# The Golden Age (a mini survey)



## Sweet Girl (Jun 10, 2010)

Every dog is unique, of course. My dog was totally healthy her entire life, just some arthritis controlled by pain meds - until the day she wasn't. She was diagnosed with cancer at 12 years, 2 months, and died two months later.

1) How old is _(or was)_ your Golden senior? 12 years, 4 months.

2) What you are feeding him/her? I fed her Eukanuba for 10 years (from LB puppy, to LB adult, to senior) then switched her to Acana because I thought it was a better food. I've always sort of regretted that. She thrived on Eukanuba. 

3) How often you walk him/her? For how long? She had been a 3 X 1 hour kind of dog most of her life (plus quick outs). When she got older, twice a day for play was enough. She played ball fast and hard until she was diagnosed and got sick. She played a little ball a few more times after that. In her senior years , she went out four times a day: first thing in the morning, then a longer morning outing, a long midday outing, and a quick pee at night.

4) Do you do full annual senior vet exams with blood panels, etc? Definitely. Regular wellness exams every year through her whole life - it's good for your vet to have a baseline healthy, especially as they age. 

5) Any other suggestions or tips or comments? Best thing, I believe, is to keep their weight down, help them manage pain if they have arthritis, and follow their lead on exercise. Give then a comfortable bed to sleep on, and help them up onto your bed or into the car when they show signs of hesitating. One thing I noticed when my dog got older was that she wasn't comfortable on the back seat of the car anymore. So I bought a therapeutic memory foam and cut it to fit, then covered it with the dog blanket. And just know your dog and recognize a change. You know your dog best - if something seems wrong, take him to the vet. So much can be cured if caught early.


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## hotel4dogs (Sep 29, 2008)

See inserted answers:



Maxepie said:


> Hello!
> My vet recently told me that the average age for Goldens is around 12.
> Many of you have posted ages that go much higher than that including one who was 16.5 yrs old...
> 
> ...


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## AmberSunrise (Apr 1, 2009)

My King died at 14 1/2. He was fed kibble most of his life, the brand varied and I honestly do not remember which brands I used although they were premium brands. We walked most days of his life and used a retrievr-trainer and tossed tennis balls as well. Cancer claimed him (liver, type unknown).

My Rowdy died at 12 1/2 of aspiration pneumonia following LP tie back surgery. He never came home. He started his life on kibble, then specialized kibble, then home cooked and finally raw as we worked to resolve allergies. He became healthy and active on raw. He was hiked most days of his life. Agility and obedience for him.

My Casey will be 13 in March. He is fed primarily raw and is hiked most days. Agility, rally and obedience.

About the bloodwork. No, I no longer routinely have the blood work done. It never seems to be recent enough when I have a problem and needs to be redone. And, it seems to not show cancer. My dogs do have TBD panels drawn at least twice a year which sometimes leads to further blood work. I would say they all have blood work, even the younger ones, at least once a year for one reason or another and it is pricey enough and I feel does not give enough information to have additional draws done for a healthy dog - if they gain weight, lose weight etc the blood work is done. Casey does occasionally need to have a more routine blood draw done since he is on Metacam but as mentioned, it seems they have blood draws for other reasons often enough usually.

My dogs are hiked most days - 30-60 minutes offlead and free to run ahead, swim, go up hills etc. On weekends they may have longer hikes. They are also along when I go mountain biking if it is safe for them to be off lead. They are trained in obedience, rally and agility throughout their lives so they are physically and mentally active.

I try to keep their environments as chemical free as possible - no yard spraying or fertilizers, I clean with vinegar and steam primarily, their shampoos and conditioners are natural, I have hardwood and ceramic floors, wood siding etc. They have many hours a day, usually, outside in the fresh air and hopefully sunshine. Due to where I live I do need spot tick treatments and heartworm pills, but they are fed primarily raw.

My best advise is to keep them lean, active and mentally agile. Let them know they are loved and valued. Have patience when they sometimes struggle to climb and eventually just help them as needed. Spend time each and every day doing something special - just you and your dog to bring them joy. 

Mostly, treasure your old gold and live each day in the present.


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## Millie'sMom (Sep 7, 2012)

I was lucky enough to be blessed with a retired breeding bitch, that was healthy until 2 weeks before she had to be put down. In the 12 years we had her, she had only one UTI. She never had any issues with arthritis. She developed bone cancer, but at that age the vet said it was a cancer of old age and not genetic.



Maxepie said:


> *I am hoping to get an idea of the following:*
> 
> 1) How old is _(or was)_ your Golden senior? *My first golden was 4 days shy of her 17th birthday. *
> 
> ...


