Is It Old Age, or Something Treatable? A Guide to Your Senior Dog
Many changes owners put down to old age are pain or illness that can be treated. What vets look for in older dogs, and when to book a visit.
Written by thecanineledger
1. Start where you are
| If you are… | Start here |
|---|---|
| Noticing your dog is slower, stiffer or sleeping more | §2: “Just old age” |
| Seeing weight loss, thirst or a new lump | §3: Changes to get checked |
| Wondering about arthritis treatment | §4: Pain and arthritis |
| Worried your dog seems confused at night | §5: Confusion and memory |
| Deciding what to ask at a senior check-up | §6: The senior check-up |
“Clients often perceive changes in their geriatric pets as normal aging when it may be the result of clinical chronic pain.” That’s the American Animal Hospital Association (AAHA), in its 2023 guidelines on caring for older dogs and cats (AAHA, 2023 Senior Care Guidelines: Pain Management).
While some slowing down is normal, many of the changes owners expect in an older dog are signs of something that can be treated. This section helps you tell which is which, and what to ask your vet.
There’s no fixed age when a dog becomes “senior”. AAHA’s guidelines define it as “the last 25% of estimated lifespan through end of life”, so a large dog reaches it sooner than a small one (AAHA, Defining the Senior Patient).
If your older dog collapses, has trouble breathing, or seems in severe pain, contact a vet now. → Is This an Emergency? A Plain Guide to Your Dog’s Symptoms
2. “Just old age”
Pain in an older dog is easy to miss. AAHA’s pain guidelines note that owners can detect pain by comparing normal and abnormal behaviour, “but they may contextualize these signs and delay action for several months” (AAHA, 2022 Pain Management Guidelines: Chronic Pain Assessment in Dogs).
The 2023 guidelines add that owners may not see behaviour changes as pain, “especially when chronic pain behavior changes may be subtle.”
→ Reading Pain in an Old or Sick Dog
3. Changes to get checked
AAHA lists common signs of chronic disease in older pets: “malaise, progressive lethargy, behavior changes, hyporexia, anorexia, altered thirst pattern, weight loss over time, mobility alterations, and nonhealing wounds” (AAHA, Evaluating the Unhealthy Senior Pet). In plain terms: low energy, eating less or not at all, drinking more or less, and losing weight.
Book a vet visit for any of these. None of them is “just age” until a vet has looked.
New lumps. AAHA warns that some cancers “may be indistinguishable from benign growths”, which makes “the “watch and see” approach risky” (AAHA, Evaluating the Healthy Senior Pet). → Found a Lump? Why Your Vet Should Put a Needle in It
Our note: We haven’t read a source on telling normal lens change from cataracts, or on hearing loss. Ask your vet about either.
4. Pain and arthritis
Arthritis is treatable, and AAHA says “Addressing these issues early in the course of the disease improves outcome.” Treatment usually combines several things: keeping a lean weight, exercise, rehabilitation, changes at home, and medicines.
Newer treatments have brought new questions. A monthly injection, recommended for approval in Europe in 2020 and approved in the US in 2023, is now the subject of debate about joint problems. In 2026, regulators added very rare joint and bone problems to its product information.
- → Arthritis Treatment: What Works, From Weight to Medication
- → NSAIDs in Older Dogs: Benefits, Risks, and the Monitoring Question
- → Librela and the Anti-NGF Antibodies: What the Adverse-Event Reports Show
5. Confusion and memory
Dogs can develop canine cognitive dysfunction, a condition AAHA compares to Alzheimer disease in people. AAHA puts the share affected at “Approximately 14–22.5% of dogs older than 8 yr” (AAHA, Managing Cognitive Dysfunction). AAHA says the most common signs are sleeping in the day and restlessness at night, less interest in people, getting disoriented at home, and anxiety.
Other illnesses can look the same, so it needs a vet’s check.
→ Canine Cognitive Dysfunction: Signs, Rating Scales, and What Helps
6. The senior check-up
AAHA recommends a medical workup for senior pets “once or twice a year”, which “may include a complete blood count, chemistry, and urinalysis”.
Before the visit, AAHA suggests owners be ready to talk about “eating and drinking habits, exercise, movement, play behavior, eliminations, attitude, grooming, vision, and hearing.” Two things help most:
- A list of everything your dog takes, including supplements. AAHA warns that some supplements can interact with medicines older dogs often take.
- A short video of your dog walking, getting up or using stairs at home. AAHA says videos help vets “detect early neuropathic or musculoskeletal disease.”
Our note: AAHA’s guidelines are written for vets, and their testing advice varies with health. Ask your vet how often your older dog needs tests.
7. How this section works
We disclose who pays. AAHA says its 2023 senior care guidelines are “generously supported by Boehringer Ingelheim Animal Health, CareCredit, IDEXX, and Zoetis”. Zoetis, for example, makes the arthritis injection discussed in §4. That doesn’t make the guidelines wrong, but you should know.
Our note: This section relies heavily on AAHA. We didn’t find an independent source on senior care to set beside it.
8. What we could not verify
| Commonly said | What we found |
|---|---|
| “Slowing down is just old age” | Often it’s pain, AAHA says, and owners may wait months to act. |
| “A dog is senior at seven” | No fixed age. AAHA uses the last quarter of expected lifespan. |
| “Old lumps are just fatty lumps” | You can’t tell by feel, AAHA says. |
Sources
- American Animal Hospital Association: 2023 AAHA Senior Care Guidelines for Dogs and Cats (professional body guidelines; industry-funded; sections on defining the senior patient, the healthy and unhealthy senior pet, cognitive dysfunction and pain read)
- American Animal Hospital Association: 2022 AAHA Pain Management Guidelines for Dogs and Cats (professional body guidelines; industry-funded; chronic pain assessment read)
- US Food and Drug Administration: Dear Veterinarian Letter on adverse events reported in dogs treated with Librela (16 December 2024; names Zoetis as the sponsor; read)
- European Medicines Agency: Librela (product page; committee opinion adopted 9 September 2020; read)
Always confirm with your vet before acting on anything on this page.