Aging And Heat Sensitivity, Supplements, Etc.

[BootsyCollins]

I posted in the ABT thread, and I thought I'd post here as well, to tap into the wealth of knowledge on GT! Have any of you noticed an increased sensitivity to heat as your hound aged? Bootsy seems to get hot more easily and stay hot longer after coming inside. We don't do long walks or anything - I'm not concerned about any danger. Just noticing something different.

 

Also, Bootsy is finally starting to show his age - he turned 10 in January. Any suggestions for supplements or diet? Thanks!

[3greytjoys]

Have you noticed any other symptoms?

 

Two of our eldest seniors are extremely sensitive to heat, neighbors' BBQ smoke if house windows are open, etc.; however, they have Laryngeal Paralysis. Below is a snippet from a previous post about LP.

 

Signs of Laryngeal Paralysis (per MSU, link below):

• Increased noisy breathing from throat (stridor), sometimes called “roaring”, most noticeable when panting.
• Distressed breathing, especially in hot weather, humidity, and when excited or stressed.
• Unable to exercise as much, may sit down or even collapse.
• Bark change / hoarse bark (in about half the cases).
• When severe, the gums may become pale or blue colored.
• Throat-clearing, or hacking, or coughing.
• Gagging with or without regurgitation (may or may not be associated with drinking/eating).
• Hind-end weakness and an unsteady gait.
• Loss of muscle mass.

 

If a dog shows any of the symptoms above, please alert a veterinarian re: Laryngeal Paralysis.

Important Tips to Help Manage Laryngeal Paralysis:

 

- Ensure hound's home is kept cool, and remains a calm, stress-free environment.

- Limit dog's excessive activity (e.g., avoid running).

- Avoid walking dog in warm temperatures. (Early morning is coolest time of day.)

- Moisten dry kibble with a little water before serving.

- Be careful to not overfeed dog. (Healthy pet Greyhound weight is being able to see the last two ribs.)

- Leash walk an LP dog with a harness instead of a collar (to eliminate pressure on the dog's larynx).

Laryngeal Paralysis link:

http://cvm.msu.edu/h...ving-with-golpp

Edited October 29, 2014 by 3greytjoys

[BootsyCollins]

No other symptoms. Not sure I would even call this a symptom. Maybe he's in menopause.

[Guest MnMDogs]

Mork was always fairly heat sensitive, but it became much much more pronounced as he got older due to his LP (I don't think being black helped though).

 

The only other hound we've had who has actually made it to 10 is Macy, and at 10 and a half, she seems like she is a bit more heat sensitive. She can't walk as far in the warm weather (great in the summers of unrelenting sun out here), and it takes her longer to cool down. But it's not terribly worrisome.

 

We give her fish oil (mainly for her SLO) and fresh factors. Do they help? Meh, I really don't know, but they don't seem to hurt so we keep giving them

[MandysMom]

Christie -- Mandy definitely was bothered more by the heat as she aged. She really slowed down in the heat and humidity, not that she was peppy otherwise. I did go with the Springtime Fresh Factors and Joint Health Chewables with her and they seemed to help her some.

[Remolacha]

All of mine became more heat sensitive as they aged, Fletcher in particular got a little worse each year. I really started noticing signs of aging, like heat sensitivity, tiring easily, once they reached 10. Nothing major, just, all of a sudden (it seemed) they weren't pups anymore, they were old. So far, I've had them make it to 11, 11.5, 12.5

[Guest IrskasMom]

My Morty turned 10 this past May . He never liked the hot Weather but now it seems to really slow him down . He walks at the Park from Tree Shade to another . His Tongue hanging out . I call him Bobble Head .

[Guest Doggone]

Autumn is only 8, and this is the second year I've had her and the intense summer heat here has bothered her right from the first. We only go on walks in the morning, the coolest part of our days, but even then, once we're back, she pretty much "collapses" onto the tile floors for a while, until she recoups some of her energy. While she's lying down, I wipe her down with very wet paper towels and that seems to help (her panting stops). (The rest of her "pit stops" are only brief trips into the small back yard.)

