Lack of knowledge can lead to fear.I suppose it was a good thing that I had no preconceptions when I adopted Boo Boo almost five years ago now. I chose to forgo putting any weight on his gray muzzle and instead looked deeper into the kindness of his soul and his need for a new start to make my decision to bring him home.
The first place that I went for information was to my vet, who were always available to talk about the options that I had before me at each important step in his life.
When he passed, I looked to make sure that I had done the right thing. One book that I've already reviewed was Good Old Dog by Nicholas Dodman, DVM. It's a great book that is incredibly easy to read. It provides the lay person with some great information on caring for senior dogs.
The other book that I leaned on is Senior Dogs For Dummies
. The author, Susan McCullough, does a great job covering a variety of topics, but whereas Good Old Dog provides a great ongoing narrative, Senior Dogs for Dummies is structured better.In my experience, senior dogs are not going to see all of the symptoms of every possible ailment at any given time. Senior Dogs for Dummies breaks it down in a much more digestable way than Dodman's book. If I could only chose one of these to read, I'd still choose both. Dodman's book tracked almost word for word with the recommendations that I got from my vet. McCullough's book on the other hand allowed me to get to important information on prolonging the life of my current senior, Rusty, in the book's Part of Tens chapter. Each topic is covered with ten tips delivered in quick, easily accessible fashion. It's one of my favorite parts of The Dummies Series.
Chapters on preventative maintenance, common ailments, mobility, incontinence, dealing with loss of sight and hearing, and learning to let go are all done well in a very friendly tone. Pick up this one first, and then check out the Dodman book if you're interested in more of the detail. Both are solid reads.
