Written By: Amna Plummer, DVM, Critter Care Animal Hospital

While aging is both natural and inevitable, it is important to realize that pets age much faster than people.

Aging is a natural and inevitable process that we all face. Pets, however, age much faster than people. Size and breed are significant factors - with some large dog breeds aging more rapidly than smaller breeds. On average, by age two most dogs and cats have already reached adulthood, and by age seven, many pets are entering their senior years.

Because dogs age more rapidly than people, significant health changes can occur in a short amount of time. The risks of cancer, diabetes, obesity, arthritis, heart disease and other serious conditions all increase with age. And, because today’s pets are living longer, chances are many will experience a potentially serious illness during their lifetime.

Since pets age, on average, up to seven times faster than people, it is recommended that they get a check up twice a year. Routine check ups should include blood chemistry tests to evaluate the functionality of a dog’s organs. These tests can detect conditions or diseases before symptoms emerge.

Blood work is recommended for young pets undergoing any surgical procedure. Also, if a problem such as liver or kidney disease is suspected, blood work can help to identify this. A significant percentage of young animals, especially purebred dogs, can have congenital or hereditary problems such as porto systemic shunts (liver), kidney disease, hypoglycemia (low blood sugar) and diabetes.

While most pets experience the best health of their lives between the ages of two and six years of age, stress, illnesses and poor nutrition can affect and potentially cause disease to their organs. Blood chemistry tests can detect these early changes and provide a good baseline for comparison later in your pet’s life. Treatment is usually the most effective when begun in the early stages of the disease process.

Advances in medical diagnostics and treatment enable your pet be more comfortable and also to prolong its life. New pain management medications also help pets with chronic pain have a better quality of life. In addition to medications, appropriate nutrition for your pet’s condition will also prolong its lifespan.

About Critter Care Animal Hospital

Built in 1998, Critter Care Animal Hospital is a full service veterinary hospital for small animals. It opened it’s doors in November of that year and was formerly The Animal Clinic on Wilcrest in southwest Houston. It is now owned and operated by Amna Plummer DVM.

When the idea of a wheel chair for dogs was first mentioned to me I immediately saw the sense in it. In fact, most mobility devices designed to assist humans can be adapted in some way or form to dogs, i.e. dog strollers, wheelchairs, harnesses, carriers etc…The selling point for me in any of these products has always been its functionality. In other words, its purpose must be practical not some superficial reason.

To me, carrying a healthy dog in a front baby carrier is not only confusing but also serves to undermine to intention of the product and subsequently prevents potential buyers from considering it as a useful tool for dogs with mobility issues. It’s easy to understand why a pet owner might consider these products for their aging dogs and nothing drives the point home more than actually seeing one being used properly.

Just yesterday I saw an older dog using a wheel chair and while it saddened me to see that it had lost the use of its hind legs it was really uplifting to see how excited it was to be outside actively engaging with other dogs.

I believe that it is our responsibility to provide the best quality of life for our dogs and denying them there natural right to an active life is not only unfair but also abusive.

This is why it is important that these devices be marketed in a manner that promotes practicality rather than as an extension of someone eccentric personality.

I love technology. Check out the short video I was able to create to help show people our dog jogger prototype called a Dogger™. We are working on this product to help senior dogs, injured dogs and handicapped dogs enjoy life.

I have been dying to write this post as we finally get to give our readers and fellow dog owners a sneak peak at something that we are super excited about and that’s our very own dog jogger. This video gives you a first time look at the Dogger™ prototype. We aren’t finished, but I wanted to show where we are so far in the product development process. In this video I show the Dogger outside in action and I take you through the issues we have identified, which we will be fixing, and show you the really cool features we have added. I am also open to comments and feedback.

This dog jogger aka Dogger™ has been created because we believe that dog owners (and dogs) deserve to have a jogger that raises the bar above what is currently available. One that is of the same standard as products we would buy for our children and one that is practical to truly suit the needs of dog owners and most importantly their dogs. Older dogs, handicapped dogs, injured dogs and even small dogs who have challenges when it comes to walking, can find their second wind with this jogger. It is a life changer and a product that we plan on backing with a 10 Year Guarantee!

We are also building the Dogger to help serve the needs of Canadians. As a Canadian business and a Canadian dog owner we see a serious lack of options when it comes to specialty dog products. We are planning to introduce our own dog jogger because we want to help owners in Canada make a signficant difference in their dog’s life. (Don’t worry we also plan on selling this all around the world.)

Enjoy and let me know what you think so far.

What I am really hoping for is some feedback. We have taken feedback from our current customers as well as our own and poured it into this new design. As you’ll see from our outdoor review of it shown above, we still have some changes to make to get this just right.

Some of the challenges I describe involve being a Canadian business trying to get the attention of Canadian manufacturers. Anyways tune in and hear me out and please let me know what you think of our idea and of our Dogger prototype.

Thanks for listening.

p.s. If there are any consumers, retailers or Canadian manufacturers interested in discussing this cool new idea in further detail, please drop me a line: afleming@dogquality.com. I love talking about it!

I was at my vet’s last night picking up some refills for the various medications Mackenzie my 12 year old pug is currently taking. While I was there an emergency case came in. It was an 8 year old Golden Retriever. I don’t know exactly what was wrong with him, but one look at the faces of his family told the whole story. There were three family members, a father, mother and daughter all with tears in their eyes.

In speaking with the Practice Manager I learned that they were forced to put the dog down and while I was waiting (for good reason) I witnessed the whole ordeal, from the father explaining this to the rest of his family, to seeing them standing beside the dog at the back of the clinic, to observing them sitting with their dog after he had passed away. I have to tell you I almost broke down crying. My heart went out to them and I wished I could take away the pain I know they were feeling.

I was so close to tears and I immediately starting having flashbacks to losing my precious Churchie, my French Bulldog, my protector and a huge part of my life for over 12 years until this past summer when I lost him due to complications from a heart tumor. I still cry all the time and wonder if I will ever not feel like a piece of my heart has been lost forever. When I saw this happening to another family it hit me hard as I relived the shock, trauma and ache of losing someone I loved. Our dogs really are a major part of our family and bring us so much love and happiness how can we not be broken after they leave us?

The reason I wanted to write this post today was not to depress you or to relive a very sad part of my life, but instead to commend the efforts of my vet. Dr. Maks at Huff’s Animal Hospital in Tsawwassen, British Columbia and the girls that keep the clinic running, pour their own hearts into each and every pet they treat. I have never had such a positive relationship before with any other caretakers, human or dog, like I have had with Dr. Maks and her team. When I was going through the roller coaster ride of care for Churchill and as I continue to have Mackenzie and our newest addition Paige (a brindle Frenchie) looked after, they have had our best interests at the top of their list.

Seeing them last night trying to save this dog and take care of the family showed just how much they care as they were so emotionally impacted by what was happening, it was as if they were treating their own dog.

Witnessing this type of care and while extremely sad, seeing the family’s love for their dog just shows again the powerful impact our dogs have on our lives. While losing one of our loved ones is like losing a piece of ourselves, I wouldn’t trade the time I spent with any of my pets for anything in the entire world. Each one has left me with the most amazing memories and they will be forever in my heart.

I miss you Churchie.

If anyone has the strength to share stories of their amazing pets that have touched their lives either past or present, please leave a comment.

Thanks for listening.

Ann-Marie Fleming is the Founder of www.DogQuality.com, a site focused on products that help older dogs enjoy life.