We are a German shepherd dog family, which is something everyone who knows us also knows. I cannot even imagine living without a canine companion to let me know when something is about to happen (storm, earthquake); alert me when something is not right, like a car pulling off into our yard or driveway; or to just sit with their head on my feet when I am reading.
But taking on a puppy is the same as bringing home a child, and everyone who takes on the responsibility should keep that in mind. You don't throw a toddler out on the street because he or she breaks something or makes a mess, and neither should you feel you can do so to a dog.
Having a dog in your life does not only mean living through the toddler, terrible two, pre-teen and teenage stages; it also means that at some point, if you have given good care and provided what the dog needs to thrive, you are going to enter the senior care stage and have to have an end of life plan.
We have had this with several of our dogs. Our last two late dogs, Jynx my search dog, and our dumb blond shepherd Sage, lived to be 12 and 13 respectively, and had a whole list of medical issues during the last years of their lives. My current old girl, Cheyenne, is 13 and several months, and while she is not sick and is still very happy, her back legs are crippled with arthritis to the point where standing is extremely difficult, and she is having chronic tooth and ear infections. She is also almost completely deaf.
Arthritis is, as a matter of fact, one of the seven most serious problems with aging dogs. The others are kidney and liver disease, intestinal problems, cancer, diabetes, incontinence and dementia.
Senior dogs may also lose their hearing and vision, requiring changes in their environment to keep them safe.
There is a lot of disagreement about determining the age of a dog in human years so that you have a reference in determining what their needs might be. The American Veterinary Medicine Association has published a chart that makes it a little easier to determine. The chart starts with the age of 7, which is the age small dogs should be considered senior. With medium sized dogs that age is 6; with large dogs the senior years start at age 5. Here is the information they provide for general age calculation:
Dog Years Human Years Determined by Pounds
7 years Small to medium dogs, 44-47 years
Large to very large dogs, 50-56 years
10 years Small to medium dogs, 56-60 years
Large to very large dogs, 66-78 years
15 years Small to medium sized dogs, 76-83 years
Large to very large dogs, 93-115 years
20 years Small to medium sized dogs, 96-105 years
Large to very large dogs, 120 years
As you can see, my 86 pound, 13-year-old shepherd is about 98 years old in human years.
The number of senior dogs that have been raised as part of a loving family but are surrendered to shelters when they reach old age is alarming, so much so that special organizations have been forming all over the country to try to find loving homes for these special animals. One of the most successful of these is Grey Muzzle Organization, which is working with shelters all over the country to find good homes for surrendered senior dogs. According to Grey Muzzle, there are several reasons why older dogs are abandoned. The most common are the family moves into a place that will not allow pets; the growing health and medical needs of an older dog; and finally, the price of caring for an increasingly sick dog.
Most people going to a shelter to adopt a pet for their family walk right by an older, loving animal to look at the puppies. There are, however, important reasons why families, especially those with young children, should consider adopting older dogs.
Dogs over the age of 6 are a large as they are going to get. There will never be the surprise of taking a wriggling, 5 pound puppy home and one year later having to accommodate a 100 pound monster.
The dog you meet is the dog you take home. Although these pets are traumatized at being taken from a warm, loving home to a shelter, most of the time you can get a good sense of the dog's temperament right away, and that temperament is probably not going to change at all over the years.
Older dogs that have lived with families are generally housebroken, and familiar with what behavior is and what is not acceptable in a family situation. Come, sit and stay are usually familiar commands to a senior dog that has lived in a family environment. And if you have toddlers in your household, you don't have to go through potty training and housebreaking a dog at the same time.
Senior dogs are past the puppy behavior stage, and very unlikely to chew up shoes, furniture other valuable items, whereas with puppies this behavior should be expected.
There are a number of older dogs waiting right now at all the local animal shelters for new homes. I would ask you, if you are in the market for a family pet, to at least consider adopting an older dog. I don't believe you will be sorry you did.
(Information for this column was gathered from ASPCA.com, Positively.com, Greymuzzle.org and the American Veterinary Medicine Association website.)
plen@rittermail.com