Ava Frick, DVM
Part One
Getting old is difficult for everyone. First vision fades, objects just aren't quite as clear as they use to be, especially for up-close reading. Joints start talking back and reminding us of the years of abusive sports or living. Then we have trouble remembering short term thoughts, what we were going to say, or where we put something. Eventually we all get there, and so do our animal friends, that is if we live long enough.
There is some discrepancy about just what to call our older pets. Are they seniors or should they be referred to as geriatric? One author went so far as to say senior begins at 7 years and geriatric is over ten. 
When the general public was polled for one survey the majority described their older animals as seniors, avoiding selection of geriatric. (In that survey 39% of the dog population, 20.5 million, and 19 million cats were listed as seniors.) I think it is just a matter of semantics. Whichever word we chose, it is "reaching the life stage of progressive decline in physical condition, organ function, sensory function, mental function and immunity."
Aging results in a decreased ability to meet the demands of the environment. It's an increase in vulnerability and every part of the body is subject to this altered state. There are several theories of aging as to why some bodies adapt, suffer fewer diseases, and overall age more gracefully.
Genetic controls - cells can mutate and begin an uncharted course. Some bodies lack sufficient gene regulators to maintain a normal growth sequence as old cells die and are replaced by new ones. Without the proper genetic coding, other aspects of its environment, like free radicals and toxins, can affect a cell.
Physiologic system depression - with aging the immune system becomes more susceptible to viruses and other pathogens, produces fewer antibodies, loses ability to mount appropriate responses to situations.
Detrimental products - the accumulation of too many free radicals in the body are responsible for the aged body's decline.
Nutrient metabolism - if we fail to feed the body in a healthy manner, from a very young age, how can we expect to be healthy in later stages of life. An aged body has greater difficulty taking nutrients and getting them into the cells for use.
Multifactorial phenonmenon - this group believes all of the above sound good and any or all of it could be the cause of aging.
Breaking the body down into systems I will follow a course similar to steps taken during a physical examination. I always start at the head and work my way to the rear.
The head is primary for sensory organs; eyes, mouth (taste), nose (smell), and ears. A natural aging process occurs in the lens of the eyes. Many folks refer to it as cataracts and it is a form of such but is called nuclear sclerosis. This is a normal aging change. Some animals develop it early in life and others it is not visible until 12 years. This is the cloudiness or bluing that you see when you look into your pet's eyes. The affect of this is reduced ability to see in the dark. It is like looking through a 35mm camera that is not in focus. Edges are blurry, objects a bit indistinct, specific distance is difficult to judge.
What you may notice is a hesitance on the part of your pet to jump off the couch or go down stairs, especially if it is darker below than above. He may bump into a screen door or double check the perimeter before walking through an open space. This is also when they begin to dodge a hand coming at their head or face because they cannot calculate the speed or exact location in order to prepare for the impact (even though it is only going to be a love pat).
There are three products I use to support the aging eyes. Two are whole food supplements from Standard Process-Phosfood drops and Iplex. The other is an herbal from MediHerb (the number one herbal company in Australia)-Bilberry.
Hearing and vision loss often happen at about the same pace. It is funny how some dogs will not develop either until very late in age while others start at nine or ten. Medically there is nothing we can do for this except to realize that the body will compensate in other ways. The dog will become more reliant on her sense of smell using it to locate food, objects in her path, and the ones she loved. This sense may also wane, but since they can normally smell 1/10,000 (or 10,000 times) of what we can, even to lose 25-50% of the sense of smell it remains very strong.
Fine taste differentiation is not as acute in dogs as in people. (If it were, I am certain they would not find the assortment of manures such a treat!) Dogs do get picky about what they chose to eat. Whether it is flavor, texture, digestive problems, dental or other metabolic concerns, all need to be addressed. One's developing cognitive dysfunction will be worse about this. Often there may be personality changes occurring in how they respond to the external environment. These issues will need to be considered properly in order to keep the animal at ease and the family bond intact.
A list of dog conditions came to me by email one day, this being one of them. "DEAFNESS: This is a malady which affects dogs when their person wants them in and they want to stay out. Symptoms include staring blankly at the person, then running in the opposite direction, or lying down."
I will continue this discussion the next few months and lay down a path you can take to help your older pet age gracefully.
