Welcome back to the Senior Dog Digest from Grey Whiskers. It’s time to jump into some new topics as we enter the holiday season and because it’s National Senior Pet Awareness Month.

In this week’s issue here’s what we are sniffing out

• Understanding the signs of pain in dogs

• Senior Dog Adoption Organization Spotlight

Spotting the Signs of Pain

I’ve worked with dogs for so long that I’ve gotten pretty good at recognizing some of the more subtle signs of pain. Pain isn’t just limping or yelping. What looks like behavior changes can be pain. The longer a dog lives, the chances are good that he will have some pain… hopefully just minor, but not everyone is that lucky. I cannot stress this enough: dogs don’t have to, and should not, live with pain. You know how cranky and miserable you feel when you’re in pain? Dogs can be the same! They’re more likely to bite other animals or humans who inadvertently hurt them, or if they perceive there will be pain if they’re touched. They may stop eating, sleep poorly, refuse walks, or withdraw from family life, preferring to be alone to hurting. If all that is happening, you may quickly end up with a quality of life issue on your hands.

Some symptoms of pain are a little more obvious: limping, reluctance to move at all, whining/crying, and getting up very slowly and stiffly, especially after a long nap. Some symptoms are less obvious but if you see them for a while, you might realize that your dog is hurting: Pacing, panting, repositioning frequently on a bed or choosing to lie on the hard floor. This can also include hesitance to jump on furniture or climb/descend stairs, missing the jump to the couch, or stumbling up/downstairs.

This next list is where I want to spend time: the symptoms that could possibly be pain but either you don’t notice them at all, or aren’t trained to see them as an indicator of pain. I suggest that if you see anything in this section that strikes a chord for your dog, pay attention 👀 . If you get the same response each time it’s worth keeping a log and mentioning it to your veterinarian at the next visit (remember your senior dog should have checkups twice a year!). If you see more than a few of these symptoms in your dog, it might be time to visit the vet with your notes. It’s important to be aware that some of these symptoms are also found in other conditions. Your veterinarian will help narrow it down; that’s what our wonderful veterinarians are there for!

1. Skin twitching: I was grooming Zephyr the other day and every time I touched the brush to her just behind her shoulder, the skin twitched, no matter how gentle I was. Her owner told me she has an old injury there and it must still bother her.

2. Turning their head to watch you if you’re petting a certain area. When I got to that spot behind Zephyr‘s shoulder, she let me brush, but she turned her head and watched me as if to say, be careful, that area bothers me!

3. Licking your hand when you spend a lot of time in an area that hurts. Zephyr also did this for that shoulder area, so I quickly moved along.

4. Standing with both front or rear legs staggered vs side by side, or putting less weight on one foot than the other. One way to tell if your dog is standing with more weight on one side than another is if you pick up one rear leg at a time and one is consistently easier to pick up than the other. The trick is sometimes the leg that comes up more easily is the one that hurts and sometimes it’s the one that is hesitant to lift because it is supporting the hurting leg. Your veterinarian can narrow that down!

5. Spine starts to hunch upwards: in general, a dog should have a level topline, meaning the spine is roughly parallel to the ground. This isn’t always the case - an exaggerated example is the German shepherd. But if the middle of the spine is higher than the spine near the shoulders or hips, this is called a “roached” spine and it can indicate discomfort.

6. Suddenly not allowing you to handle mouth or rubbing face on the floor can indicate mouth pain, or eye pain if rubbing on the floor.

7. Suddenly now snapping at family members or other pets who get too close.

8. Trembling: some dogs tremble naturally (terriers, miniature poodles, Italian greyhounds, chihuahuas to name a few) but a new onset of trembling likely means something is wrong.

9. Choosing to lie or stand over sitting. Does your dog still sit at all? Does he stand a lot more than he used to? Does he not want to sit or lay down when asked?

10. Some dogs lick or bite at joints that hurt. If there is a rusty stain on a lighter-colored coat that gets bigger over time, it could be a saliva stain from licking.

11. While petting your dog, she rolls over to make the area inaccessible or she gets up and walks away to lay down elsewhere.

12. If your dog consistently puts her head under your hand and nudges you away from a hip, for example, or puts her paw on top of you every time you pet it, she might be telling you something.

13. Not stretching anymore when waking up, or if the act of shaking water off coat is less enthusiastic than it used to be, or they don’t shake at all anymore when wet.

Learning to pay attention to subtle signs like this is like learning a new language… in fact it IS a new language. Dogs communicate really clearly if we learn to understand what they’re saying. They will thank you for the care and love, even more than they already do every day. ❤️ 

Organization Shout Out

This week I’m highlighting Old Dogs New Digs, the group we adopted Ginger from.

Mandy is the founder and owner of ODND, which was started in Maine. When her family moved to Colorado, she expanded the organization and now it operates in both states. Mandy was living with her own aging dogs, and realizing how sweet and wonderful they were. Seeing older dogs being overlooked in shelters was breaking her heart, so she started fostering. She couldn’t keep up with all the requests that she foster more and more pets, so she started her own organization to address the need. Right now ODND has 16 dogs and cats in Colorado. Not all of them will be up for adoption, but ODND provides lifetime care for the ones who have difficult medical conditions or are end of life.

ODND pulls pets from shelters and works occasionally with veterinary offices or families in need of surrender. They’re always in need of fosters and volunteers. Email [email protected] or go to the website and fill out an application. They also need donations!

Click here to see the available dogs or check them out on IG or Facebook 

Let’s find Tippy a home! This 10-year-old boy has been available through Old Dogs New Digs for a while now, and he is looking for some digs of his own to call home. He loves walks, playing with toys, and adventures, and he loves to lay on your feet or lap to snuggle and keep you warm. He sounds like the perfect old dog to adopt for the cold winter months coming up!

Tip of the Week

When you play tug of war with your older dog, be careful of your angle of pull! Don’t pull so that her neck extends up too high. Consider sitting on the ground or a chair and pulling straight out in front of her so that her neck and spine stay in line with her head. Definitely keep things very gentle if she has bad or painful teeth. If her pull toy ends up with blood all over it, mention that to your vet so they can check her mouth. PS she told me to tell you to let her win once in a while… she won’t gloat!

🐶 Sniffing Out Senior Dog News 📰

🤪 Senior Dog Odd Habits

 🤤 What to feed senior dogs to keep them happy

Senior Dog Humor 🤣 

How did we do with this week’s newsletter?

• High Paws

• Pooped in the House