Senior dogs

[1imaginarygirl]

I have a 125-lb 12-year old dog. He's still doing pretty well for his age, but he can no longer take the stairs. Now he has anxiety about getting up from laying down. I know he can do it by himself, but he waits for me to help him. In reality, I don't really help him up, I just kind of support him if he loses his balance. He still does 99% of the work.

We just moved to a new apartment and the floor is large tile outside the elevator on the main floor. The other night we were heading outside and there were two dogs in the elevator with us and one waiting in the lobby. So my boy kind of freaked out from all the commotion and slipped on the tile. Let me just say, it was a fiasco. He was too scared to get up and to top it off made a mess on the floor. People were trying to help me, but he just couldn't get enough traction to get up and stay up. And since he was panicking, he was kind of fighting us.

Since then I have been searching around for something to use on his feet to help with traction. I have heard that socks and boots are not recommended, because the dog can't "feel" the ground with them on and sometimes make slipping worse. I also found adhesive products that you just stick to the dog's paw pads, but a lot of reviews online said they don't stay on well. One product I though I might try are Toegrips that are little rubber(?) rings that go on each toenail.

Does anyone else have a senior dog that has trouble slipping? Do you use anything to help with traction?

[bshee58]

No i don't have any pets, he weighs a lot, have you thought about changing his eating habits.

[1imaginarygirl]

No i don't have any pets, he weighs a lot, have you thought about changing his eating habits.

Sorry, I should have clarified. He's a Newfoundland, so he's actually slightly underweight, which is good for his joints. He's not really active anymore, so he eats less than when he had better mobility.

[countrygirl12]

I have a 125-lb 12-year old dog. He's still doing pretty well for his age, but he can no longer take the stairs. Now he has anxiety about getting up from laying down. I know he can do it by himself, but he waits for me to help him. In reality, I don't really help him up, I just kind of support him if he loses his balance. He still does 99% of the work.

We just moved to a new apartment and the floor is large tile outside the elevator on the main floor. The other night we were heading outside and there were two dogs in the elevator with us and one waiting in the lobby. So my boy kind of freaked out from all the commotion and slipped on the tile. Let me just say, it was a fiasco. He was too scared to get up and to top it off made a mess on the floor. People were trying to help me, but he just couldn't get enough traction to get up and stay up. And since he was panicking, he was kind of fighting us.

Since then I have been searching around for something to use on his feet to help with traction. I have heard that socks and boots are not recommended, because the dog can't "feel" the ground with them on and sometimes make slipping worse. I also found adhesive products that you just stick to the dog's paw pads, but a lot of reviews online said they don't stay on well. One product I though I might try are Toegrips that are little rubber(?) rings that go on each toenail.

Does anyone else have a senior dog that has trouble slipping? Do you use anything to help with traction?

They make booties and if he would wear them I would go with that but you need to make sure they have the non-slip thingeys on them. I don't see where it would be an issue if he only wore them when he was with you.

[countrygirl12]

No i don't have any pets, he weighs a lot, have you thought about changing his eating habits.

Who said he was fat? Some dogs are just big. Mine use to weigh over 100 or close to 100. He is a big dog. He was not fat at all. He didn't need to loose weight.

[aflyingmonkey]

I had a little Lhasa that as she got older she got arthritis in one of her hips, she had problems walking & jumping... I got some prescribed meds that seemed to help... but then every time I needed to refill the prescription, I had to make an appointment & it was getting ridiculous.   I switched the pain pills to baby aspirin & it seemed to do the exact same pain relief & she was able to remain mobile. Maybe your doggo has something similar & pain meds for inflammation might help.

They sell shoes for dogs here in Los Angeles... because the ground gets so hot for their paws.  They come in all sorts of styles & different soles on the bottom for traction.    I know they make them for the snow as well. I see dogs wearing shoes quite frequently & they look like there are no issues with them wearing them.

Good luck to you & your dog, I hope you find a satisfactory solution.

[snuggleycutejc]

I have a friend with senior dogs, they cook boil chicken rice and other meats not reg pet food, nice bed  they loved them through out the stages of their fur babies. I had my JC since she was a baby now I didn't realized that she is 5-6 years old wow. she always liked the senior cat food.

[1imaginarygirl]

I had a little Lhasa that as she got older she got arthritis in one of her hips, she had problems walking & jumping... I got some prescribed meds that seemed to help... but then every time I needed to refill the prescription, I had to make an appointment & it was getting ridiculous.   I switched the pain pills to baby aspirin & it seemed to do the exact same pain relief & she was able to remain mobile. Maybe your doggo has something similar & pain meds for inflammation might help.

They sell shoes for dogs here in Los Angeles... because the ground gets so hot for their paws.  They come in all sorts of styles & different soles on the bottom for traction.    I know they make them for the snow as well. I see dogs wearing shoes quite frequently & they look like there are no issues with them wearing them.

Good luck to you & your dog, I hope you find a satisfactory solution.

My boy is on anti-inflammatory as well as pain medication. They help, but I think most of his problem is that his back legs are just getting too weak. He drags them a little now when he walks. I am going to start doing range of motion exercises on him once or twice a day to see if that makes a difference.

[countrygirl12]

I have a friend with senior dogs, they cook boil chicken rice and other meats not reg pet food, nice bed  they loved them through out the stages of their fur babies. I had my JC since she was a baby now I didn't realized that she is 5-6 years old wow. she always liked the senior cat food.

Boiled chicken and rice does not provide complete nutrition.  My vet told me a couple days ago to try that to try to get my dog to eat.  But he won't touch it

[mardukblood2009]

My neighbor just had to get her dog put down. He was only 8. He had a heart attack and the whole thing really happened fast. He was a real nice dog too and I miss him.

[teresa3200]

I know they make footies for them. I used them a few years back for my old girl that wouldn't stop chewing her foot. She refused to walk with them on  and kept trying to chew those to get them off.

[potluck6]

my dog was 10 he got cancer so had to put him down. loved him want another dog but have 3 cats now soooo who knows. might want an older dog but not a sick one.

[1imaginarygirl]

I have a friend with senior dogs, they cook boil chicken rice and other meats not reg pet food, nice bed  they loved them through out the stages of their fur babies. I had my JC since she was a baby now I didn't realized that she is 5-6 years old wow. she always liked the senior cat food.

Boiled chicken and rice does not provide complete nutrition.  My vet told me a couple days ago to try that to try to get my dog to eat.  But he won't touch it

I agree. Chicken and rice is something mild you can give temporarily when your dog is getting over a digestive illness, but that's not something you should feed long term.

If your dog's not eating, you could try a spoonful of turkey gravy, diluted a little bit, warmed up and mixed in with kibble. My dog went crazy for it at first, but now that he's used to it, I'll have to figure something else out. Dogs can be so finicky sometimes!