[crissie]

My husband works from home and said our lab saw a cat in our yard and chased it...normal...but then for some reason took a tumble end over end. She is fine but I am really concerned about her age and her failing. She wants in and out all of the time and I think her hearins is failing a bit. Any good advice or experience with labs in their "senior years"? Also she has many skin tags. Anyone had this issue??

 

[windycanyon]

If you haven't already done so, you really should be on an annual schedule for geriatric blood work. I usually start having my dogs done at ~7-8 yrs old or so initially. You just never know when age is going to catch up w /them.

Is she arthritic at all? If so, that could explain the tumble. Sometimes their heads go faster than the body allows. I know it's that way w/ my oldster now but she's almost 14. Anne

 

[Kate3jays]

My 12 year old will often stumble as he gets up and down from his bed, he needs a while to get his "sea legs" once he is steady he is usually fine.

He doesn't have the skin tags but has had a wart appear on his head, it doesn't show up much and doesn't bother him so we've let it be.

Jasper was 12 in March just gone and has been to the vet maybe 5 times in all those years, most of those visits were after a car accident he was in aged around 4, I feed him well, exercise him gently with what I know he is comfortable with and don't allow my youngsters to bother him.

He is growing old gracefully and though it saddens me to watch him slow down and not have the body to keep up with the mind, I am happy knowing that he is happy and enjoying life at his new pace.

I lost a lab a year ago aged 11, but he was diabetic and blind and had other related complications, both the dog and I knew it was time and we sadly made the decision to help him to the bridge.

 

[mastergardener]

Hi Kate3jays-Just read your post and am curious about the reference to "the skin tags." Is that a sign of old age? Our nearly 8-year old developed one close to her eye 2 years ago. The vet said it was nothing but she has since developed two more. Is this meaningful? They don't seem to bother her. Thoughts?

 

[nalicrom]

My lab just passed away a few days ago. He was 1 month shy of 14. He started slowing down around age 10. We had him checked annually by the vet. He had low thyroid (which is common for older dogs). After placing him on supplements, he improved a lot. We also started giving him glucosamine supplements. We give them to our 5 yr old black lab male as well. When arthritis set in, we added meloxicam (prescription NSAID) . Toward the end, he was also taking a tramadol a day for pain. He was almost completely deaf and the vision wasn't what it used to be. He had multiple skin tags. Out vet said that was pretty normal for dogs as they age. Best advice is to have regular visits with a trusted vet. You can discuss what options are best for your dog. Good luck!