Caring for Your Senior Bulldog
- Battling old age
- Feeding sensibly for seniors
- Revising the exercise schedule
- Saying goodbye to your Bully
Gandhi said, “The greatness of a nation and its moral progress can be judged by the way that its animals are treated.” I think those are valuable words to live by. Think about how you may take care of your Bulldog as she grows up. Now think about the time, much farther down the road, when she becomes a senior dog. The methods of care are completely different.
Easing Your Bully into the Autumn Years
- Withdrawing from interaction, and wanting less petting and attention
- Not recognizing family members
- Sleeping more during the day and less at night
- Staring at walls or into space
- Difficulty learning new commands, and ignoring known commands
- Pacing or wandering aimlessly
- Becoming lost in familiar places
- Standing at the hinge side of the door
Dealing with hearing problems
– Drug toxicity: The administration or application of a drug or chemical that either directly or indirectly destroys cochlear hair cells, resulting in hearing loss or even total deafness.
– General anesthesia: May cause bilateral deafness from unknown causes. The body may push blood away from the cochlea during anesthesia to protect other critical organs, or pressure or jaw positioning may compress the arterial supply to the cochlea.
– Noise trauma: Depending on the loudness, noise can produce temporary or permanent hearing loss. This type of hearing loss can be prevented in minor ways.
In response to loud sounds, tiny muscles in the middle ear contract to reduce sound transmission into the inner ear. However, percussive noise, such as occurs with gunfire and explosions, occurs too rapidly for the reflex to provide protection. The noise actually disrupts the hair cells and their support cells. If a ringing sensation occurs in your ears while you are with your Bulldog, damage is occurring in the ears of both you and your dog.
– Otitis: Infections of the middle ear (otitis media) or inner ear (otitis interna). These infections can produce temporary or permanent deafness. After the infection ends, the otitis media may leave behind crud that blocks sound transmission to the inner ear. Your Bully’s body eventually clears the crud out, and hearing gradually improves. Otitis interna, if not quickly treated, produces permanent nerve deafness.
– Presbycusis: Age-related hearing loss that is progressive and cannot be reversed. Your Bully’s hearing may in fact have been diminishing over time, but you may have been unaware because she compensated until she could no longer hear adequately to get by. The onset appears sudden, but the hearing loss has been progressive.
– Stamping on the floor as you approach your dog; the vibrations alert her to your presence.
– Incorporate hand signals into your obedience commands (if you haven’t already done so). Hand signals help your Bulldog understand what you want her to do.
– Use a small flashlight, instead of a clicker, to act as a marker when teaching a new behavior. Use a flashlight that will light with a push of a button. Flashlights that require moving a switch will be too slow for training.
– Invest in a vibrator collar. You can use this to train your dog by making it vibrate when he does something right. Combine it with hand signals and treats. Or use it to mean “Someone is calling me.”
Remember
Always keep your dog on lead when you’re not in your fenced yard. Your deaf Bully won’t be able to hear cars or other dogs coming.
Your Bulldog may be old, but you can teach an old dog new tricks. (That adage just isn’t true.)
Keeping an eye on failing eyesight
– Dry eye, or Keratoconjunctivitis, is common in Bulldogs and is the result of inadequate tear production. It has the potential to blind, but it is easy to diagnose and responds favorably to treatment, which includes “artificial tears” and the drugs Cyclosporin and Tacrolimus.
– Corneal ulcers are caused by irritation to the eye, trauma to the eye, or inadequate tear production. Minor ulcers may heal without complication, but more serious ulcers can cause scarring of the cornea and can even lead to blindness. Signs of an ulcer including squinting, redness, discharge, and discoloration of the eye.
– A cataract is a clouding of the eye’s lens. Cataracts give a cloudy, whitish-blue look to the eye. Your veterinarian will tell you whether your dog has a cataract or if the lens has a bluish look from normal aging, which does not affect vision.
– Glaucoma causes blindness when it produces elevated pressure within the eye. The amount of pressure will determine how quickly a dog will lose his sight. If the pressure change is caught early, medication can lower the pressure temporarily. Long term, only surgery can help, and even the surgery doesn’t always work.
