In this episode of “Speaking of Pets,” hosts Alice and Janet welcome Dr. Mary Gardner, a veterinarian and founder of Lap of Love, to discuss the joys and challenges of caring for senior pets. With her extensive experience, Dr. Gardner shares insightful tips on enhancing the mobility and comfort of older dogs and cats, including addressing incontinence and cognitive issues. The conversation touches on the emotional aspects of pet ownership and the importance of understanding the signs of discomfort in aging animals. Tune in for practical advice, heartwarming stories, and a reminder of the value of giving senior pets the love and care they deserve.
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Listen to the Podcast here
Expert Tips About Compassionate Care For Aging Pets
I’m Dr. Alice Novotny Jeromin, a board-certified veterinary dermatologist.
I’m Janet Novotny King. I’m the doctor’s sister. I am in no way medically trained, but I’m here to help you, pet owners, love your pets a little more and know a lot more. We love to have our guests who provide science-based information so you can be a smarter pet lover like we are and a rescuer. Who do we have on?
First of all, I have to tell you, Janet. You know, since I’ve retired, I listen to and watch a lot of shows and webinars. As I told you before the show, very few strike me as, “That was a fun webinar.” Guess what? Dr. Mary Gardner fits that category. That is the ultimate compliment because I am the Queen of listening to webinars. Dr. Mary Gardner is a University of Florida College of Veterinary Medicine graduate.
She’s a Gator.
She’s also a Founder of Lap of Love, and like me, she is an old dog and old cat lover. She is very passionate about their health, keeping them mobile and safe. We’re meeting for the first time, and I already feel that we have a big bond between us as lovers of older pets. We’re going to talk to her about mobility issues and what we can do to make our older pets, like older people like me, more mobile and more comfortable.
I do want to add that Dr. Gardner has published Nine Lives Are Not Enough, which is a book on cats, It’s Never Long Enough, which is a book on dogs, and the Treatment and Care of the Geriatric Veterinary Patient. We will all have those in the show text, as well as some pictures that she’s provided for us of how to make certain issues with your pets more comfortable. After that long spiel, welcome, Dr. Mary Gardner.
I didn’t even need to say anything. That was perfect.
How To Know If Pets Are Entering Their Senior Years
You had your pets for so long. They’re part of the family. How do you know as a pet owner when they’re starting that geezerdom?
I like to think they’re also like a jalopy. Janet, I want to be certain because people ask me very particular questions. I want to make sure I’m answering the right one. Are you asking me when I know that they’re geriatric and slowing down and they need help, or are you asking me when I know it’s time to say goodbye?
When do you know they’re starting to turn that senior corner like they’re going to get their AARP in the mail?
This is important because everybody asks me that second question and I don’t think we’re there yet.
We know. We’ve covered that one a lot.
It’s interesting that you bring up the AARP. In humans, we’ve got this classification as senior. It’s the same thing in dogs and cats. We call them seniors, but what is that? Who makes that rule? One could argue, a senior in the human space is 65. That’s mostly around when you would have your pension, retirement, or Medicare. That has nothing to do with your health and how you are. The AARP targets all of us in our late 40s. They’ll start to send out material. When I get it, I’m like, “This is not for me.” I write on the envelope, “Wrong address,” and send it back. I’m 52. Do they have the wrong address? If they got a BOGO and a deal for me, I’ll take it. I’m all about it.
Coupon queen right here. Buy One, Get One free.
Do they have a car organizer that I can buy for $12? I don’t know. The term is a number, and that could be the same for our pets. We typically say a dog is senior at seven. Are they bad? Are they good? Here’s the problem, Janet. Alice knows this, too. Not all dogs are the same at seven because of their size. There’s a massive difference between a Great Dane and a Chihuahua in their lifespan. It may be 5 or 6 for a Great Dane or a jumbo dog. At twelve, you’re still in adolescence in some of these little guys. They run around with horrible teeth.
Not all dogs are the same at seven years old because of their size. There is a massive difference between a Great Dane and a Chihuahua in their lifespan. Share on XThat’s just a number. Typically, we say 7 for dogs and 10 for cats. The real question is when they become a geezer, or when they become a jalopy, and when that is. Let’s go back and think about us. When do we become that? That all depends on how well we’ve taken care of ourselves, if we’ve been doing weight training, if we’ve been eating healthy, or if we’ve not been doing X, Y, and Z. Some of it’s our genetics. There’s a difference there.
