Category: Adoption

Adoption

7 reasons why you should consider senior dogs for adoption

7 reasons why you should consider senior dogs for adoption
7 reasons why you should consider senior dogs for adoption

They may be past their prime, but don’t write them off just yet. Senior pets have a few qualities that merit every loving pet owner’s attention, and some of them are outline below.

1. Senior dogs need a home. And they need it fast. Unlike younger, more agile puppies, the time of senior dogs are about to pass. Can you pass up the opportunity of feeling loved by them.

2. You may end up saving their lives. Most senior dogs that are not adopted end up getting euthanized once they hit the age of five. Adopting a senior dog may very well save a life.

7 reasons why you should consider senior dogs for adoption

3. Older dogs are not necessarily “problem dogs” as many tend to think. Senior dogs lose their homes for a variety of reasons, usually having nothing to do with their behavior or temperament, but more due to the fact that their owners are unable to keep them for reasons including: the novelty of owning a dog wearing off, allergies, death of a guardian, a new baby, loss of a job, a move, change in work schedule, and various other lifestyle changes. These dogs need homes just as badly as young adoptees do, and make wonderful household pets.

4. Older dogs usually come trained and understand at least basic commands. Most older dogs are potty-trained and have mastered the basic commands such as “sit,” “stay,” “come,” and “down.” Adopting an already-trained dog will save you a lot of time and energy that you’d normally have to dedicate towards training a young dog.  (Read more here)

5. Older dogs may very well know new tricks. At their ripe age, older dogs are smart enough and have an attention span that make them easier to train.

6. Senior dogs have a calmer disposition. Do you find yourself running out of breath trying to catch up with a puppy? Then a senior dog is probably for you. Their lower energy level means that you don’t have to spend your waking time running after them.

7. Older dogs are great companions. Unlike puppies that will take a while before they warm up to you, adult dogs are loyal in an instant. They are your loyal partner from the start and you will bond with them much faster.

These reasons, and so many more, are exactly why senior dogs are starting to grow on pet owners. If you haven’t considered getting one yet, perhaps it’s time to seriously start thinking of adopting a senior dog.

Muttville, a place for senior dogs for adoption

httpv://youtu.be/7OLQnKr_sh8

When adopting a pet, senior dogs might not be your first choice. This might not be the best idea, as most senior dogs end up receiving the death sentence and getting euthanized just because of their old age. Muttville fills that niche of pet homes where only senior dogs are available for adoption. What it stands for is truly heartwarming: a place for old buddies that need just as much care and attention as any other pet through a loving pet owner. If you’re convinced that senior dogs for adoption are the way to go (and we totally agree!), perhaps it’s time to visit Muttville yourself?

Adopting a Little “Old” Friend

Adopting a Little "Old" Friend
Adopting a Little “Old” Friend

Many people consider adopting small dogs, but what about senior small dogs? Wouldn’t it feel wonderful to give the same love and affection to a senior pet? But you may be asking yourself if you could actually do it. How old does a dog need to be before it is a “senior” dog? This would probably be one of the most fundamental questions to ask in considering this kind of adoption.

Adopting a Little “Old” Friend

For small breed dogs, a senior dog is  roughly 10 years and older. Needless to say, a senior dog will have noticeably slowed down. They might have cloudy eyes and a little shade of gray around the head and muzzle. But if your desire is to adopt senior dogs, it would do well for you to try and focus more on the pet’s health and not dwell on the age. (read more here)

It is pretty much like with humans; there are seniors who still act and look younger than their age due to the healthy life and diet that they’ve been living. For dogs, healthy 14 year old’s are still as active as ever when compared to a much younger or overweight dog.

Tufts Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine Clinical Nutrition professor, Lisa Freeman, PhD, DACVN states that the more important matter than age is whether the senior dog has an underlying medical issue or overweight. Obesity can be a big problem as dogs age as is the case with people.

You need to be aware that in many cases, rescue organizations and pet shelters do not fully know the story behind each of the animals they take in. Often, they do not know the exact age and the medical history of the dogs, they can only give an educated guess. Unless the person who turned in the dog provides them with the correct information, the only reliable information to be had will be the rescue organization’s veterinarian.

Like people, senior dogs must have a considerable amount of time for exercise and their healthy dietary needs must be met. But since they are seniors, they will need less exercise than the younger and larger dogs. It is an integral part of their lives to have a little bit of exercise as senior dogs are not necessarily couch potatoes. If the main concern with your furry pet is the weight, you will have to let the little critter go on a diet and keep him active – with an ample amount of rest, of course.

A closer relationship between your pet and the vet is essential when it comes to advice on diet and exercise. Since dogs with small breeds are desired for companionship, they are perfect for snuggling and cuddling, and they do not take up a lot of space in the house. If you live in a smaller house or apartment, their petite size will be just fine. One of the most well known benefits for senior small dogs is their behavior. Since they’ve outgrown their chewing stage, they are more likely to settle down quite well and quickly making them comfortable and pleasurable companions.

