Dogs age faster than humans. Why does that matter?

Small dogs add 4 years for every human, calendar year while large dogs add 8 years for the same time period. This accelerated aging means problems can develop faster, seemingly overnight, and progress faster than the same problems in humans. Chronic kidney, liver, or heart disease can start younger and progress faster. Cancer can develop, grow and spread much faster than our own.

There is good news. Like in human medicine, scientific advances are providing better treatments so dogs can have a high quality of life with diseases once thought to be a “death sentence.” Even certain cancers, when diagnosed early, can now be managed as chronic diseases.

Early diagnosis:

The key to improving the quality of life is early diagnosis. Early diagnosis allows more flexibility for treatment. Holistic and natural approaches are more likely to help when started early. 

A plan for health monitoring for reduced vet bills later and better quality of life for your dog(s) now and throughout their lives:

• Because of their accelerated aging, we recommend a thorough physical exam at least twice yearly, not once a year as recommended for humans. 

• We also encourage our patients to have urine and lab work performed yearly after 8 years of age to detect changes in vital organs and blood cells. 

• X-rays every 1-2 years can pick up signs of early arthritis, back problems, and changes of internal organs. 

• More frequent monitoring of your dog’s weight and assessment of her nutrition program can improve life quality. We now know that dog’s maintained at a fit bodyweight live almost 2 years longer than unfit dogs. We can work with you to design and monitor a nutrition program to keep Fido fit!

• Dogs with existing medical problems should be seen 3-4 times yearly and have a more frequent lab, x-ray, or ultrasound monitoring. Detecting early changes in the progression of the disease allows treatment changes that can slow the progression and increase life quality. 

• With frequent visits, diets for medical conditions change can be tweaked to better manage the condition. 

• The pain associated with arthritis and the skin and ear infections caused by allergies can be controlled better by starting proactive, preventative treatments before dogs are limping or constantly scratching and creating infected sores on the skin.

Taking your dog to the vet only when it is scheduled for vaccinations, generally, every 3 years, may delay the diagnosis and treatment. This decreases the success of the medical intervention. Prevention and early detection are always cheaper than treating advanced problems.

As we seek a better quality of life for ourselves, we naturally want to do the same for our dogs. Coming in more frequently is an excellent start.