Old Age in Dogs: How to Keep Their Quality of Life

So here's reality: one day, your beloved dog is going to get old.

Here's the other reality: One day, your beloved dog is going to go to sleep, and not wake up.

None of us really want either of those things to happen. Most of us hope and pray and dream that our dog will be the one who defies all natural laws and stays with us from the time we find them to the time we die ourselves. But hopes and prayers and dreams aside, the truth is something we cannot avoid.

But we can make our dogs' lives the best they can be for the time they have. As a dog groomer, I see hundreds of dogs a year, from young puppies to old, noble dogs who have seen it all and are still around.

I also see all the different ways people care (or don't care) for their dogs. Some people bring their old dogs in, and it breaks my heart, because their nails are three inches long, their fur is matted to the skin, they are covered in filth and muck and their own waste from nose to tail, and their ears are festering pits for infection and bugs.

The owners of these dogs have not embraced my philosophy about dogs and dog ownership, which is as follows:

Dogs rely on us for their entire well-being. We feed them, water them, groom them, take them to the vet, play with them, give them companions and a place to sleep. We cry when they hurt, and they comfort us when tragedy strikes. We can strike and abuse them one minute, and they will turn to us for support in the next. We are their world because humans have made it that way. Therefore we owe it to them to care for them as best we can from the time we take them into our lives until the time they have to leave.

Dogs who have been fed good food, been groomed and taken to the vet regularly, and been kept active and happy live longer, fuller lives just like humans do. The difference in an ill-kept human and an ill-kept dog is this: dogs have no say in how their daily lives run.

So, here's what I say on old age in dogs: care for your best friend. Do all of the things they rely on us for, and do it well, so that in their old age they are still as active as possible and as happy as can be. Give them a life you can celebrate when they are gone, for by doing that you will keep them longer.

=> Morgan Clemens currently owns and runs "The Mutt Squad, LLC", a business that provides pet sitting, dog walking, and dog socialization services to Phoenix, AZ, and it's surrounding cities.

Her passion is and always has been the proper treatment of all animals, both wild and domestic. According to her, this proper treatment includes both mental and physical health, and is a necessary part of owning or interacting with any animal.

To learn more about The Mutt Squad and the service they provide, visit http://azmuttsquad.com