I think that they need to make some accommodations at home. They can't see as well, so don't change the furniture a lot. Try to make the areas bright, so turn the lights on. Make sure that there aren't slippery surfaces. Large breed dogs have a hard time on hardwood floors. They need more mats down where they walk. Sometimes we might need to make accommodations such as building a ramp so that they don't have steps to go up and down. And as far as hearing, we need to know that they can't hear as well. Maybe they don't hear you calling them. Maybe they didn't know that there was someone at the door and they get startled by a stranger there. So we need to think ahead and think for them so that they don't get stressed out as much.

When it comes to basic comfort, I think things like giving them a nice, cozy bed go a long way. They even have Tempur-Pedic mattresses for dog beds. Minimize the amount of steps or climbing that they would have to do to get in and out of beds or furniture or the house. Just be mindful of that because that is going to be a little bit more difficult for them to do. Also, when it comes to loading for those that take their animals on trips often or like to take them for rides on a daily basis, consider getting a ramp so that they can load a lot easier. Those are the kinds of things that you will start to see them slow down in as they do age.

This is obviously a pretty broad question. So I would tell you it's impossible to list every single thing that you can look out for. What I will simply say, to answer this question, is you're looking for anything abnormal, such as your dog being slow to get up, having pain going up and down stairs; anything that shows that an animal is affected adversely, whereas they weren't previously, I would have looked at by your veterinarian and addressed.

I think the most common health issue in all of our older pets is they cannot see as well as they age. They can not hear as well as they age. They can't get around quite as much. Some of them develop arthritis. Some of them get overweight. And certainly a lot of dogs - especially smaller dogs - are going to need dental care as they age.

Right now? What I hear so much about is grain-free diets. That's the biggest one because they think their dogs have allergies and they're going to put them on grain-free and everybody's going to live happily ever after. And let me just say that if your dog is allergic to grain, then yeah, you might live happily ever after. But that's the only reason. If they're not allergic to that, why do it?

If I'm allergic to strawberries, I'm not going to quit eating steak or anything like that. It just doesn't make sense. Not to mention one of the things I will say about grain-free diets and a lot of the public is still not aware of, and I won't go into great detail, but there has been plenty of studies that show that there is a correlation between dogs who eat grain-free diets that developed premature cardiovascular disease or heart disease if you will. You will find a plethora of information out there about the potential dangers of a grain-free diet. Unless a dog has been proven to be allergic to grains, I don't recommend grain-free diets. And that's one of the big misconceptions that I hear on a weekly basis.

No more than it'll make us overweight. Everything in moderation. I'm not a big fan of feeding table food, people food, human food, or whatever you want to call it. It's not balanced very well for dogs. Does that mean it can't be done? Of course not. If you are feeding a balanced diet that contains what they need, it is fine. But the question about being overweight or not because of that food, no, it's everything in moderation. If you feed a lot of it, yes they could very well be overweight.

Human food has a tendency to make your dog overweight. They're already getting their normal diet. We probably aren't taking into account the calories that the extra human food adds, let alone that our food is sometimes really fatty and can cause things like pancreatitis.

I'm going to answer that and say, "Only if your dog needs a prescription diet." Most of these prescription foods, and I underline the word most, not all, are formulated for dogs that have medical issues that require dietary changes to help treat medical issues such as kidney disease, liver disease, heart disease, and diabetes. So for those cases, yes, prescription diets are superior. But if you have a young, healthy dog that has no underlying medical issues, the only thing that I would say is that a prescription diet might benefit the teeth.

This is my favorite point. So grain-free diets right now have been going around as the big fad—that's really important in people's opinions. And maybe at one point, it was for certain things, but I think it's getting overused. Unless your dog has been diagnosed with a food allergy by a dermatologist or they're having skin issues or they’ve seen an internist for GI upsets, we should not be giving dogs these grain-free diets. It's actually correlated to a horrible heart condition called DCM, and that's oftentimes fatal. So let's prevent that by not starting a grain-free diet unless it's been prescribed.

Prescription diets may be better for your dog if your dog has certain conditions that require that prescription. So as a whole, happy, healthy dogs don't necessarily need prescription diets, but it’s not going to hurt your dog. But unless certain things come up, whether they have osteoarthritis and we want to make sure that they get lubrication of their joints, you probably want to avoid a prescription diet due to cost.