Introducing a New Dog to Your Pets

Introducing a New Dog to Your Pets
Introducing a New Dog to Your Pets

Planning to get another dog to add to your growing family? There’s one area you have to cover first, if you don’t want problems in your otherwise peaceful abode: introducing a new dog to your pets. Naturally, you want your pets to get along great. With due preparation, this may very well happen.

If you haven’t picked a pet yet, you might want to consider the gender. A male dog will get along with a male dog just fine, but a female and female will most likely lead to conflicts. Also, what’s the current state of your current dog? If your current dog is older and has certain problems, you should protect your older dog from a younger, more energetic puppy who might end up harassing the former.

The best time for introductions is the weekend, where you can observe it happening. You should do it in your own home or the backyard. There should also be leashes on both dogs, with leashes that will give them just enough room to move around.

You can also walk together the two dogs, on either side of you. Try not to walk them all in one side, as this may easily cause them to crash against each other.

Introducing a New Dog to Your Other Pets

Make sure there is an environment of plenty. There should be more than one water bowl and more than one comfortable place to lie down. There should be plenty of toys, especially of kinds your dog likes, so that there’s no reason for the dogs to have a conflict over access to them. If your dog has a history of guarding his toys, they should be removed for the initial introduction period, which may take a few weeks. This all needs to be arranged before you pick up the new dog.

At first, feed your dog the way you always have done and feed the new dog in a different room. Your dog should not have to worry about feeding time, leading to problems feeding the dogs. The new dog has no expectations of your home, so he shouldn’t be upset by whatever feeding spot you choose. A very food-motivated dog will eat well from the start, but some dogs may need a person with them for the first day or two.  (Read more here)

It might take a while before you give valuable treats to the dogs, like real bones. You might have to separate the two when giving these favorites. It’s also important to treat both fairly. If one gets a nice treat for a job well done, so should the other.

Sometimes, the older dog will feel a little territorial and push away the new dog. Do not scold your dogs when this happens. Instead, you can distract the new dog and just let the old one have his space.

Be careful about switching the sleeping areas too. Don’t move the older dog from the current sleeping situation. The new dog can either sleep alongside the older dog or get a new spot to sleep on. Also, don’t leave the two dogs together alone in the house at first, unless you’re sure that they won’t fight against each other.

It’s almost inconceivable for two or more dogs to live together without disagreeing now and then—just like us humans! Don’t punish them for this. In time, they will grow comfortable with each other, and disagreements like these will come to pass. All it takes is just a little patience.

Why Adopting a Senior Dog is the Best Decision You’ll Make

Why Adopting a Senior Dog is the Best Decision You’ll Make
Why Adopting a Senior Dog is the Best Decision You’ll Make

For those who are looking to visit the dog shelter, adopting a senior dog might be out of the question. Why would you adopt an older dog when you can go for hyperactive puppies or energetic middle-aged dogs? However, if you’re looking for a dog that’s a lot easier to train and will love you dearly (among plenty of other reasons), a senior dog might be a perfect fit for you.

Training a puppy takes a lot of time and effort. If you simply don’t have either, you might want to go for a senior dog. Most older dogs are already crate-trained or house-trained. They already understand basic commands. Believe me: that will save you a lot of time trying to get your dog to obey you — time that you can use for bonding with your older buddy instead!

Why Adopting a Senior Dog is the Best Decision You’ll Make

How much energy do you want in your house?

Puppies and adult dogs have varying degrees of energy, but overall they’re pretty lively. On the other hand, senior dogs have mellowed out and won’t pester you every waking moment to play ball. These dogs are content just to have a home and someone to scratch their ears.

Are you extremely active?

If you’re looking for a jogging partner or a pet to take on the family hikes, you probably want a middle-aged, energetic dog. Older dogs still need exercise, but a walk around the block every day or throwing the ball a few times will cut it. Puppies require constant physical activity, whether it’s with toys or tussling. (More here)

Another consideration is if you have children. Some older dogs get easily irritated by the rabid noise of smaller children, while others are willing to have their tails get pulled by little kids all the time. In any case, the kids must meet the dog before they go home.

You also need to take note of regularly visiting the vet. You might also want  to get health insurance, which will cover most of the medical costs.

Getting a senior dog really isn’t any different from adopting a younger dog. What matters most in the end is how much you want to bring a loving, loyal, and caring dog to your home. All three can be provided by a senior dog.

Helping Your Dog With His Arthritis

It can be hard to see your dog in pain from arthritis
It can be hard to see your dog in pain from arthritis

There are several causes of arthritis in dogs. It may be caused by misaligned joints when the dog was born or by an unfortunate accident. As I mentioned before, it may also be the normal wear and tear of joints as your dog advances in age. Whatever the cause is, the pain and suffering usually will not be apparent until your dog grows old. At this point, you should immediately seek senior dog arthritis treatment.

