Posts tagged "old pets"

Meet Mary Burch, American Kennel Club Canine Good Citizen Director and Paw Nation's expert columnist addressing your questions on animal behavior. Dr. Burch has over 25 years of experience working with dogs, and she is one of fewer than 50 Certified Applied Animal Behaviorists based in the United States. She is the author of 10 books, including the new official book on the AKC Canine Good Citizen Program, "Citizen Canine: 10 Essential Skills Every Well-Mannered Dog Should Know."

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My 13-year-old dog, Mike, is already deaf, and beginning to go blind. He is sleeping more and I seem to scare him when I nudge his bed or pat his back to let him know its time to go for a walk or eat dinner. Is there some other way I can communicate with him to let him know that I want him to follow me? I've never really trained Mike before.

Older dogs are near and dear to my heart. They can continue to live happy lives when we are willing to make some small adjustments to help them when blindness and deafness become a problem.

When your dog is awake, if he can't hear you calling him, using a flashlight or laser pointer is a good way to get his attention. With a few short training sessions during which you pair the light with a food treat, your dog will soon learn to look at or come to you when he sees the light.

We've already celebrated Shelter Pet Appreciation Week. Now here's another reason to fete November: National Senior Pet Month (or Adopt-a-Senior-Pet Month, depending on your source).

Senior pets fill rescues and shelters, bringing with them some unique benefits, as well as some challenges. For one thing, according to The Daily Journal, older pets often adapt very easily to new surroundings. Generally they're a bit calmer than their playful puppy counterparts, and they're often already housebroken. They may even know some tricks, making training easy.

Older pets may have belonged to loving families who could no longer care for them, or they may have simply been overlooked for years in favor of younger (or cuter, more playful, etc.) pets. Either way, an older pet, like an older person, will be far more comfortable in an environment with a soft, warm bed than in a crate or on a hard floor, which is often how they must sleep in shelters.