34 Saber Tails Spring 2017

Petit Basset Griffon Vendéen Club of America

from building up.  Consider having your dog’s teeth pro-

fessionally cleaned at the vet when possible.  This usually 

involves anesthesia so it’s important to discuss with your 

vet whether or not your dog is healthy enough for the 

procedure.  

T

rim Toe nails more frequently…

Your older dogs aren’t running 

around like they used to.  It seems 

like our dogs toe nails grow faster in 

older age…but the simple fact is that 

our veterans aren’t moving around 

as much.  They don’t cover as much distance, they don’t 

move as quickly and they aren’t choosing to travel over 

the same rough terrain they did as youngsters.  They are 

simply no longer being exposed to or experiencing the 

same surfaces and outdoor settings that naturally served 

to file down the nails as youngsters.  If you take your dog 

for walks every day and walk your dog on cement, you 

will not need to trim toe nails as often as someone whose 

dogs get all their exercise in the back yard.

Lumps and Bumps

O

lder dogs sprout all manner of lumps and bumps.  

Most are harmless and have no medical relevance.  

But it’s a good idea to investigate if you find that a new 

lump or bump has popped up in a new place.  Skin tags, 

fatty tumors and cysts can seemingly grow overnight.  

But these can closely resemble cancerous growth and it’s 

a good idea for you to regularly check for changes in your 

dog’s skin.  Your vet may want to perform a needle aspira-

tion to determine if the lump is harmless or of concern.  If 

you groom your dog at least once a month, you will have 

a good baseline of your dog’s “normal” state and will know 

when something out of the ordinary pops up.  Be sure to 

remember to check in ears, mouth, in between toes and 

around private parts every time you groom.

Vet Care

I

f you have always gone to the vet only for an annual 

checkup, it might be a good idea to switch to a bi-annual 

visit.  Ask your vet if a blood test is recommended.  Kid-

ney, liver and many other health issues might be detected 

at early onset when they will still respond to treatment.  

With your aging dog, the goal of a vet visit shouldn’t just 

be about treatment but prevention as well.  It’s also im-

portant to act quickly when you do notice any issues to 

allow you to maximize treatment options.

Be patient

P

atience is a virtue and our older dogs will try our pa-

tience at times.  But it is imperative that we have pa-

tience and demonstrate understanding to our old friends.  

In their advanced years, dogs slow down and take longer 

to comply with our requests to come.  In fact, whether it is 

from discomfort or simply willfulness, they may ignore you 

altogether.  Our 9 ½ year old Cricket was the only PBGV in 

my house who actually listened to me reliably and would 

come when called.  Not anymore!  She has decided she 

likes being in the front room where the other dogs aren’t 

allowed to be except when we are feeding.  She stays in 

the kitchen and stares at the food container in the utility 

room or she will nestle down in the laundry pile in front 

of the washing machine.  At night, when it’s time for bed, 

she will now only come willingly when bribed with an ap-

propriate treat.  She will not come for a milk bone…leav-

ing her front room requires a piece of chicken or cheese.  

Any attempt to persuade her by calling is ignored and 

if you raise your voice to her, she slinks into kitchen and 

crawls into a crate.  Older dogs have a tendency to oper-

ate completely on their own agenda.

O

ther age related issues we have to deal with are prob-

lems that are physical in nature.  For Truffle, if I am try-

ing to get her attention, I need to waive my arms and not 

just call her name.  She can’t see far away any longer, but 

she can still pick up movement quite easily.  Luckily, we 

haven’t had to worry about incontinence yet, but it is also 

a realistic issue that is completely out of our old dog’s con-

trol.  If your older dog is starting to have accidents in the 

house, your vet might have something that will help and 

you will need to go out with your dog more frequetnly.  

Fear Factors

Y

ou may notice your old friend is suddenly develop-

ing fears of things that never were a concern before.  

Our old ladies have suddenly developed a fear of thun-

der.  Not unusual for a PBGV…but not normal for my crew.  

Noise sensitivity is particularly common as a cause for fear 

and concern.  Ironic since this probably develops simulta-

neous to the beginning of hearing loss.  Maybe there’s a 

connection? 

W

ith advanced age seems to develop an awareness 

that there are things in the world that can be scary 

and not in our dog’s realm of control.  They seem quite 

aware of the fact that they are not physically up to meet a 

lot of the potential challenges they could face confident-

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