.
The little weisenheimer, he was gettin outright snotty with me the other night!
That kind of dog don't hunt Ma'am.
That one probably should be put to sleep (just kidding!!!)
What a decent thing to do. Good for you. I'm going on 25 years worth of lab company and if you didn't have it after once having it, you would sorely miss it. I think God made Labradors as a reward, but don't know what I have been rewarded for.
You know billhilly, I always dreamed of being a star.
And I am now amasing my own fan club. It sort of gives me the big head, knowing I am so adored.
This lab acts like he thinks I am GOD or something.His head weighs more than my torso, and the whole time I'm outside with him, he lays/pushes that massive head against my leg.
Follows my every step, and anticipates my every move. When I pet him and talk to him he acts like some kind of diplomat on an important mission -- to please me, of course.
I have a feeling this guy has seen a long and winding road. And, after I feed him and give him his aspirin in his food -- and he gives up on waiting for me to walk out the door -- he goes to his outside bed and goes to sleep. But he's there waiting on me the next morning.
I call him a gentle giant -- heck, my deer herd still feeds at the feeder nearby, and he doesn't even know it (I don't think his vision is too good).
Thanks for the ping, that was a great read!
Glad to hear that you got a new friend too, that was nice of you to take him in. I only wish I could have my dog here at school with me. Charlie turns 10 this year, and he's still very much a puppy (especially at heart) but the thought of them getting older just tears at me!
Your post #3 was great. I recently adopted a third dog, a big shepherd mix, who had been rescued after spending several years in a kennel. The rescuers thought he was 9 but the vet says he's 13. I say exactly what you said - I'm going to make his last years good ones. He's a big sweetheart who demands all the petting and attention possible - he's making up for lost time!
Nobody can adore like a Lab!
My young whipper-snapper says "Hi!" to your Grand Old Man.
Why am I not surprised that a photo of Helen Thomas would show up on a thread about old dogs?!
Pressing their head against you and leaning their bodies into you is common to the Lab. I'll bet you have a Lab puppy before long. That will take the edge off your Setter.
Your old boy is in heaven. Enjoy him as long as you can, then put him down before he has to suffer too much. That is a hard thing to do, but it is an act of love.
What is his name? I'm sorry if you mentioned it before.
Well, I've taken to calling him "Buddy," cause I don't know what to call him just yet.
Whatever I call him, though, he'll come to me.
I just went downstairs to check on him, and lo and behold, he wasn't in that plush bed I made for him in the heated room. NO, he was laying on the hard wooden deck just outside my kitchen door waiting on me to notice him. And when I awoke him he started howling at me like: ME ME, Pay attention to ME.
My goal was to get another dog to entertain my bored, spoiled rotten setter. Now I have TWO spoiled rotten dogs begging me for attention. I think my original mission is plummeting towards failure at a mindbending rate.
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