– Progressive retinal atrophy is an inherited disease, but there is also a noninherited form called Sudden Acquired Retinal Degeneration. Both of these cause irreversible blindness and generally affects dogs between 6 and 8 years of age. Night vision goes first, and finally, the dog becomes totally blind.
-Keep the food and water bowls in the same place.
– Try not to wash the dog toys that have your Bully’s scent on them. (If the plush toys are filthy, you can make an exception.)
– Don’t rearrange the furniture.
– Don’t decide that this is the time to move his bed from one side of the room to the other.
– Keep the door to the basement shut so your Bully doesn’Tip accidentally tumble down the stairs.
– Use squeaky toys or balls with bells in them so your dog can find them.
– Add textures to the floor. Place a looped throw rug near the stairs or a sisal mat to mark the door to outside.
– Use scent as a marker. Put a drop of vanilla extract near food and water bowls. Spritz lavender essential oil at the top of stairs. Use another scent to mark a door.
Tip
Avoid lemon scent unless you want to keep your dog away, because most dogs don’t like the smell.
Tip
Talk to your dog when you approach him, and remind others to do the same. Even the gentlest, most loving dog may snap if he’s frightened by an unexpected touch.
Treating arthritis
Tip
Protect your Bully’s aged joints by adding some padding to his bed. If he’s always slept on three or four folded towels, put a foam pad on the bottom.
Adjusting the potty schedule
– Add a plastic cover to the foam pad.
– Add a layer of fleece to the bedding. Liquids tend to go through fleece and keep your Bully dryer.
– Make sure that you wash your dog’s bedding whenever necessary to keep his resting place sanitary.
Keeping a beautiful smile
Feeding a Sensible Senior Diet
As your Bulldog ages, he may slow physically. Even if he seems just as active, his metabolism may be slowing. As your Bully ages, his body may not be able to process the food he consumes efficiently. If you are feeding the regular quantity of food, pay attention to weight gain or loss. If either drastically occurs, schedule an appointment with your veterinarian to rule out any major health problems.
Remember
Talk to your veterinarian about the idea of senior food. Senior foods are formulated to provide fewer calories but still provide your dog the nutrients he needs.
– The breakdown of carbohydrates into glucose, which provides dogs energy
– The breakdown of fats and proteins, which aids the normal functioning of the nervous system; muscle tone in the stomach and intestinal tract; and healthy hair, skin, and eyes
– Maintaining a positive environment for neural regenerative efforts
– Water solubility so excess Vitamin B is eliminated in the urine
Tip
Add canned pumpkin to your Bulldog’s food dish. He’ll love it, and the fiber makes him feel fuller without adding many calories. Just remember to use regular canned pumpkin and not canned pumpkin pie filling.
Exercising Your Older Bully
Tip
Retirement shouldn’t mean the end of all physical activity, but taking a step back may mean that you need to shorten those times when your Bully is active. Here are some tips to keep your aging Bully happy:
– Don’t skip dog shows. If your Bulldog loved to travel to dog shows and competitions, he may miss the traveling, even if he doesn’t have the stamina for a day at a show. Take him for shorter trips or to a show close to home. He can compete in smaller shows or just go to watch.
– Continue to play games. If your dog has always enjoyed a game of fetch, don’t eliminate the game; just make it shorter.
– Keep moving. Even if your dog has arthritis, moving is important. The movement keeps the muscles in shape and alleviates pain in the long run. If your daily walks have always been three times around the block, once around may now be all your Bully can comfortably manage. But at least you and your dog are still taking the time to walk together.
– Experiment a little. If you have the time, and your normal routine used to be two walks a day, maybe you can now do three shorter walks each day.
Remember
Include your dog in as many activities as possible. Just because he slows down doesn’t mean he should be isolated. He may need your love and attention more than ever.