She isn't an active dog at all, and during the hot season I shorten the walks, but the intense heat is draining anyway (for me too ), but as long as she gets her second wind, I don't worry, since her appetite and all other "systems" are working fine. If her sensitivity to heat gets worse with age, I'll shorten the walks even more, but I won't cut them out since she seems to love them, and just that morning one seems enough to satisfy her.

[NeylasMom]

 

Have you noticed any other symptoms?

 

Two of our eldest seniors are extremely sensitive to heat, neighbors' BBQ smoke if house windows are open, etc.; however, they have Laryngeal Paralysis. Below is a snippet from a previous post about LP.

 

Signs of Laryngeal Paralysis (per MSU, link below):

• Increased noisy breathing from throat (stridor), sometimes called “roaring”, most noticeable when panting.
• Distressed breathing, especially in hot weather, humidity, and when excited or stressed.
• Unable to exercise as much, may sit down or even collapse.
• Bark change / hoarse bark (in about half the cases).
• When severe, the gums may become pale or blue colored.
• Throat-clearing, or hacking, or coughing.
• Gagging with or without regurgitation (may or may not be associated with drinking/eating).
• Hind-end weakness and an unsteady gait.
• Loss of muscle mass

 

I worry a lot about this as I've heard that dogs with LS also get LP. And I've noticed Zuri doing more hacking type stuff lately. But then he finds a reason to let out his high pitched shrieky bark and I quit worrying for the time being.

 

 

Anyway, Christie, I do think Zuri has become more sensitive to the heat, even if a part of what I see is from his LS. He turned 10 last month. As for supplements, I definitely think all aging dogs should be on a good dose of fish oil and a joint supplement is a good idea as well. You might also consider a probiotic and/or a digestive enzyme as their ability to digest food can change as they age. Maybe just the probiotic for now and you can add in the digestive enzyme later on if he starts to show signs of an issue. And a multi-vitamin is never a horrible idea.

 

A holistic vet in Pgh that I am a big fan of wrote an article called the 5 supplements every dog needs. It's not just for seniors, but seems especially important as our dogs age. If you scroll down, you can find the article (in 2 parts) here.

[Guest PiagetsMom]

Mirage will soon be 11. He's always been the more sensitive of my pups to the heat, but this year it's really noticeable. We do an early morning "stroll/meander" to the end of the block and back, and that's about all that I'd want to put him through, at least in this 90+ weather. I'm hoping that when it isn't quite so hot he'll have an easier time of it. Looking at the list of symptoms of LP, he actually has quite of few of those. Even though I've previously mentioned LP to our vet and he dismissed it for Mirage, I think I'll have to mention it again at his semi-annual exam in October.

 

The only supplements I have Mirage on are Cosequin DS twice a day, and 1000 mg of Fish Oil once a day.

[EllenEveBaz]

Nutmeg gets more sensitive to both heat and cold as she gets older (age 13 now). Her comfort range is now from about 66-72F -- maybe we should move to the Pacific northwest?

[maria]

Our Rhoda is 10 this past may as well. She can't tolerate much heat. We don't take her to friends w/o AC in the summer.

[Guest greyers]

Yes, seen it with all 5 of our greyhounds usually sometime between the ages of 8-9 and it seems to get worse the older they get. We have found shortening walks, using the AC more and putting fans on them in the house if they are panting as well as cool coats when walking if it is still pretty warm all are things that help a lot. It has always been worse with our black greyhounds too.

[TwiggysMom]

Agh - I typed out a long post and had it disappeared by an errant keystroke.

 

Twiggy used to be oblivious to heat, period. Even the summer a year after her amputation. But, last year and moreso this year, heat (even mild temps around 80 degrees), cause her to pant a lot. (She is pushing 10 y/o now!)

 

If you think Bootsy might be starting to have some arthritis or other pain (not that you said he did), you could look into Dausequin, Duralactin (highly recommeded by 2 of Twiggy's vets) - both non-prescription, and/or Adequan injections (you can do them yourself, but requires prescription).

 

Of course, there may not be any pain involved at all, I think Twiggy's pain issues are unrelated to her newly-acquired heat intolerance. I just mention it b/c there's always the possibility of old-ish age pain issues as we approach senior status (ask me and my aarp card how I know !)

[galgrey]

I worry a lot about this as I've heard that dogs with LS also get LP. And I've noticed Zuri doing more hacking type stuff lately. But then he finds a reason to let out his high pitched shrieky bark and I quit worrying for the time being.

