Senior Pet Care

Is your pet 7 years or older?

Then it's time For Your Pet’s Senior Wellness Exam, especially as winter approaches.

As our pets grow older we expect to see some changes, but what is normal aging?  And how do we best care  for them at this life-stage?

There is great variation in our dog & cats life expectancy but as a general rule any pet 7 years or older is considered middle aged or old aged.  

Normal changes include gradual hearing loss, greying fur, particularly around the muzzle, loss of muscle tone and a blue appearance to the eyes.  However, there are many diseases that can also cause these or similar  changes.  It is all too easy to dismiss our pets’ slowing down to old age when if fact they are often suffering with very treatable diseases.  For this reason it is even more important to get wellness examinations with your veterinarian. 

Here at Bendigo Animal Hospital we recommend a Senior Wellness Examination every 12 months and in some cases every 6 months.  These examinations are a great opportunity for you to receive tailored information on how to accommodate your pet’s changing dietary, exercise and environmental needs and will aid in the prevention of disease or early detection is the best path to keeping happy healthy furred members of the family.

For more information or to see how old your pet is in human years go to the link below.

http://www.idexx.com/pubwebresources/pdf/en_us/smallanimal/practice-management/steps/preventive-brochures-age-chart.pdf