By Dana Larson
As your dog ages, his energy level may diminish. Gone are the days of pulling your arm out of its socket when you’re taking him on a walk, or running around the house and jumping on the furniture. Old Rusty seems content to walk around the yard and lay by your side while watching television. This happens with older dogs, but in order for him to live a healthy life in his adult years, keeping him as active as possible is key.
Today we are offering tips to keep your senior dog active and healthy, so he lives a happy life.
Keep an Exercise Routine
Don’t let the decrease in your dog’s energy affect your exercise schedule. It’s still important to bring Old Rusty out for walks and to play in the yard or around the house. Make sure you keep up with your standard exercise routine to promote health and activity for your furry friend (and for you!). This Doggy Fitness Exercise Checklist gives you a lot of great information on the benefits of canine exercise, and how to keep up with your activities.
Find the Right Food
Your senior dog has different nutritional needs, and should no longer be eating the same food he did when he was a puppy. If you aren’t sure what type of food you should be giving your senior dog, check out the DogFoodChat.com dog food forum. You’ll find great articles and discussions about feeding your senior dog, and the benefits of different types of dog food. There are also services available to help you plan your senior dog’s diet, including Better Dog Care’s dog diet consultations, to ensure the nutritional needs of your senior dog are met.
Extra Checkups With the Vet
To keep an eye on the health of your senior dog, bring him in to the vet a bit more often than you used to. This will help you monitor his health changes, and allow you the opportunity to ask your vet questions on food and exercise for your friend.
Give Him a Puppy Friend
If you want to encourage increased energy and activity in your senior dog, find him a new friend – a puppy friend! By introducing Old Rusty to the new, young “whippersnapper”, your senior dog may find he has much more energy, and will play with his new friend often. Take a look at PetFinder.com to find a new friend, and increase his activity level again.
You still love your dog, no what how old he is. Make sure you take care of his changing health needs and still allow for playtime, and your senior dog will stay healthy and happy into his golden years.
What are some other tips for keeping your senior dogs active and healthy? Post them in the comments below!
Bart
Latest posts by Bart (see all)
- Farewell, Beloved Bart - November 26, 2018
- Goodbye Flies – Subtle Fly Traps that Get the Job Done - August 17, 2018
- Vita Bone® Artisan Inspired® Dog Treat Challenge - July 19, 2018
Extra check up and adding some supplements in dog diet can really make the dog happy and younger. Meetings with other dogs can help tool
Hope some of the advices would actually work for my old pal. So glad to drop by reading some of the information. Be back for more updates.
Really like your tips, i think i can use them for our older golden retriever Pauline. The idea of an Excercise Routine is something i never tried before, think i should do that.
Thanks!
Greets
This seems to the biggest heart breaking problem that effects your feelings when you see your dog getting lazier and lazier by passage of time and it seems to because of the age he has gaining with the passage of time.
But these problems could be addressed by taking care of it in the right way as you mentioned in you blog. Hopefully this would make it feel and look younger like the other young dogs.