The generality is that in the human space, there’s something called a geriatrician. I would love to be a geriatrician. To sit there with wonderful, older-aged people and help them, I can do that all day. That is typically the last 10% of a human’s lifespan. If we all want to make it to 80, then our 70s are going to be jalopies. That’s our geriatric. There’s something called the geriatric syndrome. To make it super easy for all those reading, how fragile are we? That’s it.
You can have a Lab come running into your clinic at ten years old. They’ve got a little hitch in their giddy-up. They’ve got a little bit of arthritis, but they’re okay. That same dog at 13 or 14 with decreased vision, could barely hear anything, is incontinent, panting, and pacing at night, has those skinny spaghetti legs, weak, and their muscles are all weak, that’s a different dog. That’s a geriatric dog. Those are my favorites. I love seniors, but that’s like loving 50 and 60-year-olds. I like the geriatrics.
That lab description describes Anne’s last Lab.
She’s our friend.
You could feel in the hips that it was crunchy.
How To Deal With A Pet’s Incontinence
The crepitus in the hip. Dr. Gardner, you mentioned something. Let’s talk about incontinence. I lost my dear Capri to kidney disease. She was 22. She’s a cat. She was so brave and lived so long. Give a couple of tips. I know you’ll be able to expound upon this. Toward the end, it was hard for her to lift her legs into the litter box, so then we invested in crates of pee pads. I want you to give some tips on that. The other thing is, if you’re going to do pee pads for an elderly cat, an elderly dog, a young dog that has pee problems, or a human, you’ve got to keep them clean back there. You have to do that. Could you please talk about incontinence? Let’s start with that.
One thing, by the way. One of our viewers or our fans told me that the human pee pads, those blue ones they put in the hospital, are cheaper than the pet ones.
That’s true. They’re washable. There’s that. Incontinence could be a whole half hour. We see it so often in our dogs and cats. Whether or not they have mobility issues, endocrine disease, or whatever, we do it. There are also old-age sphincter problems. How do we keep them clean?
It could be medication problems. You’re on steroids.
Lasix for heart disease. How do we keep them clean? This is a big thing, how do we keep our caregivers from going crazy? It isn’t easy. Everyone thinks, “Fecal incontinence has got to be better than urinary incontinence.” It is if it’s a nice little poop, but it’s never a nice little poop. My dog, Sam, had diarrhea. She had mobility issues, so she smooshed it around. She had long fur, and then it was getting in her fur, and then it was getting onto the rug.
Here are some tips. I’m going to talk about urinary incontinence and then fecal incontinence because both are important. Did you know the number one reason why human caregivers send their human geriatric person into a nursing home? The number one reason is incontinence. It’s so hard to manage. With the humans, you’re lifting them and things like that. Dr. Alice, your little kitty cat is easy to move around, but imagine a 50-pound dog. That’s a tough thing.
With cats and dogs, too, eventually, you will move to the wee-wee pads. The lower the box, cutting down the wall. That way, it’s easy to get into. Honestly, stepping over that amount is a lot. I appreciate it more now than I ever did stepping. A couple of months ago, I was roller skating. Some kid flew behind me and clipped my skate. I flew in the air and landed on my lower back. I have a massive transverse fracture across my sacrum. They all thought it was my tailbone until I got a CT. I’m sitting on a cushion. I can’t even describe it.
That’s a geezer sign. Go on.
You’ve got to go to Pilates.
I’m on an air mattress, basically. It’s a hemorrhoid donut. Let’s be real. The point of this, though, is that I couldn’t even step over the curb. I wanted the ramp. I never wanted the stairs. Even now, months later, the stairs hurt. I’m like, “I get how bad it hurts getting in a litter box or getting up a step.” It’s 50% of their height that they’ve got to walk over. It’s the ratio. I’m 6’1” and there’s a 4-inch step, and I was crying over it. Can you imagine being a 12-inch cat having to step over something that’s 8 inches? Forget about it.
Dr. Mary, confess your sins. Did you have to get the raised toilet?
