Ageing dogs face a range of welfare challenges including chronic pain, cognitive decline, and sensory loss that require adapted care strategies. Understanding age-related changes enables owners to maintain quality of life through the senior years.
Senior dog welfare requires a proactive shift from reactive to preventive veterinary care. The most common welfare failure in ageing dogs is the normalisation of pain: owners notice their dog slowing down and attribute it to age rather than recognising it as the treatable chronic pain of osteoarthritis. By the time lameness is obvious, pain has typically been present for months or years. Routine pain assessment from age 7-8 using validated pain scoring scales enables earlier intervention. Cognitive Dysfunction Syndrome — the canine equivalent of dementia — causes confusion, anxiety, and disruption that significantly reduces quality of life, but is often missed or resigned to as inevitable. Nutritional support, environmental management, and emerging pharmacological options can slow progression and improve welfare. The senior years can be a time of sustained good quality of life with appropriate proactive management.