Do they need supplements?

[E.K.]

I have two male toy poodles, one dog is aged 12 and the other dog will be 11 in September.  They are still quite fit, eg. love their walks and enjoy their food.   

I was thinking that it is probably time to start supplementing their diets with something to help prevent arthritis and blindness as they get older.  Neither of them have any movement difficulties but I have noticed that their eyes are a bit cloudy looking.

What do people recommend I do?

[zefi]

Gosh I have no idea... You might want to try greenpet.com.au - they're located in QLD and I've tried some of their supplements. I use their GreenPet supplement for my guys and they like it. The business is owned by a homeopath who consults as well. I have their homeopathic first aid kit.

[E.K.]

I live in Sydney though and wanted to buy some supplements / vitamins to put in their food.  I guess I'll just go to the nearest vet and see what they recommend.

[Michael]

Whether to supplement or not, unless it's a clear issue, can be very subjective....and even controversial in some places. I mean some might say absolutely and others might say absolutely not....so finding a concensus may not be easy. If you trust your vet, talk to them....and if you know any other people you trust about dogs and health and nutrition, talk to them as well. The homeopathic stuff Zefi mentioned is worth at least looking into.

Just for some basic thoughts though...if they are getting older and you want to add more for arthritis and other possible issues, things like glucosamine and chondroitin are worth considering. They are usually used for joint issues, and are available as a dog supplement. Due to a leg/hip injury as a pup, Amber's breeder wanted her on G/C for life. So, she got a daily supplement...even though she wasn't old yet. When we ran out of the "treats" Anne had bought in bulk, she told me just to go buy a decent human bottle of the stuff and give her about 1/3 the human dosage (Amber was a mini, so you may give more for an SP or less for a TP). I looked around for ones that seemed to work out nicely as a 3 pill per day for humans dosage, so one per day for Amber was easy to remember. Some foods that are aimed at senior dogs may have some levels of G/C in them, but you'll have to look at what you're feeding now and what you want to add to their diets. Hopefully you can find something that works out well for them, and is easy for you to add as well.

In regards to the cloudy eyes, I can mention what I learned about 10 years ago. When I took Jamie into the eye doctor (yes, doggy opthamologist), he told me that he noticed the signs of her eyes starting to show age. She was about 8 or 9 then, and her eyes were showing the "cloudy" that you're probably talking about. Shelby, who just turned 11, has started showing a bit of this in the past year as well. Anyway, the doggy eye doctor told me that it's just part of the aging process....that it was nothing to worry about. He was just informing me so that I knew it was fine and nothing to be concerned about. So, hopefully it's the same thing in your situation, but if you do have more concerns....now or down the line, check with your vet, or seek out a dog eye doctor for further examination. But for now, I think at the ages you mention, it's probably just part of their age and nothing bad or ominous.

[zefi]

I order stuff online from greenpet so its no trouble. But Michael is right, some arthritis stuff might be good too.

[Fluffy]

I use glucosamine/chondroitin for my oldies (human form) and omega oil capsules.  I definitely found a benefit from the glucosamine.

[zefi]

How old would you say is 'old' for a toy poodle? Billy is 9 but he doesnt act old at all. I mean despite his odd appearance (the hairless variety of toy poodle) he's the same dog he's been for years. He's a heat seeking missile, a cuddle bug, always lying in front of the fire or curled up on the couch or a lap. However when the sps are outside he livens up and starts doing zoomies round the house. And if he hears keys he's first to the door. I always thought he was a SLOW walker as most of the time I have to stop and wait for him every so often (walking offlead on dirt tracks) but the other day he was right beside me, head and tail up, prancing along the whole way. Shows me he CAN keep up... He choses to smell the sights along the way!

[E.K.]

Nicky is 11 in September and would go for "walkies" all day if we let him.  He loves his food and plays with toys. He listens and obeys commands, but will never sit on our lap and hates being held for long. He has quite a bit of grey / white hair on the bottom half on his face making him look older than Starr.
 
Starr who just turned 12 loves his walks too but gets tired towards the end, he likes to lie around a lot during the day, is prone to anxiety attacks when in strange places and is disinterested in toys.  He also doesn't listen to any commands but loves to be held and will sit on our lap.  Has hardly any grey hair except for some on his ears so looks younger than Nicky.

I'll probably get them something for arthritis because I'd hate for them to want to stop going for "walkies".

Good to hear the cloudiness is just an ageing thing and not blindness.

[Michael]

Zefi - 9 isn't old at all....not for a toy or mini. Jamie was still acting pretty spunky at 13 for the most part. She'd sleep more and that, but much of the time was as lively a girl as ever. A friend stopped by one day and I asked him how old he thought she was and he said "probably about 6"........that was when she was over 13! I've seen 16 year old minis acting pretty darn lively too....but I think it depends a lot on the individual dog, their home life, their housemates (particularly other dogs), health and probably lots of other things...genetics some too, of course! So, it's hard to say.

Billy just looks older due to his skin/hair condition, so it's somewhat decieving. Your comment that he likes to stop and smell the roses and everything along the way sounds spot on for what I saw in him when I was there....a very curious "hey, I gotta check everything out....it's MY world, afterall!" type of guy!! He probably just plays it more mild when the bigger kids are around and then livens up more when he can be more focused on and appreciated directly. Am glad he's still keeping up with you and everything! If all goes well, he'll hopefully have a number of good, lively years left! 9 is still young! Maybe not puppy young, but a more seasoned type of young.

E.K. - Arthritis supplements are probably a good idea....especially as they get on in age, so worth looking into. And yes, hopefully the cloudiness is just normal aging. I'd keep an eye on their conditions in the years to come....note anything that might cause concern more closely and deal with it as you need to. But hopefully all is fine and they're just showing age a bit, but still young at heart and loving the lives they are living with you!

[E.K.]

I hope so.  We've only had the poodles living with us since last September and we just love them.  We kind of inherited them. They were in danger of being put down last year but I wanted to save them from death and am so glad we did.