I am not sure I did anything special, just feel incredibly blessed to have been able to have her in my life for so long. My current "old" golden is only 7.5 but I can already see a few grey hairs in her muzzle.


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## Maxepie (Jan 25, 2014)

Dear SweetGirl,
I am so sorry about Tesia. She looks so content sitting there on the grass. My Max will be 12 in just a few weeks. He's also a big fan of lounging outside. Your Shala has such a sweet face as well.
The responses on here about food is also eye-opening for me. It just goes to show that food is really dependent on the individual dog and what they are thriving on. 

I appreciate your feedback about car rides and getting some memory foam. That's a good idea and will help Max for sure. 
My Max is 91 pounds. He is not fat; he's a big guy as he is quite tall. (He dwarfs both my brother's dogs). My vet believes he is lean and that there is no weight issue with him. 
Thanks again


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## Maxepie (Jan 25, 2014)

*Thank you to Hotel4dogs*



hotel4dogs said:


> See inserted answers:


Hello!
Thank you for your response. I am so surprised by everyone's notes about their dog food. I was expecting high cost foods like Orijin, Acana, etc. 
The other common advice that I am taking to heart is to keep Max nice and lean.
Thanks again


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## Maxepie (Jan 25, 2014)

*Thank you to Sunrise*



Sunrise said:


> My Casey will be 13 in March. He is fed primarily raw and is hiked most days. Agility, rally and obedience.
> 
> Thank you for your response. So sorry about King and Rowdy.
> Glad that Casey is almost 13 and still hiking and running.
> ...


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## Maxepie (Jan 25, 2014)

*Thank you to Millie's Mom*



Millie'sMom...I kept her weight down said:


> Hello Millie's Mom and thank you for your response. The breeder/vet suggestion about no heartworm medication after 10 is interesting. I will speak to my vet about this as well. Where possible I too want to avoid over-medicating.
> Again, the food is interesting. I will be going to review those food ingredients again especially if your 1st almost made it to 17.
> Also, that is a good recommendation about keeping weight down and keeping dog healthy and lean. This one I can definitely do. Thanks again!


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## Max's Dad (Apr 23, 2012)

Our previous Golden was named Chewy, a girl. Most of her life she was fed Science Diet Sensitive Stomach. She was free fed and was always thin. She lived to be 14 1/2 years old. Never had a sick vet visit that I can remember. She went on walks, but no set schedule.


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## Always51 (Feb 19, 2012)

Well ..we have had two older dogs before we got Napoleon

1) How old is (or was) your Golden senior? Geordie lived the longest ..he was 14 and a half..

2) What you are feeding him/her? he had Pro Plan everyday of his life.

3) How often you walk him/her? For how long? he was lucky to get one walk a week...Napoleon gets two a day...

4) Do you do full annual senior vet exams with blood panels, etc? never did..he was healthy till he died in his sleep..

5) Any other suggestions or tips or comments? just gives them lots of love! 

every dog is so different!.....


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## AmberSunrise (Apr 1, 2009)

My Casey was dx'd with degenerative mylopathy several years ago - but it seems to be holding 

I feed a mixture of TQDF (Top Quality Dog Food) which I get monthly in 5# chubbs. I usually buy beef based choices which have mixes of organ meats, some have green tripe, most have some vegetables etc. I additionally Vitamix up mixtures to combine with their meat mixes which can include any combination of greens, lettuces, carrots, celery, eggs with their shells, yogurt and generally other veggies I have. Garlic might be included a few times a week. They also get leftovers  

Their kibble based meals are Fromm's - also beef or sometime fish based. These meals are a few times a week - this helps insure they can always handle kibble since raw is not possible when my Towhee goes to her co-owners and I also spend some time on the road with seminars and showing where raw can be less than convenient.

ETA: When my Towhee is pregnant and/or nursing, she is fed a mixture of Fromm's Puppy and Purina Pro Plan Puppy - Fromm's because she is used to it and Purina since her co-owner feels strongly that growing puppies do best with some grains and likes Purina's track record. And the sheer volume of food a nursing dog requires is astonoshing!



Maxepie said:


> Sunrise said:
> 
> 
> > My Casey will be 13 in March. He is fed primarily raw and is hiked most days. Agility, rally and obedience.
> ...


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## Maxepie (Jan 25, 2014)

Hello,
There's never enough time, is there? My sweet Max just passed away yesterday. He did not make it to 12 which was in just 10 more days. My heart is so broken.


