Senior Shih Tzus: 7 Best Ways to Help Them Age Gracefully

How should we take care of senior Shih Tzus?

Although no pet owner wants to think about their Shih Tzu aging as time passes by, it is absolutely something that should not be overlooked. As your Shih Tzu ages from adult to senior, it is essential for owners to understand how to take care of senior Shih Tzus, what to expect, and which typical age-related health problems and diseases that affect senior dogs to watch out for.

Wellness Checks for Senior Shih Tzus

Beginning at your Shih Tzu’s first year, throughout his adult life to the ninth-year mark, wellness checks must be scheduled on an annual basis. When your Shih Tzu becomes a senior, the checkup frequency should increase to twice per year or once every six months. This kind of visit to the veterinarian is usually called a geriatric visit.

With senior Shih Tzus, their immune system is not as strong as it used to be, and health issues can come on quickly. An examination every six months will help ensure that any problems are caught early for the best possible prognosis.

These checkups include comprehensive biochemistry profiles, blood testing, and urine and stool testing. These could also include ultrasounds and x-rays since a lot of diseases and health concerns involving your dog’s major organs could not be detected through blood work alone.

Caring for Older Shih Tzus

Keep your Shih Tzu Active

As expected, there would be gradual muscular degeneration as you Shih Tzu reaches his senior years and some level of osteoarthritis, as well, that might impede a senior Shih Tzu’s capacity to exercise as much as they did. Nevertheless, these are the same reasons why you must keep your Shih Tzu active.

When you let a senior dog become sedentary, it could be challenging to get him back to regular exercising. Thus, do not stop. Being active helps keep their joints lubricated, could loosen stiffness due to arthritis, reduces muscle atrophy due to aging, boosts the immune system, and is great for the heart.

Address Arthritis Concerns

A huge mistake in taking care of a senior Shih Tzu is thinking that the indications of arthritis, such as lethargy, difficulty getting up from a down position, trouble sleeping, and morning discomfort, among others, should be accepted and deemed as a normal part of aging.

Please keep in mind that there are many treatment options to help alleviate the inflammation, pain, and stiffness that comes with this degenerative disease that could gradually damage bones and joints.

Give Them a Warm and Comfortable Bed

Giving them a warm bed where they can feel comfortable in is more important now that they’re older. Senior Shih Tzus progressively need more sleep and rest, and getting good sleep is vital for the body to restore and refresh.

Having ideal orthopedic support is important to relieve pressure points, provide sufficient cushioning for your Shih Tzu’s body, and give warmth to soothe aching joints. Side bolster pillows are likewise excellent for offering good neck support, which could minimize breathing disturbances that could ruin a good sleep.

Be Wary of Hearing Loss

Senior Shih Tzu dogs normally begin to have age-related hearing problems around the age of thirteen years old. This could worsen quickly; a lot of senior dogs in their mid-teens have already suffered significant hearing issues in one or both ears.

While canine hearing aids are available, they are incredibly costly, unreliable, and they aren’t proven to improve your dog’s hearing very much and are seldom tolerated.

Hence, there isn’t really a viable option to reverse or cure age-related hearing loss; but it would be good to know and understand this issue to make a few changes in your dog’s lifestyle. Indications that a senior Shih Tzu is having hearing difficulties include being startled when they’re being approached or not responding when you call their name.

To help a senior Shih Tzu with hearing issues, you could incorporate hand signals together with commands. You could also try to approach your dog from the side or front, not the back.

Be Aware of Vision-Related Issues

Blurry vision is usually part of growing older, even in humans; however, it’s vital to have any vision problems appropriately diagnosed. Please keep in mind that it could be due to cataracts, glaucoma, or other issues. Early detection and treatment could save your senior Shih Tzu’s sight, depending on the severity of the case.

Symptoms of vision-related issues due to Shih Tzu aging include: possibly appearing disorientated, bumping into household objects, and having difficulty finding his toys and water and food bowls.

Pay Extra Attention to His Skin and Coat

As your Shih Tzu grows older, their coat loses its shine, and their skin loses elasticity. This could result in poor skin health and oftentimes severely dry and itchy skin that could quickly lead to cracking, peeling and even infections.

The ideal thing to do is to always keep the skin healthy and to promptly address any issues and nip them in the bud before they worsen.

Take Care of Their Paws and Nails

The dry skin problems mentioned previously comes hand-in-hand with this. Oftentimes, their paws are the most affected because they’re usually in contact with something. Massaging them with a good paw wax, as well as carefully getting in between the senior Shih Tzu’s toes and around the nail beds and his paw pads could greatly help.

It will likewise offer your senior Shih Tzu even more traction, which could help avoid slips and slides.

Furthermore, there could be issues with their nails, too. As your Shih Tzu ages, their nails could get brittle, making them susceptible to breaking off or splitting, which could be extremely painful. It could be associated with issues in nutrient absorption, which is actually a common issue with senior Shih Tzus.

To help with this, you could try to incorporate vitamin B12-rich foods like eggs, fish, and liver into your senior Shih Tzu’s diet. Also, since shorter nails are much less prone to splitting and breaking off, keep their nails trimmed down.

Bottom Line

It is sad to see your Shih Tzu aging and losing the sprightliness in their steps bit by bit. Nevertheless, there are some things you could do to help them age gracefully and more comfortably.