I already have a raised toilet because I’m so tall. I’m already there.
I was on crutches once, and you’re right. You notice things like curbs. I’d be like, “I can’t go that way. There’s a curb.” Many people, when something has happened to them, have more sympathy for their pet.
The wee-wee pads are great, but here’s a little trick. I’ve got a whole Amazon shopping page because if I find things, I store them. I’d be like, “That’s a cool product,” and I put it there. It’s a wee-wee pad holder. You put the wee-wee pad in this little clamshell, and it holds it in place. It’s half an inch tall. It’s a tray. It holds it there. When they’re coming in, and maybe it slides, they can’t pee in place. That’s for dogs or cats.
Getting A Yoga Mat For Your Pet
What other tips do you have for older pets? There’s got to be a bajillion.
They’re all in my books.
I got to tell you. I love a yoga mat in the back of the car on the plastic thing.
There’s also a company called YogaDirect.com, and they sell yoga mats in giant rolls. You could get rolls. You’re going to have to cover your whole house. Janet, the back of the car, for sure everybody has those plastic things, but they are slippery. Yoga mats or bath mats, but you have to have bath mats with a rubber bottom, not the slippery ones that you get at a hotel. You’ve got to have the rubber mat.
I love the jigsaw puzzle piece gym mat for kids. That’s good, too. You can go to Goodwill and stuff and get a lot of these things if you find them cheaply. Back to the incontinence because I got two more important things. Speaking of Salvation Army and stuff, get children’s baby mattresses because they’re all truly waterproof. You can get these mattresses for your dog.
Also, if you do have a nice dog bed and they’re peeing in it, or a little cat bed, get a baby mattress cover, a fitted sheet. It’s a fitted cover. They’re plastic on one side and nice and cottony on the top. You get five of them, and then wash them and rotate them. I had a Doberman, so my dog bed is massive. I was sitting there struggling with the dog bed. He was on Lasix, which is a heart medicine, and he was peeing a lot. I would then put that cover over it and wash it a few times. After a couple of days, I’d rotate.
That’s a great idea. I don’t have kids, so I don’t know about that.
When you have babies, they tell you to use those sheets, but what we would do on the crib mattress is do 3 or 4 layers. In the middle of the night, if the kid pees through, you peel it off, and your kid goes back to sleep. It’s a stupid trick, but it works.
I used to do that in my kitty box, where you put your cat in to go to the vet. I put a wee-wee pad at the back. A lot of times, they’d pee because they’re nervous and stuff like that. I pull it out, and it’s nice and clean. I’m going to teach you the trick, which is a weird one. It’s for fecal incontinence.
For you readers, that means poop incontinence.
They’re dropping their poop.
My dog, Sam, had spinal lymphoma. She was becoming paralyzed in her hind legs, and that also meant some fecal incontinence. She’d be lying on the floor, and poop would flow out. It wasn’t like lava, but it was not good. It would happen in the middle of the night. I’d wake up, and then she would get caught in it. I couldn’t go out to the restaurant. I’d come back, and there’s poop all over. I’m constantly cleaning. I would have my big red carpet cleaner thing out all day.
Here’s what saved Sam months because I was probably at the end of my caregiving budget. I got a Q-tip. I brought her outside, and I placed that little Q-tip, a little cotton swab, in her butthole or her rectum. I’m trying to be descriptive for general people. You do a little swizzle, a little tickle, and it instantly makes her go to the bathroom. It stimulated her to go. She went, and then I cleaned her up with a little wet wipe.
Get the baby wipes warmer in the baby store, so it’s nice and warm also. I would wipe her little booty off, and she’d be done. Before I went to bed or if I woke up in the middle of the night, I would always do the Q-tip. We use that technique for paralyzed pets. Also, before going on long trips, you let them pee. If you’ve got to crate your pet going on a plane or if you’re a show dog, you don’t want them pooping in the middle of the ring.
No kidding. They do that. It’s like the Miss America pageant. They take all that stuff. They have a flat stomach.
Not exactly at all, but okay.
Janet, they take laxatives. It’s for a glam moment.
What saved me a lot of stress is waking up the poop.
Can I ask you, Mary, what breed was Sam?
