Has your dog forgotten where the bone is buried? Dogzheimers

With advances in nutrition and veterinary care, dogs, like their human counterparts, are living longer than ever before. The saying is “senior at seven” and most breeds of dogs are the equivalent of fifty human years of age when they are seven. Almost every pet will develop at least one serious condition in their senior years. Arthritis, cancer, diabetes and even the doggie equivalent of alzhiemers, cognitive dysfunction, more commonly known as dogzheimers, all are more common in older dogs.

The American Veterinary Association has marked September as Senior Pet Wellness month and the vets at Canobolas Pet Hospital are getting behind the idea, with discounts on many screening tests and free geriatric checks for dogs over 7 years of age for the month of September.

“We see many of our patients once a year for their vaccinations. If you take the old adage of a dog year being 7 of ours then that is like going to the doctor once every 7 years, for older pets that just isn’t enough,” said Dr Geoff Freeth of Canobolas Pet Hospital.

Screening for disease is accepted in human disease prevention, testing for high cholesterol or blood pressure has had an enormous impact. “Because we know the diseases older dogs get we can be very specific in our screening tests. Many of the diseases can be ruled out simply by asking the right questions,” said Dr Freeth.

Catching the disease process early is important to a successful outcome. “Veterinary medicine has improved so much in the last few years. MRI, stem cells, chemotherapy, you name it, they are all commonly used now,” said Dr Freeth. That means that even if something wrong is found it almost certainly can be managed successfully.

“Like humans many of the therapies for old age diseases are lifestyle changes,” said Dr Freeth. Dogs with dogzeimers are firstly encouraged to have more exercise, swimming and weight loss are the first steps in treating arthritis and dietary changes are made with a dog suffering diabetes.

By offering free check-ups for older pets, the vets at Canobolas Pet Hospital are wanting to screen as many older animals as possible in September.