There are several treatment options available for a dog suffering from arthritis, but it’s first important what happens to your beloved pet dog with arthritis. Unfortunately, not a lot of studies have been conducted explaining this. What we do know is that there’s not much difference between how humans’ and dogs’ joints deteriorate over time.

Arthritis is known to be difficult to detect in older dogs, but it’s even harder to identify if your dog is large. Dogs of large breed tend to resist pain, and won’t manifest their pain until it’s quite severe. The same problem holds true for overweight dogs, because it can be difficult if their pain is caused by their condition or arthritis. This is precisely why going to the vet is even more necessary if your dog is either of the two.

Helping Your Dog With His Arthritis

Your veterinarian has learned to be a very good judge of the subtle signs that dogs give to tell us that they are in pain. It may be just a worried look in their eyes when the veterinarian overly flexes their joints. Or you pet may withdraw its leg, or even growl or snap. You veterinarian will probably ask you to lead your pet around the examination room so he/she can observe its gait and locomotion. Over their career, vets get very good at that. The veterinarian may notice that the major muscle masses of your pet’s legs and spine have shrunken (atrophied) due to disuse. Your pet may wince when areas of it spine are palpated.

But the key tests your veterinarian will perform are x-rays. Depending on how subtle the changes are, it may take more than a single x-ray film. X-rays of advanced arthritic joints are very distinctive. If you look at the hip and spinal photos of Hannah, at the top of this page, you can understand the changes your vet will see. Most veterinarians will set these x-rays up in the exam room and point out to you the important bone changes that they are seeing. (Read more Here)

Once the vet determines that your older dog suffers from Arthritis, he will make sure that your dog doesn’t suffer from any other health problems that will make the condition worse, such as hypothyroidism, Cushing’s diseases, and diabetes.

Do not administer any drugs to your dog, unless the vet says so. The traditional medication for arthritis is Nonsteroidal Anti-inflammatory Drugs, or NSAIDS, although it’s not as simple as just feeding it to your dog. NSAIDS can have serious side effects, especially to your dog’s digestive tract. Your dog might have diarrhea, characterized by dark-colored stool or worse, develop kidney problems.

There are several NSAIDs, but you should only choose the brand that your vet prescribes to you. Carefully follow the instructions of the vet regarding when to administer the drug, and what should be done before or after it. Observe any changes your dog might be going through before or after taking the NSAIDs. Most importantly, just let your dog feel that you’re there, and everything will turn out fine.

Mature Works! Adopting a Older Dog

Older dogs rock!
Older dogs rock!

When people are considering adopting a dog from a shelter, they often only want to consider adopting a puppy or younger dog.  Sometimes the perception is that there must be something wrong with older dogs.  I mean, if they were great dogs, the owners would have kept them, right?  That’s not quite the case.  Shelters are often full of older dogs based on issues that the people were having and not because of any illness or behavior problems presented by the dog.

Mature Works! Adopting a Older Dog

Older dogs lose their homes for many different reasons….most of them having nothing to do with problems the dog has, but rather with those of the person or family surrendering the dog. Many folks think dogs who end up at shelters or in rescue are all genetically and behaviorally inferior. But, it is not uncommon for very expensive, well-bred, well-trained dogs to outlive their usefulness or novelty with folks who bought them on impulse and no longer want to take responsibility for them.

Other reasons older dogs become homeless: death of a guardian….not enough time for the dog…… change in work schedule….. new baby…..need to move to a place where dogs are not allowed…. kids going off to college…. allergies…. change in “lifestyle”…. prospective spouse doesn’t like dogs. (All these reasons are taken from real case histories.)  (Read more)

Some of the advantages of adopting an older dog are that they often have already been trained.  Sometimes this training is quite extensive, more often, they are at least house trained already and understand what “no” means and what should and should not be chewed on in the home!  They are already socialized and usually deal well with kids, other dogs and other pets.  You will still want to get a report on the dog’s general health from the vet, but you get to start with an instant friend and companion.

Not only these reasons, but adopting a mature, older dog can show a respect for age and keep the horrid puppy mills from getting your money to further their practices.  Respect for dogs and the current problem with so many being put down because there is simply not enough homes for them all should also help with your decision.  Do the responsible thing…do the loving and amazing thing of welcoming an older dog into your home.  The rewards will outweigh any risk!

Old Friends Make Great Friends

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P3SbjjMChqw

This is the story of Suryia the Orangutan and Roscoe the  dog.  While walking along through the animal park one morning, Suryia and her handler were surprised when a malnourished dog crossed their path.  The handler was quite surprised when the dog seemed to not be afraid of the Orangutan and even more surprised when Suryia just went right over to give the dog a big hug!  The two have become the best of friends and the old hound dog, Roscoe, has given Suryia a companion of the highest grade.  Dogs are so loving and loyal and this older dog seems patient and understanding of all the ways Suryia shows her affection.  Much like the ever loving way that many dogs endure the loving tugs and pulls that children put them through!  Roscoe is a great example of why older dogs rock!