She was an Anatolian Shepherd.
I had a Golden with spinal lymphoma.
Janet, my dog is a White version of her dog. What happened with her is that she started to get the classic signs of weakness. She was slumping down in the back, and she would walk on her toes. For people, it’s this proprioception issue where they would have their toes rolled over on their toes. I thought for sure this had to be degenerative myelopathy, which is a horrible disease. It’s a disease that we say it is when everything else has been ruled out.
It isn’t cancer, thank God.
A friend of mine who’s a neurologist, I said, “I want to get her an MRI.” That’s not normally what people do. You’ve got a twelve-year-old dog. You’re probably not going to MRI them, but I said, “I want to see.” I MRI’d my whole dog, and we found spinal lymphoma. It presents in the same way as DM or Degenerative Myelopathy. It did change how I treated her because I did do radiation.
How much time did that buy her?
I did radiation and chemo. We started that in the summer, and I said goodbye to her on February 14th, on Valentine’s Day.
Mine presented that when she was walking, she walked like a model. She had great proprioception. We did an MRI on her, and it was a spinal tumor.
Isn’t it interesting? You wouldn’t know it, and most people aren’t going to MRI it. It’s expensive. It’s scary. I did do the chemo and the radiation, and I’m glad that I did. That’s a whole other story. My point is, she was pooping all over. She is like a White Golden Retriever. I did a sanitary shave, so it’s like her butt had a Brazilian.
The poop chute.
Addressing Mobility Issues Using A Harness
Mary, as a vet, you and I would agree, and Janet, this is going to make you sick. These long-haired dogs, especially in August and September, you get maggots back there. You get a little piece of poop that’s stuck by the hair by the rectum, and then flies come and land on it. As pet owners, they don’t pick up the tail and look. As vets, we pick up the tail, and there are all these maggots back there. It’s very important to keep that clipped, but not too close. Mary, what about mobility issues with Sam? Did you have to do any lifts?
My whole place got covered with yoga mats. I get no kickback for this at all, but I wish I did because I say it all the time. My favorite is the harness called Help’ Em Up Harness. There are so many reasons why I love this harness, but it’s got a front end and a back end. It’s very padded. It has a lot of hooks and things. I’m tall, so I needed a longer over-shoulder strap, which helps distribute her weight on me better. She could wear it 24/7, although I did take it off every day to check for any sore spots. I had to keep it on her, though, because in the middle of the night, she’d get stuck somewhere. I could pick her up and set her right. Bless her little heart. I’ll send you a picture of Sam.
You did. Is the harness turquoise?
I don’t know if I sent you Sam. I sent you Smudge, who is another one, but it’s the same harness. It’s the best harness out there. It’s probably $100, so it’s not the cheapest but to me, it is the best. You could wash it.
You can use that for degenerative myelopathy?
Yes. You need to get one. I don’t think a disease should be my favorite disease, but it’s a favorite disease of mine. It’s GOLPP, which is Geriatric Onset Laryngeal Paralysis and Polyneuropathy. I have a website called All About GOLPP because my Doberman, the one that had the heart disease, also had GOLPP. The GOLPP is not what took his life. It was heart disease. Duncan had that. Any dog that’s got mobility issues, whether it’s a disc disease, arthritis, neuropathy, extreme sarcopenia, which is muscle wasting, or cachexia, which is muscle wasting in the face of a disease. If you have weak and wobbly spaghetti legs, pop a harness on them all day long.
How To Take Care of Pets With Renal Failure
What about some of these renal failures, like my Capri? These kidney failure cats get skinny. Some of them don’t want to eat because they’re so uremic. They’re sick to their stomach. We know there are meds for that, but I would also take her outside. She loved the sun, so we’d sit in the sun. You’ve got to give them emotional therapy as well.
Enrichment is so massive. Think about a cat. If they were in the wild, they’d be clawing at a tree. They’d be looking at a lizard. They’d be doing these things. You’ve got to stimulate their brain also, for sure. People underestimate how bad nausea feels. I attempted to climb Kilimanjaro. I got to a little over 15,000 feet, but I spent two days vomiting all over that darn mountain.
I’m sick to my stomach hearing it.
