Happy Dog Expert: Canine Chronicles Part 3—Supporting Your Senior Dog

In this Canine Chronicles series, we’ve explored different dog developmental stages and how in each dog life stage, both positive and negative experiences can have an influence on how they respond to stress.

Together we’ve covered how you can support your dog’s mental health at the beginning of their story in puppyhood, and the middle section, through adolescence into maturity.

In this final instalment, we’re turning our attention to the senior years. As our pets age, their ability to cope with stressors can change. Experiences that they may previously have managed with ease can become more challenging as their physical health, senses, or cognitive function decline.

As they ride off into the sunset of life, things are not always perfect for our dogs. Senior pets are more prone to anxiety and cognitive changes than pets of other ages. Understanding these changes can help pet parents to not only recognize potential signs of declining mental well-being but also behavioural changes in senior dogs. When we know this, it’s much easier to provide appropriate support during our pet’s later years.

Physical Health and Mental Well-being

As the years go on and our dogs age, there is an increased risk of them developing a medical condition. These can include things like inflammatory bowel conditions, degenerative joint disease, atopy, and cancer.

Any medical condition causing physical discomfort or pain will likely also affect their behaviour. Think of it like this: when we are uncomfortable, we are more likely to be grumpy. It’s the same for our dogs! Discomfort reduces one’s ability to deal with stressful triggers.

A situation that our dogs may previously have tolerated well can become more challenging when they are experiencing ongoing pain and discomfort. This means that maintaining good physical health is an important part of supporting mental health in senior dogs.

Sensory Changes in Older Dogs

Another component of declining physical health is a decline in sensory capabilities—and this can also have a profound impact on their well-being.

The most common sensory changes experienced with age are decreased vision and hearing, and sometimes even their sense of smell. There are many reasons for these changes and while they are not unusual, the changes themselves can be scary to a pet that is accustomed to gathering lots of information from their environment but can no longer do so.

Changes to hearing and vision can make an environment feel less predictable for an older dog. This may contribute to anxiety, particularly when they are unable to anticipate sounds, movements or interactions in the same way they previously could.

Hearing loss in particular is surprisingly a risk factor for the development of cognitive decline. Research in humans finds that executive function (advanced cognitive processes carried out by the brain) and hearing loss are directly correlated.

Cognitive Dysfunction Syndrome in Dogs

Cognitive dysfunction syndrome (CDS) is a progressive neurodegenerative condition similar to Alzheimer’s Disease in humans.

Some examples of the changes that occur in the brain include beta amyloid protein deposition within brain tissue, declining neurotransmitters, mitochondrial dysfunction, ventricular dilation, hippocampal and cortical atrophy, and compromised cerebrovascular flow due to microhaemorrhages, infarcts, or arteriosclerosis. The resulting clinical signs of CDS may involve disorientation, changes in interaction, sleep-wake cycle alteration, house accidents, varied activity, and anxiety.

Clinical signs may start as early as 6 years but are often noticed between 8 – 11 years of age.

How to Support Your Senior Dog’s Mental Health

Since there is no known cure for CDS, the goal for treatment is to slow down the progression of the disease and to keep the dog as healthy as possible. Regular health screening and maintaining a proper diet are always at the forefront of this intervention.

Regular vet checks can also help identify physical conditions that may contribute to changes in behaviour, while providing an opportunity to monitor cognitive changes over time.

Some diets have shown to be helpful in mitigating cognitive decline. The two commonly recommended diets vary in focus: one of them supplements various antioxidants to repair or decrease cellular damage; while the other is ketogenic, providing an alternative source of energy for the brain.

Just like in human medicine, there are also many supplements and medications that are used to improve memory and slow down ageing among our senior dogs. Many rely on the science of preserving cell membranes, decreasing inflammation, enhancing circulation, or scavenging free radicals.

SAMe (S-adenosyl-L-methionine) is one of the more widely used supplements in dogs for many conditions including cognitive dysfunction. Some of the pharmaceutical options help to relieve some of the anxiety associated with this ageing effect. Pheromone therapy (such as ADAPTIL Calm diffuser or collar) is another option that can be helpful in reducing stress at any age.

Your vet should be able to provide more tailored advice on these options and help formulate a plan that would be appropriate for your senior dog.

Mental Stimulation and Environmental Enrichment

Environmental enrichment has been shown to have a protective effect for cognitive function. Providing appropriate mental stimulation and enrichment can help support cognitive health and overall well-being in senior dogs.

A recent study compared a group of senior dogs that attended senior dog classes and one that did not. The classes were once a week for four weeks and included positive reinforcement basic training with enrichment and pet parent education about basic aging changes. The most impactful finding was that dogs attending the classes did not have significant progression of signs of CDS, whereas dogs not attending the classes did show worsening signs of CDS.

This finding suggests that positive changes in long-term outcomes are possible with participation in this senior dog class.

Supporting Your Dog’s Mental Health in Later Life

A dog’s later years bring unique mental health challenges, and ensuring good welfare becomes especially important for our four-legged loved ones.

Whilst some of those issues may stem from painful physical conditions, others result directly from aging changes within the brain itself. However, there are steps that can be taken to support our dogs as they age, including management of underlying physical ailments, appropriate enrichment, and treatment with pharmacological, pheromone, dietary and/or supplement options.

We all know that age is not a disease—but it does bring mental health challenges for our dogs. However, if we are aware of those challenges we can be proactive and help our friends ride off into the sunset in a happy, lower-stress way.

For more tips and advice, why not check out more of our expert articles? Or, to receive the latest news straight into your inbox, sign up for our newsletter, and we’ll keep you updated.

References provided:

Madari A, Farbakova J, Katina S, et al. Assessment of severity and progression of canine cognitive dysfunction syndrome using the CAnine DEmentia Scale (CADES). Appl Anim Behav Sci 2015;171:138–45.

Salvin HE, McGreevy PD, Sachdev PS, et al. The canine cognitive dysfunction rating scale (CCDR): a data-driven and ecologically relevant assessment tool. Vet J 2011;188(3):331–6.

Provoost, L. (2024). Cognitive Changes Associated with Aging and Physical Disease in Dogs and Cats. Veterinary Clinics: Small Animal Practice, 54(1), 101-119.