Once a dog reaches adulthood, owners by now have typically trained their dogs in the key commands such as “sit”, “stay”, “come”, “down” and so on, and they may feel there is no longer a need for reward.  However, in order to give the dog continual stimulation and psychological comfort, owners should reward and look for ways in which to stimulate their dog through physical and mental activities.  It is also sensible to teach the dog to recognise hand signals as well as voice commands, so if it loses either sense of hearing or sight, the dog and owner can still communicate.

Dogs use their senses to explore and by enabling these senses to be stimulated owners can off-set age related changes and increase a dog’s problem solving ability.  Research suggests that individual nerve cells are capable of growing new filaments in old age if stimulated and the brain exercised.  This was highlighted in studies made by William Greenough from the University of Illinois, who took a group of over weight, elderly rats living in standard laboratory cages and placed them an exciting new environment; to us the rodent equivalent of Alton Towers!  The environment had swings, slides, toys, ramps and objects hanging from the ceiling.  When their brains were examined these rats had more neural connections than their counterparts who remained in the isolation of a standard laboratory cage.  The number of neurons ranged from an increase of 25 per cent to 200 per cent.  This research proved that individual nerve cells are capable of growing new connections even in an older animal, and this growth is triggered by exercising and stimulating the brain.[11]  This illustrates how dogs are similar to humans in the sense that those humans who engage in mental exercises such as completing cross word puzzles will slow down the ageing process of their brain.  Advertisers have grabbed hold of this theory, demonstrated with the recent advertising campaign for the launch of the Nintendo DS Sudoku game.  Advertisers used the slogan “train your brain in minutes a day” and featured in their adverts an array of celebrities of varying ages to highlight the variety of puzzles in this software that are designed specifically to keep certain parts of the human brain active.  Therefore, by stimulating the dog’s brain through game play and exposing it new environments or situations, we can alter the inevitable decay of its brain.  So, the saying “you can’t teach an old dog new tricks” is inaccurate.  Rather you can teach an old dog new tricks but it just takes longer!

Other ways in which a dog can keep fit and healthy is through regular exercise such as swimming as this will help keep its joints supple and mobilised.  However, with an older dog the cold water of a river for example, will do little to aid its ageing joints.  Work with human physiotherapy has demonstrated the benefits of hydrotherapy for older dogs, particularly those suffering with joint problems or for dogs who are recovering from a muscular injury. 

Other physiotherapy techniques such as canine massage and gentle stretching also help relax tense muscles and improve blood flow to any problem related areas, or to help keep the dog supple.[12]  Other ways in which owners can ensure their dog’s continuing comfort is to keep the dog on a healthy diet.  Often mobility problems are caused by the dog being overweight, as it puts more strain on the dog’s joints.  Using low fat dog treats, or supplementing meat strips or fatty cheese treats for raw vegetables are a healthier alternative for the dog.  In addition, owners can purchase dietary supplements to help slow down the onset arthritis such as Arthriti-UM Plus. 

In addition, if we improve the dog’s diet and increase the intake of antioxidants by adding certain fruits and vegetables in its diet that are rich in vitamin C and vitamin E (for example, green peppers, broccoli, raw cabbage and fish-liver oil, whole grains and seeds), this will help provide the dog’s body with the tools to neutralise the harmful free radicals “leaked” from the mitochondria in the nucleus of cells.[13] 

One of the typical effects of ageing in dogs is a loss of hearing ability.  Owners can help retain their dog’s hearing for longer by not exposing it to high levels of noise which damages the hair cells that register sound.  Dog’s ear canals are longer than humans, this means debris can collect easily, from dirt and ear wax to hair can build up and create a plug that keeps sound from reaching the eardrum.  Regular trimming and maintaining the ear area with cleaning drops will help discourage ear mites that fester in dirty ear canals and can cause ear infections.[14]  Typically dogs with long floppy ears such as Springer Spaniels and Basset Hounds are more susceptible to ear mites as the ears tend to trap moisture and limit air circulation, creating an ideal environment for these unwelcome visitors.  Furthermore, regular grooming such as brushing the dog’s teeth will also help delay the effects of gum disease and tooth decay which can cause discomfort, bad breath and may result in the removal of teeth as the dog grows older.

In conclusion, the ageing process effects man and dog alike; a dog that has a healthy diet, is grooming regularly, not exposed to loud noise on a regular basis and is given a good balance of mental and physical activity, is likely to have fewer or slower senile changes to the body and brain compared to an overweight, inactive dog.  The consequence of a life rich in reward and stimulation is that it should prolong the life span of our four-legged friend.