Do you have an old dog? What do you find the most challenging issue when taking care of your older dog? Emily discusses issues such as incontinence, managing an old dogs behaviors, as well as meeting the dogs physical and psychological needs.
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Hello everyone this video is on the Topic of living and taking care of older Dogs now this video was voted into Creation by The Kiko Pop members so Thank you so much Kiko Pop members for Your support To begin with it can be very very Challenging to take care of older dogs It’s almost like there’s a return to Puppyhood they can start to lose their Incontinence start to lose their manners In the house they can be forgetful they Can get dementia for my own dogs they Started to sleep less so uh I was living Sadly Kiko and splash two of the first Dogs that began my YouTube channel I had Dogs before but Kiko is actually the Kiko my Chihuahua is actually the reason My channel is named Kiko pup because I Got Kiko as a pup and so I made the Channel for her and then it turned into A dog training channel so anyway Kiko Sadly passed it 17 and splash past it 14 Recently and um But living with them uh in their older Age was very very challenging and Exhausting Um I changed my my whole life around Sometimes uh it’s not possible to change One’s life around and uh you can get Caregivers or perhaps you have family Members that help you out but in in Splash’s case it was a little extreme That she she had bladder cancer so she
Was needing to get up like every 30 Minutes in the night so Um I didn’t know how long that was gonna Last I had thought it was a bladder Infection at first before it was Diagnosed as as bladder cancer so I Thought it was going to end and that I Wouldn’t have to keep waking up every 30 Minutes to let her to let her out to go To the bathroom and so and I was losing A lot of sleep and it was exhausting Um so when she got the cancer diagnosis I actually did train her to go to the Toilet inside and I’d never trained her To do that so it took a lot of work so There’s a lot of problem solving and new Sorts of management Um some examples of this is uh teaching Your dog to be in a pen during their Life is a great idea so that if they do Get old and have Dementia or are Incontinence you can create a puppy Proof or old dog proof Zone to put them In when you’re when you’re not around so That they’re safe and so that they’re Not going to just destroy your house or Make it an unsanitary environment It’s not funny but we didn’t know this When I was growing up and I I had a Childhood dog a beagle and when she got Really old and senile she had had some I Believe it must have been focal seizures Now but at the time I didn’t know what Had happened but she would walk in
Circles so like we would go to high School and when we’d come back she’d Have pooped and then walked in a circle And the whole living room would be Covered in in poop so so um after that Had happened like three times we Realized it was going to keep happening So um the solution was to create a a Nice area for the dog and actually she Stopped She Stopped pooping because uh She wasn’t walking around a lot so while We were at school she was resting so it Was an X pen with some uh Plastic down and then a nice soft slip Proof blanket on top so that if she did Go to the bathroom you just have to Watch wash the blanket and not the slip Proof thing underneath and then a dog Bed and what I did was put a plastic bat I took the cover of the dog bed off and I put a plastic bag around the dog bed And then put the cover back on so she Did go in the bed I’d only have to wash The outer covering Um So there’s those ideas another idea is That you put doggy diapers on your dog And then attach them with a harness but I personally found it easier to clean up After an incontinent dog that had gone In a pen rather than it being like Smushed on their body so that that was My own preference that I found it easier To clean a thin blanket than to do the
Diaper solution I just it wasn’t Something that I wanted to do and then Also having nice an enzymatic cleaner to Clean the plastic underneath and things Like that also I found with my own old Dog that having When they lay down and get up they’re Not as they’re not as Um graceful and so for my own beagle I I Created I put some fabric on the bottom Of the X pen but you could use an X pen That has those wide long beams or or or Just put some cardboard at the bottom so If they lay down and their foot goes Through that they can get that that they Can either get their foot back easily or That they can’t get their foot through Where they then can’t get up and they’re Trapped so there’s lots to think about When managing and keeping old dogs safe My little Chihuahua Kiko also she used To sleep in my bed with me And then when she started to get Dementia She one night fell out of my bed and That was it’s for a tiny dog it can be Really dangerous so I just stopped Allowing her being in my bed but another Solution to that is just having a little Soft pen uh soft crate and then zipping The dog in if you really wanted to have Your dog in bed with you that’s the Solution But um you might be wondering how I
Trained my dog to go to the toilet in The house and that was really hard Um Because uh she was so house trained so I It was basically trial and error I I Tried um getting a baby like a kiddie Pool and putting sod in it that would Work for some dogs and then put that in My bathroom I have a really big bathroom So uh the kiddie pool would sod uh that I could change and she would not she Would not go in that and I think it’s Because she knew the kiddie pool was Like for swimming and and drinking so it Was just not a no-go then I tried uh pee Pads with grass sprinkled on them with Like sod on them nope so finally the There was this ice plant uh in my Backyard where she constantly went and I Just gathered up some ice plant and made A big Jungle of it on the pee pads and Then I gradually reduced it after she’s Learned to go on there so um Uh to teach her to go in the middle of The night I would um She’d wake me up telling me she needed To go out and I would uh take her to the Back door where she was to go used to go Out to go to the bathroom and then I Would walk her into the bathroom so she Could practice that she would go look For me go to the back door and then go To the bathroom and then I would tell Her to go pee so I used a verbal uh cue
