Less Adaptability As Your Dog Ages

It is not uncommon to find the older dog less adaptable to changes in diet, routine, or environment. For example, my dog always loved riding in the car, bouncing about with a sense of excitement. He never missed a thing that passed by; now that he is older he prefers to lie quietly on the seat snuggled up against me or else on the floor. He may even get an occasional upset stomach and throw up while riding.

The muscles of most aged mammals lose much of their strength and actually decrease in size with each advancing year. This is a normal part of the aging process and is to be expected. However, there are two as yet poorly understood muscle disorders which at first may look like normal aging weakness.

Polymyositis occurs mostly in late middle age and early old age, the most common of its several possible causes appearing to be a defect in the dog's immune mechanism. Treatment with corticosteroids is quite successful despite the often alarming appearance of the dog. Occasionally the muscles of the esophagus are affected, making swallowing difficult, but even these respond.

Muscular dystrophy, the second disorder, occurs mainly in older dogs, bears some similarity to muscular dystrophy in people, and has a cause as yet unknown. Affected dogs develop a stiff gait as the muscles become progressively weaker and smaller in size. There is nothing we know of which will stop the deterioration or cure the disease. Treatment is palliative, trying to keep the patient as comfortable as possible, and is based on your dog's individual symptoms.

If you find that he has thrown up small amounts of yellowish-green stomach fluid due to the increased acidity of a stomach which contains no food, leaving a small amount of dry food when you go out may solve this upset. You may find that your aging dog's mobility will improve for a while especially if you have guests, but then preferring to be by himself in a quieter part of the house. By understanding these dog health problems you will be able to make your dog content in his old age.

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