Preparing for Retirement - Pet Partners · 2019-10-02 · Preparing for Retirement ... Firocoxib...

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Preparing for Retirement

Signs to Look for in Senior Therapy Animals

• Founded Gentle Goodbye Veterinary Hospice in 2011 in Stamford, CT

• Mobile practice focused on end of life care

• Certified Veterinarian, Animal Hospice and Palliative Care by the IAAHPC* in 2017

Mary Craig, DVM, MBA, CHPV

About Me

* International Association of Animal Hospice and Palliative Care

• Understand Quality of Life indicators so you can read and respond to what he/she is telling you

• Learn to Recognize and Treat Chronic Pain and Discomfort in older animals

• Ideas to keep a retiree engaged and joyful

How to "listen" to our therapy animals as they start to wind down their careers.

Objectives Of This Session

My First and My Latest

2002-2019

In Memory of Pixel

God invented cats so

that man could pet a

tiger. ~ Ferdinand Mery,

French Author

• Factors that affect the “real age” of animals

• Biology of species

• Size/breed (esp dogs)

• Overall health

• Weight

• Dog Years: 1 year ≠ 7 years

How old is old?

Age in human years

Age of dog Small breed Medium breed Large breed

1 15 15 152 24 24 243 28 28 284 32 32 325 36 36 366 40 42 457 44 47 508 48 51 559 52 56 61

10 56 60 6611 60 65 7212 64 69 7713 68 74 8214 72 78 8815 76 83 93

Cats sort of fit in the “small breed” category

Translating Dog Years into Human Years

Senior Pets

“Slowing down” usually has a medical cause!

• Arthritis

• Especially old injuries

• Hip, knee, shoulder, spine

• Reduced hearing

• Reduced vision

• Cloudy or "bluish" eyes - normal effect of aging, lenticular sclerosis

• Weight gain – worsens arthritis

• Muscle atrophy – worsens arthritis

• Dementia is common in dogs!

Age is not a disease!

Things To Expect As An Animal Ages

1. Thoughts of health insurance don’t keep them up at night

2. Animals don’t worry about running out of kibble in their old age

3. No one panics about your therapy animal hanging around the house all day

4. Therapy animals LOVE their job!

Four ways it’s different from HUMAN retirement:

Retirement For Therapy Animals

• What takes the fun out of visits for your therapy animal?

• Pain or discomfort

• Fear or anxiety

• Dementia

• Increase feeling of vulnerability!

You Are Your Animal’s Best Advocate

YAYABA

• Mobility

• Interaction/Attitude

• Sleeping/resting

• Nutrition

• Breathing

• Elimination

• Favorite Things

• Visit: Not engaging in usual way, tiring easily, other body language*

Indicators for changing *something*

Quality of Life Indicators

• Changing type of visits

• Frequency of visits

• Look for medical causes, treat appropriately

Needed reaction to an indicator

Quality of Life Indicators

• Acute vs Chronic

• AKA Adaptive vs Maladaptive pain

• Adaptive

• Protects the body from injury, promotes healing by inhibiting activity

• Crushed foot, muscle strain, ACL tear

• Maladaptive pain

• Unhelpful pain

• Tends to be out of all proportion to actual tissue damage

• Persists long after the tissues have healed

• The pain becomes the problem, rather than the tissues from which the pain comes

Pain Comes in (at least) Two Flavors

The pain becomes the problem

Chronic or Maladaptive Pain

Steven M Fox, DVM, PhD

• Lameness or stiff gait

• Abnormal posture

• Inability to settle, rest

• Difficulty sleeping

• Avoiding stairs/jumping

• Muscle atrophy

• Body tensing

• Difficulty getting up or lying down

• Reclusive behavior

• Poor grooming habits

• Licking a joint or sore spot

• Decreased appetite

• Depression or lethargy

• Pacing

• Tucked tail

• Shaking, trembling

He/She will tell you, If you are listening

Chronic Pain is Subtle

• “He’s not in pain”

• What non-painful disease process that wouldkeep a human from going up the stairs?

• Long nails, stiff joints, poor eyesight, poor hearing= less movement

• Ramps

• Yoga mats

• Traction supports

Think about it from a human perspective

Mobility

• Dogs

• Dasequin – nutraceutical, helps support cartilage matrix production and protect against cartilage breakdown

• Adequan(polysulfated glycosaminoglycan), FDA-approved injectable, disease-modifying osteoarthritis drug (DMOAD) that inhibits cartilage loss in the dog’s joint,

• NSAIDs – Carprofen (Novox or Rimadyl), Deracoxib (Deramaxx), Firocoxib (Previcox), Meloxicam (Metacam) Galiprant (grapiprant)

• Gabapentin – nerve pain, often a component of arthritis

• Others

• Other species

• Talk to your veterinarian

Often a multimodal approach is required

Early Treatment for Arthritis

• Sleep-wake cycle disturbances

• Generalized anxiety

• Lower threshold for aggression

• Decreased activity levels

• Inappropriate vocalization (howling, barking or whining)

• Repetitive behaviors (pacing)

• Elimination disorders

• Staring at walls

• Fewer social interactions

• Disorientation (getting “lost” in the house)

Getting “stuck” in corners

Dementia

1. Recognize Symptoms Early - be on the lookout for mild versions of the symptoms listed above.

2. Pay Attention to Changes in Hearing and Vision

3. Stick to a Strict Schedule

4. Manage Anxiety - know what works best for their individual dog, such as soothing music, aromatherapy or a long walk.

• Crate training can help

• Medication

5. Talk to Your Vet About Dementia-Specific Drugs

6. Look Into a Veterinary Behaviorist

Dementia

• Regular checkups & communication with your vet

• Comfortable clean bed - "orthopedic"

• Fresh water daily

• Healthy, age-appropriate diet

• Don't expect too much from your senior

• Ease distractions

• Easily startled, may become fearful

• Arthritis can make the dog fearful of getting hurt

Comfort Care

• Growing Field

• Hospice and Palliative Care Certification for:

• Veterinarians

• Veterinary Technicians

• Certificate program for Hospice and Palliative Care for Social Workers

• Focus is on addressing the needs of animals and caregivers

• Physical

• Physiological

• Emotional

Comfort Care

The Field of Palliative Care

www.iaahpc.org

• The usual triggers

• Look for ways to feed the need

• Engage!

• What Have You Found to be Successful?

It will be an adjustment for both of you

What Might Retirement Look like?

Questions?

Thank You!

DrMaryC@GentleGoodbye.org

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

Chronic

Steady

Sudden

Likely courses of illness

Preparing for Retirement - Pet Partners · 2019-10-02 · Preparing for Retirement ... Firocoxib...

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