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## AmberSunrise (Apr 1, 2009)

I am so very sorry for your loss - Sleep softly Max


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## Megora (Jun 7, 2010)

ETA - I just saw the first posts - only just now saw this last page. I'm so sorry for your loss.  




1) How old is _(or was)_ your Golden senior? 

Oldest was 13 (few months shy of 14)


2) What you are feeding him/her?

Nutro Natural Choice - Adult

3) How often you walk him/her? For how long?

3 mile walks until the last 2 years or so. Just walks when he felt good or outside time after that. 


4) Do you do full annual senior vet exams with blood panels, etc?

For the most part, yes. All our dogs go to the vet every year to be checked out. After they get into the senior years, there a little extra blood checks, urine checks, various tumor checks, etc. If intact, prostrate checks. 

5) Biggest suggestion if have set feeding schedules - so you know when your dog is "off" his food. Do the monthly weight checks -just to make sure there isn't any sudden weight gains or weight loss. Support your dog's old bones with joint supplements and have pain medications on hand for those bad days. Keep them groomed and make sure every week you are going over every inch to see when any new lumps or bumps show up. Keep the ears and teeth clean....

And just love them more every day. Don't waste your time - make the most of it by getting them out and just enjoying their golden years with them.


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## Lucky Penny (Nov 13, 2011)

*Hudson*

1) How old is (or was) your Golden senior? *14*

2) What you are feeding him/her? *Dog Chow*

3) How often you walk him/her? For how long? *Daily, 30 minutes*

4) Do you do full annual senior vet exams with blood panels, etc? *Annual vet appointments only*

*Penny*

I am hoping to get an idea of the following:

1) How old is (or was) your Golden senior? *9 1/2 (died from cancer (diagnosed at 6)*

2) What you are feeding him/her? *8 weeks-3 Dog Chow, 3-9 Wellness CORE. Supplements as well. [B*[/B]

3) How often you walk him/her? For how long? *Every day, at least 30 minutes*

4) Do you do full annual senior vet exams with blood panels, etc? *Anuual vet exams, blood panels, and even holistic vet exams*

5) Any other suggestions or tips or comments? *Was active in dog training her whole life.*

Every golden is different. As you can see, Hudson wasn't fed the best food and was got from a BYB but lived until he was 14. Penny came from a good breeder and most of her life had more vet care and better food then Hudson and died at 9 from cancer. Both were great dogs.


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## Millie'sMom (Sep 7, 2012)

So sorry to hear about Max.


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## Sweet Girl (Jun 10, 2010)

Maxepie said:


> Hello,
> There's never enough time, is there? My sweet Max just passed away yesterday. He did not make it to 12 which was in just 10 more days. My heart is so broken.


I'm so sorry. What happened?


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## Gwen_Dandridge (Jul 14, 2012)

1) How old is (or was) your Golden senior? Amber was fully 15. Sad day around here. Both of us were sobbing.

2) What you are feeding him/her? Amber was also on Pro Plan. Maddie (at 21 months) gets Acana Wild Prairie.

3) How often you walk him/her? For how long? We both worked. She went to work with my husband for most of her life. He took her out twice a day to chase balls or walk. We regularly hiked on weekends or took her to the beach.

4) Do you do full annual senior vet exams with blood panels, etc? Nope. She had knee surgery around six or so and then had a stroke when she was 14, but did recover from it.

5) Any other suggestions or tips or comments? No.


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## Max's Dad (Apr 23, 2012)

So sorry to hear that your Max has passed away.


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## Swampcollie (Sep 6, 2007)

Here are a few of my past departed dogs going back to the late seventies. I did not include trips to the vet for cuts, scrapes and injuries from working or training, nor breeding and whelping related visits as most pet owners don't face those types of conditions.


*Maxwell*

1) How old is _(or was)_ your Golden senior? *15 Years*

2) What you are feeding him/her? *Iams Chunks (Green Bag)*

3) How often you walk him/her? For how long? *None. Received exercise doing field work.*
4) Do you do full annual senior vet exams with blood panels, etc? *Once a year trip to the Vet for recommended vaccinations.*

5) Spayed/Neutered? *Intact*





*Maxine*

1) How old is _(or was)_ your Golden senior? *10 Years*

2) What you are feeding him/her? *Eukanuba Performance*

3) How often you walk him/her? For how long? *None. Received exercise doing field work.*
4) Do you do full annual senior vet exams with blood panels, etc? *Once a year trip to the Vet for recommended vaccinations.*

