# Senior dogs



## halfpin21 (Nov 22, 2005)

I was just curious at what age are dogs (especially Maltese...since they tend to live longer) considered Senior?


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## RexsMom (Jun 8, 2005)

Hmmmm? Good question!


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## Maidto2Maltese (Oct 19, 2004)

I personally think thay START the "senior years" at about 10 for little toy breeds. ( Sort of like a human who is 65...considered a senior but not "Old" . ) 
It's a time when they start be a bit "slower" ..maybe a few "achy" joints... but nothing really noticeable. of course like people this isn't the case will each. 
Bigger dogs I'd consider about 7-8 as starting the senior years. My Puffy, a 50 pounder,.... was told when she was 7 that she was in the senior category.


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## Cosy (Feb 9, 2006)

This is a very good question and I believe it varies greatly depending on many influences
such as breeding, environment, climate, nutrition, injuries and personality type.
My daughter's maltese is almost 10 yrs old and acts like a puppy ALL the time. She's
amazing. She's lost two teeth over the yrs and that is the extent of her noticably aging.
She's maintained her weight of five pounds since adulthood too.


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## MalteseJane (Nov 21, 2004)

I thought it was the same for all dogs, about 7 or 8 years old. Alex turned 9 end of May and still acts like a puppy. He has all his teeth and has maintained his weight since adulthood.


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## Cosy (Feb 9, 2006)

Jane, I love your little garden tag/pic.


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## kwaugh (May 8, 2006)

Not sure when they are considered senior, but have read that the average life span can be around 14 years?? I know with our berner, the life span for the breed is said to be 7 years (not long at all) so given that fact, he'll be considered a senior in 2 years. BUT, with his bloodline I expect him to live past 10 years (keeping my fingers crossed). 

But when I look at maltese rescues I've noticed anything 10 years and older are usually listed as seniors. 5-7ish as adults. Haven't seen any that are 8 or 9 yet. 

Karyn

Okay, I found this site that had a chart that compares the age of the dog to human age. Not sure on how accurate this chart is. I'm sure there is a degree of error in it's calculation, but seems to give a general understanding of dog's age in comparison to human age. It still doesn't answer the question of when a maltese is considered a senior, but it's interesting. haha for that matter, I don't even know when I would consider a human as a senior. Is it 60 something??

http://cdhs.net/dog_age.htm

Karyn


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## MalteseJane (Nov 21, 2004)

Well I don't know. I have always heard to multiply the age of the dog by seven.


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## Furbaby's Mommie (Jul 10, 2004)

> Well I don't know. I have always heard to multiply the age of the dog by seven.[/B]


 

It varies with the size of dog. Frosty is 14 + 4 mo. He started showing personality changes at about 12 1/2 yr. He suddenly stopped sleeping on the bed for instance, just little things for a while before physical changes started being noticed.


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## MalteseJane (Nov 21, 2004)

Lol Dee, Alex has stopped sleeping in our bed a long time ago. He prefers his quarters. The only time he will come to us is when there is a thunderstorm. Then he needs daddy.


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## dr.jaimie (Mar 23, 2004)

here is a good chart


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## 3Maltmom (May 23, 2005)

Jaimie ~ That made it easy. And Daisy is sure happy about it. I've been telling the other kids she was pushing 90!! Turns out she's only 68-years-young









This brings to mind another question. I was reading Brit's reply, with regards to her daughter's 5-pound, 10-year-old dog. If smaller "breeds" live longer, then within the "breed" would the one with standard size and weight live longer than one which is, not overweight, but just on the way bigger side for the breed?

Am I making sense? For instance, Brit's grandpuppy is well within standard. So let's say, with all things being equal, would she have a better chance of seeing her 18th birthday than the larger one.

I'm not sure if I understand what I just wrote. Sorry, I'm getting tired


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