 

 

Anyway, Christie, I do think Zuri has become more sensitive to the heat, even if a part of what I see is from his LS. He turned 10 last month. As for supplements, I definitely think all aging dogs should be on a good dose of fish oil and a joint supplement is a good idea as well. You might also consider a probiotic and/or a digestive enzyme as their ability to digest food can change as they age. Maybe just the probiotic for now and you can add in the digestive enzyme later on if he starts to show signs of an issue. And a multi-vitamin is never a horrible idea.

 

A holistic vet in Pgh that I am a big fan of wrote an article called the 5 supplements every dog needs. It's not just for seniors, but seems especially important as our dogs age. If you scroll down, you can find the article (in 2 parts) here.

Great article! Thanks for sharing. My two 11 + year olds are also more sensitive to the heat than they were in their younger days.

[lothianjavert]

Sully became more sensitive to the heat as he got older- especially around 11/12 years old it was very noticeable. Diesel we lost to osteo before his 11th birthday, so I don't know if he would also have become more heat sensitive or not.

 

Jen, thanks for the link-good article.

Edited August 12, 2014 by lothianjavert

[BootsyCollins]

Thanks for the feedback, everyone. Very helpful. And Jen - great article. Thanks!!

[TINMANPDX]

I have noticed that both of mine are less tolerant of the heat now that they are older ( 9 1/2 and 10 1/2).When it gets over 75 degrees they seem miserable and pant quite a bit, especially at the beginning of the summer months. We try to do walks early or late in the day when it is cooler, and when it's really hot and the ceiling fans aren't cutting it, I turn on the portable air conditioner in the bedroom so they gave a cool place to escape to.

[XTRAWLD]

Kasey is 11 and I would say he started panting more about 2 years ago or so. While I want to suggest it's heat related I think (diagnosed by me) it's closer to a mild case of laryngeal paralysis. When it's not heat related, and I know there is no way he's hot and he's panting, I definitely connect it to the LP. Even when he gets excited that I have come home for the day after work, he can work himself up to the point where he is still panting for an hour or so later, and Ryder is just fine and has calmed down back to normal. Sadly, this also makes me reluctant to play with him because it takes him SO long to calm down!

 

What have I done to control it? I run the A/C and make sure the house is never more than 24C when I'm not home, I ensure there is air circulating by a fan on the floor so it's not stale whether or not the A/C is on or not. If he's really not calming down, but he's laying down, I wipe his paws with a wet facecloth so he'll try to feel cooler. His bed is like a denim kind of material, so it isn't a fabric that retains heat - I find that is something to consider too. I am reluctant to let him in the basement because he's older and I worry about how he climbs the stairs to get back to the first floor, but that was something we would often do to cool him down. I often discover him not lying on a bed at all, but rather on the floor, I guess it's cooler. Also, I try not to walk him when it's incredibly hot outside and when it is, his time out there is limited to just sniffing to do his duty.

 

It's just a "getting older" type of thing.

[SarahsBlackPack]

We've noticed that both of our hounds both 11 and a half have gotten more heat sensitive as they have gotten older. There both happy with a quick trip down around the corner and back home. And they both pee and poop. And then wanna go back inside the house.

[Gryffenne]

Nutmeg gets more sensitive to both heat and cold as she gets older (age 13 now). Her comfort range is now from about 66-72F -- maybe we should move to the Pacific northwest?

That has been Sammi's comfort range for as long as I have been with her The 3rd AC unit I bought for my duplex when I first adopted her was because of her. She would forgo her afternoon potty if it meant she had to be peeled away from the AC.

 

I do worry, reading the list, about her now (11.5). It will be something that I am discussing with her vet at her appointment this fall. Limiting her activity/excitement any more will kill her She loves car rides & the bark park and already looks hurt and dejected on the evenings I take L&R to let them blow off steam there. Unfortunately this local one is all sand and with her weakened back end, it is so painful for her there. Same with long walks. I've already shortened hers down to almost nothing because, again, of her back end. But I always try to take her for my errand running, weather depending, so that she can still have her car rides and admirers in drive thru windows (bank, pharm, and of course I have to have a soda )

Edited August 22, 2014 by Gryffenne