5) Spayed/Neutered *Spayed*




*Mindy*

1) How old is _(or was)_ your Golden senior? *10 Years*

2) What you are feeding him/her? *Eukanuba Performance*

3) How often you walk him/her? For how long? *None. Received exercise doing field work.*
4) Do you do full annual senior vet exams with blood panels, etc? *Once a year trip to the Vet for recommended vaccinations.*

5) Spayed/Neutered? *Spayed*




*Maxi*

1) How old is _(or was)_ your Golden senior? *14 Years*

2) What you are feeding him/her? *Eukanuba Performance*

3) How often you walk him/her? For how long? *None. Received exercise doing field work.*
4) Do you do full annual senior vet exams with blood panels, etc? *Once a year trip to the Vet for recommended vaccinations.*

5) Spayed/Neutered? *Intact*


​


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## MyMaggieGirl (Nov 12, 2008)

Interesting survey, thanks for initiating. 

1) How old is _(or was)_ your Golden senior? *Currently 9 y.o., my last one lived to 14 +* 

2) What you are feeding him/her? *Nature's Recipe Lamb and Rice (kibble) with a bit of grain free salmon and sweet potato kibble mixed in*

3) How often you walk him/her? For how long? *Daily walks depending on weather 1/2 mile or more, sometimes not at all*

4) Do you do full annual senior vet exams with blood panels, etc? *Annual Total Health Plus w/Free T4 blood work and she's at the vet at least twice yearly*

5) Any other suggestions or tips or comments? *My first Golden/collie mix died at age 6 from liver cancer, fed her cheap kibble and gave all sorts of allergy meds, didn't know better (back in the 90's). Bridge girl Maggie ate lamb and rice kibble for 13 years and was very healthy, no allergies. Arthritis and bad hips caught up with her in her old age. Supplements and arthritis meds kept her very active for probably five years. Always had yearly immunizations. Currently Flirty, had PU lost both eyes in 2013 due to secondary glaucoma. We do titers now except for Rabies of course. Blood annually now for two years.*


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## Goldenssobeautiful (May 22, 2013)

We were blessed with Montana until 14. He never had a sick visit...just annual physicals. Fed kibble all his life, different kinds as I got smarter. 

Sent from Petguide.com Free App


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## momofjasper (Jan 1, 2014)

The following info is about my last golden Rufus. He passed last year.

1) How old is _(or was)_ your Golden senior? 14 years, 2 months

2) What you are feeding him/her? Purina One smart blend (at least that was the last food we fed him. He's had a bunch of different foods over the years and I can't remember all of them)

3) How often you walk him/her? For how long? Daily walks around the neighborhood. Time varied. The walks were shorter in his last years but he still really looked forward to them, until almost the day he died.

4) Do you do full annual senior vet exams with blood panels, etc? He had a yearly physical, and we did what the vet recommended which I don't think included bloodwork unless there was something we were concerned about. Rufus was a very healthy dog his entire life.

5) Any other suggestions or tips or comments? Rufus loved his walks, but for his last 2 years he would limp after a long one. Our vet recommended we try Hylox and it worked miracles. If your older dog is limping after walks, I highly recommend it.

Neutered at 6 months.


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## momofjasper (Jan 1, 2014)

Maxepie said:


> Hello,
> There's never enough time, is there? My sweet Max just passed away yesterday. He did not make it to 12 which was in just 10 more days. My heart is so broken.


 I just read this, I am so sorry for your loss.


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## REDPIN04 (Nov 11, 2008)

*1) How old is (or was) your Golden senior? 13 years 6+months 

2) What you are feeding him/her? Beneful and occasional soft food can't remember what brand

3) How often you walk him/her? For how long? used to be daily, this winter been too cold or snowing and she can't catch herself as well. I worry about her hurting herself. However when we can walk around 1.5 miles and 45 minutes(used to be a lot less time for that walk or a much longer walk as many as 7 miles)

4) Do you do full annual senior vet exams with blood panels, etc? I don't do blood panels since she's on metacam the last 1.5 years. If something hits her now it's not like I can change it. At her age we've had a great life together and trying to lengthen it artificially would do us both a disservice. Without her daily treatment she'd quickly fade to a point where she could no longer be an active part of the family. 6+months of drugged movement and better quality of life means more to me than 2 years of her living in quiet agony.

5) Any other suggestions or tips or comments? Enjoy every moment you can with these beautiful animals/family members. While you can get another dog you'll never have the same personality twice. There's always a special place and make sure their lives from start to finish are the highest quality. That way when they do leave us you'll never wonder if you spent enough time with them.
*


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