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Dear Dr. Dog: My eight-year-old Pointer Louise has various minor ailments, not too surprising at her time of life. I dread the day when she becomes seriously ill and of course intend to do everything possible to help her when that time comes. I have heard that medical care for senior canines is improving and would like to know more. —Stephanie in El Sobrante
“Old age is not a disease.”
This well-known quotation by Maggie Kuhn, an elder rights activist, challenged previous myths about aging and the way society views the elderly. We often relay this sentiment to pet owners in the exam room to help them make treatment decisions for their dogs not solely based on age.
What Is Old for Dogs?
The classic “one human year equals seven dog years” makes for an easy calculation but is not entirely accurate. Giant dogs, e.g., Great Danes or St. Bernards, tend to have a shorter life expectancy, so, in a sense, they age faster. These dogs are considered “senior” at 6 or 7 years of age, whereas smallerbreed dogs, such as Chihuahuas, may not be considered elderly until they are at least 10 years. Evaluating the entire dog population, the average dog life expectancy is 10 to 12 years.
An Aging Pet Population
Our pets are living longer; it is estimated that almost 40% of the owned pet population is seven years of age or older. Many factors are responsible for this increase in life expectancy, but a large contributing reason is improvement in both pet nutrition and veterinary medicine. Other factors include: better control of infectious diseases, an enhanced understanding of aging, and newer surgical techniques and medications for some of the common chronic diseases that happen to dogs with advancing age.
Pet owners have changed as well. Many of us see the advancement of human medicine and want a similar degree of high-quality medical care for our animals. More than ever before, we are seeking out advanced care for our pets.
Perhaps one of the most important factors contributing to the increased life expectancy of our pets is that the human-animal bond has changed in recent decades. Our pets are now considered to be very much a part of our families, and we are willing to go to great lengths to ensure their good health and long life.
Advances in Veterinary Medicine
Specialists: With the growing demand for high-quality medical care for veterinary patients, the field of veterinary specialists has expanded. We now have board-certified specialists in many areas of canine medicine, including surgery, oncology, dentistry, cardiology, internal medicine, dermatology, and neurology.
Osteoarthritis: Many people notice their pets slowing down as they age. Some of these changes are normal, but some may signal conditions needing treatment. One of the most common conditions we see in the aging dog is osteoarthritis. There are many newer treatment options for these patients, such as safer drugs, acupuncture, various joint injections, and physical therapy. An especially promising treatment for the arthritic patient is stem cell therapy. In our practice, we have treated many cases of severe osteoarthritis with injections of the patient’s own stem cells and seen very positive results.
Oncology: Cancer is a strongly age-related disease process. As the dog population ages, the incidence of cancer increases. Thanks to technological advances, veterinarians now have access to chemotherapy, radiation therapy, and oncologic surgery. Development of advanced imaging techniques, such as CT and MRI, has allowed us to more accurately define the treatment and surgical plan for animals with cancer.
Surgical techniques: Veterinary medicine has experienced many advances in the area of surgery, such as CT-guided spinal disk ablation, cataract surgery, and kidney transplantation, as well as minimally invasive techniques (e.g., laparoscopy and arthroscopy) for a variety of ailments. At our practice, the majority of surgical procedures performed on geriatric patients are for various types of cancers. We remove masses for both diagnostic and therapeutic reasons. In geriatric dogs, lung tumors are removed to improve the patient’s quality of life and extend survival. We also perform reconstructive surgeries, such as skin grafts and pedicle flaps, to close the tissues after tumor removal. Using laparoscopy, we can visually evaluate the abdominal cavities of older dogs, as well as treat various diseases, with less pain and faster recovery than traditional surgery.
Anesthesia: It is now common in veterinary practices that patients under general anesthesia are carefully monitored using continuous EKG, blood pressure monitoring, and ventilatory support as needed, making anesthesia safer.
Pain management: One of the greatest advances in veterinary medicine is our increased ability to recognize pain and treat it. It is a routine procedure in our practice for animals undergoing abdominal surgery or hind leg orthopedic procedures to have a spinal block, a local block, and continuous infusion of pain medications during surgery. Postoperative pain management includes a fentanyl patch applied to the skin, which slowly releases a morphine-type drug over the course of several days. This is often combined with other medications, such as NSAIDs, to minimize postoperative discomfort.
In our practice, our ultimate goal is not just to give animals a longer life, but to make sure they are happy and comfortable as they progress into their senior years. Fortunately, the field of veterinary medicine continues to improve, making the job much easier.
Margo Mehl, DVM, DACVS, and Philip Watt, BVSc, MACVSc, FACVS, are surgeons at VCA SFVS. Visit www.vcasfvs.com for more information.
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