Cats are technically considered a senior around 11 years old. We tend to do a little bit more care and follow up after the age of seven, though, because a lot of times we can detect early changes as they age, and we want to trend things. So, even though 11 is considered senior, we should be doing at least annual but hopefully biannual as they age over seven years of age.

A lot depends on what your senior dog is exhibiting. If they're fairly healthy and they're running around, still playing, great. But some dogs tend to slow down because of that arthritis, which is a common illness in senior pets, and you've probably heard me mention it many times during the questions. But they used to jump off that couch; now you’ve got to get some steps to help them step up. Maybe your food bowl was on the floor. Let's get a raised platform so they don't have to bend down to eat it. If they're having some vision problems, just be careful if you have a pool or anything else so they don't fall in. Try not to move things around the house too much. Sometimes if they do have arthritis and they're slipping, you should put runners on laminate or tile floor so they don't slip as much.

A lot of times you'll need to add some glucosamine, chondroitin sulfate, MSM—these are all good for the joints. Sometimes fish oils are needed, as they are used for the joints and brain health. And calorie restriction should be considered because, as seniors, we don't need as many calories as a growing puppy. We've reached our full potential.

I am a big proponent of exercise, so yes, I would encourage you to exercise them. How many of us love it when our dogs, we have to spell W-A-L-K, but then they turn their head real quick, and all of a sudden, you think, "Can my dog spell or read?" I don't know, but they love that walk that they get. And so I always tell people, you’ve got to let a dog be a dog. That's probably the highlight of their day other than seeing you. Even if you're gone for five minutes and you come back, they go crazy seeing you again. So I would say continue to exercise. It's good for cognitive abilities and is good for physical activity.

As we all know, dogs can vary from tiny little toy breeds to the giant Great Danes and Saint Bernard breeds. So really, the larger breeds tend to have a shorter life span in general. A giant breed dog may have a life span of eight to 10 years, so five years old is considered more senior. Whereas a smaller dog who has a lifespan of 14 to 16, it might be around the seven to the nine-year range that they become a senior. So it depends on what size and type of breed of dog you have.