I got altitude sickness. It was horrific. I couldn’t keep anything down. Nothing tasted good. I was getting weak. Nausea is a type of pain, but we don’t think of it. There are three types of pain. There’s pain like arthritis, like sensory pain. There’s pain from feeling like crap, like nausea, end-stage kidney disease, end-stage liver failure, or even swelling, if you’ve got anxiety or swelling from some of your diseases, edema. The third is anxiety. Anxiety is a type of pain. If you’re nervous with cognitive dysfunction or you’re peeing on yourself, and all these things. Anxiety is another form of pain. We should not underestimate it.
That is so true. Especially since there are ads for it. I had a kidney stone. They took me to the ER, and they didn’t know what it was. I said, “I’m so sick to my stomach,” and they gave me something. I have to tell you. The pain from the kidney stone was still there, but relieving the nausea made me feel so much better.
Here’s the thing. Even though I said it’s pain like sensory pain, and then disease pain like nausea, and then anxiety, it’s in reverse order of suffering. I’m going off on a tangent, but think about what the difference is between pain and suffering. With suffering, my definition is that when I can’t think or do anything else but concentrate on the pain that I am in, whether that’s physical or emotional, that’s suffering.
My sacrum, that’s painful, but I’m not suffering. Nausea and anxiety is suffering. All I can think about is, “My mouth is watering here. It comes again. I’m going to throw up.” I’m nervous because I’m going to have to get on stage and give a lecture. I’m nervous about taking a test or whatever it may be. We underestimate suffering and what that means.
No one wants their pet to suffer, but we don’t even define it. To me, some of these pets are suffering, and we don’t realize it. Did you know that 50% of pets have not been to their veterinarian the year before they die? That year is the geriatric phase, where we could be doing so much. We can give them anti-nausea medication as you had, Dr. Alice. We can give them pain management. We can give them anxiety meds. We could teach the parents how to wipe their maggot butts cleaner. We could teach them all these things, but they don’t go to their veterinarian. Fifty percent have not been.
50% of pets have not been to their veterinarian in the year before they die. Share on XThere are a couple of reasons. The owner doesn’t want to qualify, “He’s dying,” or maybe, “Something horrible is wrong.” Secondly, that’s where immobile practice means the world. When I was in general practice, I loved going to elderly pet owners’ homes because some old people, me included, I’ve got two rescue Goldens. I can’t lift these dogs and put them in the car. It’s important to me to have a vet come to the house, which, unfortunately, we’re getting away from. We need even more. Sadly, there are reasons for that.
That is why Lap of Love is successful, if you will, because we do an in-home. We are in-home hospice in euthanasia. These people need us way before it’s time for Lap of Love. They need veterinarians before Lap of Love. There is zero judgment when I say this. The other reason why a lot of families aren’t bringing their pets in is they don’t know. They don’t understand. They may not hear their cat’s not coming up. They’re like, “He’s getting old.” There’s a lot of stuff that’s brewing. If they knew, they might do something. It’s difficult physically to get them in. Also, we know they’re older, and we know time is limited. How much will somebody spend financially and emotionally? I get it.
I am not comparing my animal to a car, so please. I don’t want any hate. My car is from 2013. It’s twelve years old. It’s a Ford Explorer. I love this thing. It’s at the shop, and it’s got to get a motor fix for its sunroof. Everyone’s like, “Mary, why are you spending another $1,000 when you should get a new car?” I’m like, “I love this car.” It’s some of the things we have to do. Why did I do an MRI on Sam? That was $1,500.
We have to know because we might be able to do something.
I was able to afford it, and I did. A lot of people are struggling. Did you know 50% of the human population in America does not have $1,000 in savings? You’ve got to feed your family, get gas in your car, and go to work. You’re making maybe $40,000 a year. That, plus supporting the child, and you have to spend $1,000 for a dog that could barely move and is crying all night. I get it. However, there are also some very economical things that we can do to make them comfortable. If it’s not a $100 Help ‘Em Up Harness, we can talk about a different harness that’s cheaper. There are so many things that we can talk about that won’t stretch our budget too much.
