ATTN Owners of senior chows.. i have a ?

[Sinniebunnie]

Hi! I am so glad I found this board. I have a senior chow x shepherd named Midnight. She was adopted in dec 97 and was estimated to be about 2years old. She is now suppose to be about 15 or + 1 or 2 years. You know how people lie about dogs ages when they drop them off.

I noticed the older Midnight is the less she listens. We call it selective listening. She listens when she wants to and comes when she feels like it. Is this normal for older chows? I also noticed the older she got the more independent she is. She will come maybe and walks off when she likes.


Midnight has the itchy top butt problem. She licks her hair so my mom cut it as low as she could. She thinks keeping her hair short is better. Midnight also has alot of flakes. She give her a bath every 3 weeks with oatmeal soap. Would it be better to let her hair grow out?

I also have a concern for her back legs. She can not get on her couch anymore and tips over when she does sharp turns. What can I do to help her?

This is my favorite photo of Midnight taken 4 years ago.

TIA

[Victory]

Hey there, she's a cutey. I don't have a senior right now, but I've had them in the past.

Selective listening is a long time chow trait, but if she has just begun to do it, she may be going a little deaf, it happens with age for canines just like for humans. Watch it carefully though, because her startle response may become more intense if she is going deaf. In other words if she's going deaf and doesn't hear someone approach and they touch her, she may nip because she didn't know they were there. This is always an issue with chows because of their lack of perferiol vision, but most make up for it with their hearing..if she's losing that she could startle more easily.

She does not need a bath every three weeks unless she's rolling in cow pies. Which at her age I doubt she's doing. Let her coat grow out and brush her 2-3 times a week, this will stimulate oil production and blood to the folicals and get rid of some the flackiness. Bathing her that often even with a oatmean based shampoo, (dog I hope) will still cause dry skin problems at her age.

She's probably getting or has artheritis at this point, xrays can tell the extent of it. There are suppliments that seem to work pretty good, one containing both glucosamine and chondroitin, like Cosequin DS would be good to try her on. Getting her on a suppliment is a good thing, because it can help her hips, knees and ankles not hurt so much and that will allow you to continue her normal exercise which will help the muscles stay strong which will provide more support for the joints. It's a circle. Also if you haven't had it done, have a senior blood screening done when you can. This will let you know if you should be watching for any kidney, liver, pancreas problems. Watch her weight and keep it to a healthy level, this will also help her joints.

Her independence is normal for a chow of any age, but it could be getting more as she gets older because she's pretty secure and knows where you are.

Having a senior animal means it's your turn to give a lot. Ensuring that she is in the best health possible for her age is crucial. Treating or dealing with any health issues she has is also crucial. Chows are very stoic and she won't tell you if she's in a lot of pain, you have to find out and then treat/deal as necessary.

I hope this helps. And no matter what, it seems she's had a long and happy life and that's what counts the most.

[bellachow]

I have had four senior chows and they have all acted differently as they aged. My chow-shepard, Iggy, got more cuddly. Iggy always followed me around but as he got older he followed my husband around too. Leo just seemed more calm and content but Lady has gotten more distant. Junior went blind and we had to be careful and let him know we were close. As they aged they all had problems with arthritis and we chose supplements that were all natural and started giving Junior an aspirin a day. Leo was the only one with a skin problem. I did not bath him often but when I did I used T-gel human shampoo; the tar seemed to help him with the itchy skin. But Victory is right, you should have blood work and watch her weight carefully. But more than anything, know that you are not alone. A chow's lifepsan is short and we just have to do the best we can for our aging babies.

[bama]

I agree with everything Victory and Bella have told you.
The only thing I would add is this:

1) Liquid Fish Body Oil, mixed in with the food. Helps with many things, among them, arthritis.
2) Are these hot spots on the butt? If so, they can be caused by all the things Victory described, as well as, changes in diet, allergies,
to such things as fleas, or changes in his environment, both inside and outside the home. Have you anything, such as yard treatments, or new plants?
Allergens can be in the form of household smells, cleansers, and aerosol sprays. If you feel allergies are the problem,
try giving him one Clariton (non-drowsy formula) once per day, to see if that helps keep the hot spots away.

I hope this helps