Advice on living life with an elderly dog

I bought the Dorwest turmeric and Jazz wouldn't touch it Honeysuckleberries. Apparently it is very effective for arthritis, I tried everything to make him take it but he could smell it a mile off.

Razzamatazz, my father gave medicine to our dog by wrapping it up in a half-chewed fruity sweet. He wolfed them down like that!

They were the ones individually wrapped but in long "square tubes" and were sort-of pastel colours. I can't remember what they were called.
I'm sure fruity sweets aren't great for dogs but it did work!

TopsyIrene06

My 16 year old Border Terrier used a buggy in the last year of her life and it was a success for her. She was always so active I thought she would never accept this mode of travel but I was wrong. She stuck her nose up in the air and gracefully acknowledged her adoring fans. She is greatly missed.

We have a 15 year old border terrier, TopsyIrene, and she took to her buggy like a duck to water! She still walks some of the time, but let’s us know when she can’t walk any further or needs a rest. Last year I carried her in a home made sling if she ran out of steam, but now it is a much more regular thing.

Finn has tumeric but it comes in tiny tablets. No taste, no smell, he is on 2 a day as he is a big border collie.
The brand is CurcuPet-K9.

Jazz has got another interdigital cyst, anyone else's elderly dog suffer with them? He started limping on Sunday morning and the cyst has come up overnight.

The vet said in a younger dog that could have anaesthetic, they'd normally investigate with surgery. I think he's had four this year, poor dog, it seems to be a deep rooted tissue infection that comes out as an open sore. Managed to get into the vet at 10.40 and luckily the normal anti b's heal it within a few days. Not lucky for my bank account though!

I have a 14yr old tripawd who is riddled with arthritis. She is on Librela monthly injections. We have an InnoPet Sport buggy for her if we go out on country walks. She potters in the garden but no longer goes on walks. I drive her every morning with our other dogs to a local field. She stands and sniffs and takes the air. She sometimes gets interdigital cysts which I bathe in salt water and occasionally needs antibiotics for. Every day is a bonus and she still eats well, squeaks her toys, lies on the sofa waiting for someone to walk past so she can get a bark. Quality of life is definitely still there. My neighbour is my vet so she is on standby for anything/everything which is comforting.

We've gone through this with our last two border terriers but because both were happy to be left on their own, we just did short walks with them but went off for longer walks without them. Fortunately neither became incontinent and we were able to take them away away with us and if we went abroad I had someone live in. My third BT is 5 and I'm mid 70's so hopefully we'll lose our enthusiasm for long walks around the same time. With regard to Librela, my neighbour has her collie on it and he is transformed. I really can hardly believe how much he has improved it's quite miraculous!

NotSpaghetti, were the sweets 'Opal Fruits'?
Probably renamed now and I do not know the new name.

My little terrier is 14 and I’m using Youmove lintbells very good. We are on the first dose of librela and I’m not yet convinced. It seems I still have to give her loxicom intermittently. She’s arthritic, deaf, you can see the cataracts forming. She certainly says no when she doesn’t want to walk in the morning but usually enjoys a trip out in the evening.
However she is still boss lady with the younger dog though he pushes his luck but no chance he still knows his place.

Yes! They were Auntieflo! I was struggling to remember. It seems they still make them as well.
Our labradoor/collie cross just loved them and would wolf anything down if he got some fruity thing with it.
I don't think it even needed to be a whole one to be honest. Just enough to mask whatever he was supposed to be taking.

Our border collie didn't have any arthritic problems. It was all in her head.
She started to have epileptic seizures, when she got too excited.
So we had to decide that she was suffering too much.

dogsmother Youmove is really good but if it's not enough to keep the dog comfortable then Librela is definitely worth trying, however it may take 2 or 3 doses before you see any improvement and it doesn't work for every dog. Good luck, I was discussing it with my friend, who is a small animal vet and she really rates Librela, just wishes it was cheaper for clients.

Dog carrier backpack?
www.amazon.co.uk/dog-backpacks-slings/b?node=471362031&tag=gransnetforum-21&ie=UTF8

NotSpaghetti

Yes! They were Auntieflo! I was struggling to remember. It seems they still make them as well.
Our labradoor/collie cross just loved them and would wolf anything down if he got some fruity thing with it.
I don't think it even needed to be a whole one to be honest. Just enough to mask whatever he was supposed to be taking.

They’re now called Starburst

I think Jazz's joints were already too damaged for the Librella to make him more mobile, but it's certainly very effective for the pain. He was very distressed in his sleep and was crying, broke my heart. I am so relieved it has made him more comfortable and hope he sees his 14th birthday.

We had to say goodbye to our 12 year old arthritic collie twenty years ago because we'd reached the end of the available treatments. So marvellous this advance has been made.

Auntieflo - just read this;
Starburst has gone back to its original name and become Opal Fruits - 22 years after they were rebranded.

Sorry to hijack the thread!

A blast from the past. I remember being so disappointed when it was the lime at the top of the packet.

I have just seen this and I hope it resonates with any of us who have or have had old dogs or cats.

How nice MawtheMerrier. I wish my neighbour's greyhound would fit into my buggy - he's just broken his leg, poor dog.

Oh poor hound!
They have such fragile bones don’t they?

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My cross westie jack, 16 has DM and sadly is at the end of his days, as unable to walk at all now
But has spent many happy days out in his dog pushchair
And this helped him enjoy his old age.

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This is what our 17 year old cross Westie who’s unable to walk much due to DM which sadly causes being paralysed has..
Much to my surprise he loves it ..

DeeDe: Your picture took me back to last year.
What a sweetie and he certainly looks like he is living his gentle life gazing out at the world.

Ali23. Thank you for your post - I have only just seen it. Hope the rides are still being enjoyed. I can just imagine the scene.

My wee dog is 9 and she's epileptic. I wouldn't leave her in kennels because I would just worry the whole time. I know now when she about to have a seizure as she had her first one 2 weeks after I rescued her, that was 5 years ago. I wouldn't put the worry on friends leaving her with them either.
I now rent pet friendly Airbnbs and take her with me. She has slowed down a lot since she had to have her meds increased to help with the seizures so if I have to buy a dog pram I will.
I promised to give her a lovely life after her first horrible 5 years she had before I was lucky enough to rescue her and I'll keep that promise.

Here she is, TopsyIrene, on holiday in Wells last month.
We now use the buggy for roughly half of every walk ( she plods the homeward half). She loves it!
Luckily, there are soooo many dog friendly holiday homes and cafes that going places with her is no problem at all 😊