# At what age....



## Amaruq (Aug 29, 2001)

does a Shepherd become a senior?

I know some people say 7 or older and I am thinking at 7 ALL of my Shepherds were still VERY active. 

I have heard at 9 years perhaps a Shepherd would be considered a "senior". Well unless there are MAJOR changes in the next 2 days (3 days since the pics below) I have a hard time thinking of Tika or even her sister Kai as "seniors". 

Tika has some shades of gray on her muzzle and even her wittle eyebows are turning:



















But most Seniors do not take this kind of abuse and never miss a step!










She can give it back too! As is normal with Tika it is all good natured! (sorry it is blurry but apparently Nucky is the psudeo sheep in the house). 










Kai is a few hours younger than Tika but definitely doesnt look nor act her age either!



















Lakota is 12 and would be considered a senior- but she doesn't act like it. 

Chimo will soon be 11. He is still very active, silly and goofy. HIs health issues are minor compared to most in this area. His most serious one earlier this year was the knee which seems 97%. He even went herding this summer and had a BLAST. I do constantly nag him to be careful when he goes out in the winter. Try to convice him to go out with the "quieter" parts of the Paq....... 

So when is a GSD actually a senior?







Sometimes I do not think they "belong" here but most people would just based on their ages.


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## LisaT (Feb 7, 2005)

I've been thinking about this a bit, GSD and non-GSD alike!

Our Max is 7 1/2, and I don't consider him a senior at all.

Indy, my 33 lb mix, I"m starting to think of a senior at 11 1/2. I really didn't think she was a senior, but the way she is changing, are changes related to age.

So I'm wondering if that cut-off shouldn't be one of age, but one of changes. At what age is the digestive acting differently? Chronic conditions getting worse? Blood values starting to minutely change? Sigh, the heart getting old.


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## LJsMom (Jan 6, 2008)

I didn't consider Lady Jane a senior until she turned 12 - then she really started to slow down. She can still whoop Steel's butt and mount him when she feels the need!


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## LisaT (Feb 7, 2005)

After thought on GSDs alone.

I've never had a _senior_ GSD, but I don't think there comes a point and *all parts* of them act old. I think it's a little bit by little bit.

And I think when we think senior, we often think very elderly, or what I think of as geriatric. I'm not sure that's a distinct Webster definition, but I tend to separate the two in my mind. In humans, there is a big difference between a 65 year old senior citizen, and an 83 year old.

Btw, great pics Ruq -- they certainly don't look "aged". I'm looking forward to the responses of the other folks here.


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## SunCzarina (Nov 24, 2000)

My vet says he considers them seniors at 8. I've noticed Morgan slowing down a bit in the last year - but she was a total why use the stairs when you can jump wackadoo. She still wups Otto when ever he needs one.


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## 3K9Mom (Jun 12, 2006)

I think Jenn used the right phrase "slowing down." When they start to slow down, they're entering seniorhood. And we may not notice it. We probably don't for a while unless we have a date on the calendar (the 7th birthday) or we are REALLY aware. I like the date on the calendar. It's hard to be that aware when we see our dogs day in and day out. 

If we look at that age as a sort of "pivot" and start to think "what ELSE should I be doing?" then I think we can forestall the signs and symptoms of a more geriatric dog. More antioxidants; increased dosage of joint supplements. A more supportive bed. A warm coat for joints. Stop them from jumping out of the car onto hard surfaces if they've been doing that all their lives (despite your best efforts!), or even jumping off off your high platform bed. If it's been a while since they've done formal training, start that again (read this month's WDJ) -- even a repeat of obedience classes! Start training a whole new skill. Yes! Old dogs CAN learn new tricks! And it's good for their brains. If they don't know hand signals, teach them, in case they start losing their hearing later on. This is very common: plan now. And it's a good new skill to keep brains flexible 

For single dogs, would a new sibling be helpful now to keep them active (before s/he gets too old to be very welcoming)? 

I think that WE get used to doing things a certain way and as our dogs slip into their senior years, first we don't notice the subtle signs, and second, we think we're doing a pretty good job, so we don't stop and re-evaluate every bit of their lives. 

This is a great opportunity for a bumper-to-bumper tune-up. And speaking of which, schedule a physical examination. Full blood work, urinalysis, blood pressure check. And move from an annual exam schedule to every 6 months. Senior problems develop faster so a biannual exam schedule (with blood work) is really useful, so we get to any problems early and deal with them quicker. 

So for me, the 7th birthday is just a number, but even for my small dogs, I take it as a useful reminder that I need to be more on top of things. 

As for Zamboni, she still doesn't think of herself as old.







Maybe at 20, she will, but at 15? Nah...she's bounding around, taking classes, doing her agility, travelling, and keeping order in her pack. She has YEARS to go before she is a senior!


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