Ageing in general

[Ben's mum]

Another trip this time to see the senior vet at our practice yesterday, and still no nearer to any sort of diagnosis with Ben, but he did say some very interesting things about ageing and pain and I just wondered if others felt able to share their experiences.

He picked up retinal atrophy and said possibly this may be contributing to the strange symptoms, I also have a dementia questionnaire to complete, and then redo in a month or so to see if we can decide if there is any issues there. He redid all the neuro tests and said all fine, and couldn't find any evidence of pain.

His thoughts were that occasionally dogs just age very rapidly, and the symptoms that sometimes develop over a few years with many dogs, can sometimes just all occur in the space of a few months. So the hearing and sight loss and stiffness that have developed in a few months for Ben might be causing distress as it has not come on gradually and given him time to get used to the changes. Would be really interested to hear your thoughts, or if you have seen anything similar. He tried to say 12 is a 'good' age for a spaniel, but I didn't really want to hear him say that 

[elaine.e]

My friend's Golden Retriever is 13 and although it's been apparent all her life that she had either dodgy hips or back (imagine one of those paintings of a horse done in the days before people understood how galloping horses move and painted them like rocking horses, well that was Ruby at speed ) she didn't show any symptoms of pain until she was about 10 and then only mildly for some time before suddenly turning into an old lady and developing some other niggly little problems too. So I think I understand what your vet is saying.

Ruby seems to have adapted fairly well after an initial period where she really lost interest in most things except food and became very focussed on my friend to the exclusion of everyone else. She's always been a bit of a one person dog, but it became even more apparent. She is on quite strong pain meds now, as well as herbal and other supplements, but the nice thing is that she has regained her interest in life. Her exercise is limited and slow, but she enjoys being out either just with her mum, and when William, Louis and I are there too, or her other friend Oscar. She loves travelling in the car, although has to be lifted in and out, even if she's only out of the car for a 10 minute stroll round a garden centre or sitting around watching the world go by while her mum has a coffee.

Certain things distress her that didn't used to, such as a lot of noise, or her mum being out all day even though other family members are at home. So I think she has less confidence, but overall she's got her mojo back. It's just a lot slower than before

I hope Ben can adjust to his senior status too

[Ben's mum]

Certain things distress her that didn't used to, such as a lot of noise, or her mum being out all day even though other family members are at home. So I think she has less confidence, but overall she's got her mojo back. It's just a lot slower than before

I hope Ben can adjust to his senior status too

Thanks Elaine. That's interesting about change in what causes distress, Ben has always been bomb proof and not bothered about noise, however now that he doesn't hear as well a loud noise sees to startle him as I supose it comes out of the blue, and he can get quite unsettled if something makes him jump.  he also hates us going out, fortunately they don't have to be left a lot.

The only problem with Ben is that he still throws himself round like a 2year old, and often runs down the stairs and still jumps from about 6 from the bottom like he always has, he also still can just about outrun Harry for speed. The vet advised me to let him 'do his thing' and not try to stop him unless he is in obvious pain. I do use a baby gate to cut down on the stair racing but he is still as crackers as he always has been!