When It’s Time to Say Goodbye
Handling griefGrief is natural, and grieving over the loss of your Bully is natural too, so stay away from people who are likely to say, “It was only a dog.” Spend time with people who understand your loss and sympathize with you. Grief is an individual emotion and is expressed many ways. Some people heal faster when they immediately get another dog; others need some time before they can welcome another canine pal. Some people stick with the same breed of dog; others want another dog but can’t bear the thought of having the same breed. Don’t let anyone talk you into anything you’re not ready for. You are the only one who knows what’s best for you. Fortunately, in many communities support groups exist that can help you deal with the loss of a pet and the grief that accompanies that loss. Check with your local shelter or kennel club. Your YMCA or YWCA may offer sessions too. You may also talk to a clergyman or a counselor. Sometimes, writing a letter to the deceased pet helps. The letter can be as short as “I loved you” or as long as needed. You may want to explain to your pet how you felt throughout his life or what it was like during the final stages of his illness. Whatever you write, the words help you deal with your loss. Other avenues to memorialize your pet include ways to remember and celebrate your years together: Memorials
Containers for ashes
Other options include lockets with snips of your dog’s hair and the most expensive option of having your pet freeze-dried. In this process, the dog is posed in whatever position you have chosen and then is frozen, and the moisture is drawn out in a climate-controlled machine. This differs from taxidermy, in which the hide is stretched over an artificial form. For a Bulldog, the cost will run $3,000 to $5,000. |
Technical Stuff
For euthanasia, most veterinarians use an overdose of the anesthetic pentobarbital. It is fast and painless.
Making preparations in case your Bulldog outlives youA Bulldog’s life is so much shorter than a human’s that you may never even consider that your Bully could outlive you. Even if you have thought about dog care, you may just think that your family or friends will take care of your dog, but it’s best to make sure and to update your plans every year or two. Your best friend may have agreed to take your dog when she was single, but now that she’s married with two children, plus a job, the responsibility may not be as practical for her or her household as it once was. It’s not a bad idea to also have a backup plan. Several years ago, I had a casual agreement with two other women that if anything happened to any one of us, the other two would take the dogs and either keep them or find good second homes for the dogs. Because we all had multiple dogs and homes and yards that would accommodate these animals, we thought the arrangement was perfect. Then one summer, we had a car accident, and all three of us were in the car. We all survived but realized that our casual plan wasn’t enough. More recently, two of us have moved to smaller places and wouldn’t be able to keep extra dogs. My new plan includes a breeder friend who can easily take my two dogs, and I trust her to do what’s best for my dogs. As a backup, if an emergency occurred, I have another friend who would take my dogs. She has a different breed, but again, I trust her to do what’s best. What’s best depends on the age of the Bulldog and his disposition. A young dog may go easily to another home, either directly or through a rescue agency. An older dog with health problems may not be so easy to deal with. If my older male can’t go back to his breeder to live out his life, I’d want him to be euthanized. No matter how much we like to think that our older dog will be adopted from a shelter, the cruel truth is that people want puppies. Take an older dog to a shelter, and he’ll spend his last days in a shelter run and not in a loving home. Think about the cost of caring for your dog. Make provisions in your will so that the friend who gladly takes your dog has the resources to care for your dog as he ages. Sometimes, our dog is such a part of our life that we forget just how much work is involved. Make a list of all the special information that pertains to your Bully:
This list also comes in handy during temporary emergencies or as a guide for pet sitters, and if you write everything down when you’re calm and have the time, you won’t forget something important in the case of an emergency. See Chapter Nine Great Resources for Bulldog Owners for more information on resources for caring for your Bully when you can’t. |
- If he no longer enjoys his food
- If he’s in constant pain
- If the bad days outweigh the good
- If he doesn’t always recognize his friends
- If there’s no way to reverse any of the above
“. . . For if the dog be well remembered, if sometimes she leaps through your dreams actual as in life, eyes kindling, laughing, begging, it matters not where that dog sleeps. On a hill where the wind is unrebuked and the trees are roaring, or beside a stream she knew in puppyhood, or somewhere in the flatness of a pastureland where most exhilarating cattle graze. It is one to a dog, and all one to you, and nothing is gained and nothing lost — if memory lives. But there is one best place to bury a dog.
“If you bury her in this spot, she will come to you when you call — come to you over the grim, dim frontiers of death, and down the well-remembered path and to your side again. And though you may call a dozen living dogs to heel, they shall not growl at her nor resent her coming, for she belongs there.
“People may scoff at you, who see no lightest blade of grass bend by her footfall, who hear no whimper, people who have never really had a dog. Smile at them, for you shall know something that is hidden from them.
“The one best place to bury a good dog is in the heart of her master. . . .”