To teach her to to go to the bathroom This obviously doesn’t work very well if You have a deaf deaf or senile dog but Pointing you could use a visual cue like Pointing at the location where the dog Is to go to the bathroom if your dog is Um is deaf or just being in the location Is the cue to go or being led in a Certain way so um I would lead her to the the bathroom and Give her the verbal cue go pee which I Trained by taking her outside and saying Go pee just before she went to the Bathroom so not as she was going to the Bathroom but just before she was going To the bathroom and then she learned the Cue meant to go to the bathroom So I used that to teach her to go to the Bathroom in the in the um In my bathroom and then over a couple of Weeks she actually learned to not wake Me up she would go to the door and then Go to the bathroom and then eventually She would just go and use the bathroom Herself because it was highly Reinforcing to release her bladder so That’s how the um uh that’s how it Worked is that um over time she just Found it reinforcing to go there but she Did prefer going outside so Um I do think it’s a great idea with old Dogs and puppies and any age of a dog That you constantly give them Opportunities to go outside so that it’s
The preference otherwise what can happen Is that they can start going in your House and if you have an incontinent dog They’re not going to be able to hold it If it’s a puppy some puppies cannot hold Their bladder and if it’s an adult dog I Mean an older dog or a dog with health Issues sometimes they just can’t hold it So you’re going to have to be conscious Of when they’ve drank water and when They need to go to the bathroom so um Giving meals where your dog is Um Where you know when your dog ate a Certain amount of food and when they Usually go to the bathroom you can start To exercise them at times when you know They might poop so you can make sure They’ve pooped and then if they drink a Lot of water say they did some exercise Or they got hot they were laying in the Sun came in and gulped up a lot of water Then in 30 minutes they’re probably Going to need to pee so get the take Them out So just being mindful of of when they’re Eating and drinking and being mindful of Those precursors to when they need to go To the when they are looking to go to The bathroom can be so helpful so I have Mainly been talking about going to the Toilet sorry but that I think is the Most important thing and the most Exhausting thing is being woken up in
The night and and and cleaning up Accidents with with older dogs the other Things to keep in mind when you have an Older dog is um their uh Their their health and quality of life So I’m not a nutritionist but uh Researching a good diet for your Specific dog is a great idea for for Your older dog’s needs but also Um your dog’s physical health and mental Health so you can play training games With your dog and some training games Are are extremely beneficial for for Older dogs Um A lot of canine freestyle and obedience Behaviors are so good for older dogs and So I suggest that you go to a physical Therapist or a canine Fitness expert and Learn what exercises are beneficial for Your specific dog so these people can Help your dog build the muscles that are Necessary to keep them fit and healthy And able to walk so Um some Kiko My Little Chihuahua she Actually was born with no hooks ankle Joints they were very rudimentary and Her her back legs could Bend in and out It was quite horrific I don’t think I I Think I have like one video on the Internet of where they’re bending the Wrong way but usually because of all the Training she’s she’s walking correctly So doing canine fitness exercises uh and
And physical therapy and fun tricks that Are beneficial for my specific dog’s Needs has kept them healthy and moving All their all their life and an Extremely important thing is keeping Their weight down so they’re a healthy Weight not skinny fat which is when the Dog is super skinny with no muscle Because for me that’s really scary if They get sick there’s nothing for them To survive on to get through that Illness so being healthy physically fit For for their age having muscle and not Being overweight but not being super Skinny is going to be highly beneficial For their body older dogs are not able To go on walks as long as they used to So I suggest doing shorter walks more Frequently so that’s also going to help Them go out and go to the bathroom so Instead of one long walk you might do Three short walks or maybe your dog Isn’t able to do a proper walk and you Just go out and let them sniff around in New areas or you drive somewhere and Just let them sniff around and then get Back in the car just to create some Variety and interest in their life if They’re interested in going out and About and smelling things if they’re Fearful and it’s stressing them out to Go different places just revisiting the Same area that perhaps has different Traffic of dogs coming through or
Interest you can also create interest by Sprinkling treats in the grass novelty Treats different types of foods that are Healthy for your dog in the grass for Them to find you can also do things like Hide the food in different like if you If you have to do the games inside you Could hide the food in like a folded Towel or a snuffle mat or under objects Like upside down yogurt containers that Are clean so little treats are hidden Under yogurt containers where they have To like knock over the containers to Find the treats and um Just lots of different enrichment ideas That you can think of to build interest In their everyday life because I think That sometimes when you’re an older dog Or an older human being that it can get Quite boring to be doing the same Routine over and over again So creating some interest in the life Can can greatly increase their mental And physical health Thank you so much for watching if you’d Like to support my work don’t forget to Like comment and subscribe to my channel See you later