It’s okay to compare them to a car. Our mom lived until 92. She was 92 when she said this to me. She was pretty healthy for her age, quite mobile, and active. She said to me, “I feel like an old motor in a young chassis.” Inside, her internal organs were shutting down. I remember her saying that, and I’m like, “That must be so frustrating to feel that way. You want to go, but you can’t do it.”
My sister’s mother-in-law was also in her 90s. She would read the Wall Street Journal every day. She had zero cognitive dysfunction, and her husband did. I remember talking to her. Adeline was her name. I was like, “Adeline, you’re sharp as a tack.” She’s like, “That’s not always good at my age because I know, and that bothers me more.” I’m like, “Snap.” Ignorance is bliss.
Signs That Your Pet Feels Uncomfortable
What are the signs that my pet is uncomfortable?
It varies, but we could give you a long list. It could be from panting and pacing. It could be from licking. If you’ve got salivary stains on a joint, maybe there’s some arthritis there. Licking has been looked at in pain. First, standing up on their back a little bit differently. Even in petting them, you’ll see muscle twitching. It’s uncomfortable.
Things that shouldn’t hurt, we call it allodynia, which typically shouldn’t hurt, now it hurts. Petting them, or even the air blowing on them. In a human hospice, sometimes, they have to turn the air conditioning off from blowing on them because that hurts. I’ll go to euthanize a pet. We use a tiny needle for sedation, and they’ll scream. It shouldn’t hurt, but they’re heightened. They’re so sensitive. Their threshold is beyond their threshold, so everything hurts.
I suffer from migraines, and I say suffer because when I get one, I’m not thinking of anything else. I get migraines, and I’m like, “Don’t touch me.” I don’t want the lights on and all those things. They’re changing their behaviors. The cat that’s not going to the sunny spot or maybe not eating. They may not be eating because they’re nauseous and have a disease, or that food bowl is down so low and it hurts their neck to stretch.
That’s what I wanted you to bring up about food bowls and raised food bowls. What are some tips for that? That’s important.
What I want to do instead of a raise, because sometimes, you’re raising them and they have to lift their head over the bowl. You don’t want them too high. Have them tilted. There are tilted ones that you roll right into like a food truck.
I’ve seen those on Amazon.
I haven’t seen that before.
You’re up, and you go right into it.
You don’t have to go into it.
This is why I wrote my books because I have all these little tips and tricks. We don’t have enough time in the vet hospital to talk to families about all these things. This is a long conversation. My mom is 80. She’s a jalopy now. I got her concierge medicine. It’s with a physician’s assistant. It is the best thing. She sat down and talked to this guy for 45 minutes. I was on FaceTime.
She’s like, “I feel like a human. You talked to me for so long. I go to these doctors, and it’s fifteen minutes.” One of the things was that she needed a hearing aid. The hearing aid person, an audiologist, didn’t take the time to realize that her hands had so much arthritis that she couldn’t turn the little knob. She’s like, “I can’t wear this because I can’t change the volume.” Her concierge doctor is all over this.
They have one you can do on your phone.
They got to get it on the Jitterbug because she doesn’t like the iPhone. She needs a Jitterbug. I said, “Mom, they’re marketing for you.” I got her an iPhone. I took everything off her phone except for text messages and phone calls. She’s like, “It’s too much.”
Mary, that’s important. When I had elderly pet owners, you couldn’t have them give the cat a teeny tiny pill because of their arthritic hands. You have to stop and think about, “Can this pet owner medicate this pet?” It’s not only what the pet needs for medication, but can the owner give it?
I tried to look at a shampoo bottle to read. I’m in the shower, and I’m like, “Can they make the font any smaller?”
I was looking at the same thing. My hairdresser gave me this serum for my hair. I turned it over to look, and I’m like, “Who could print that small?”
I did it with some synthetic caulk I was using to patch a bird outside. I’m looking, and I’m like, “How long is this supposed to dry?” I still don’t know.
I read a story one time about human physicians and their relationship with elderly patients. The goal of treating them is not to make them able to walk around the block. The goal is to say to that patient, “What is it that’s most important to you in your daily activities?” The patient said, “I like to be able to go and buy my lottery ticket and a coffee every morning.”
Do you know what the doctor said? “I can make that happen. I may not be able to have you jog around the block, but I can give you some meds to make you comfortable enough.” Sometimes, we overthink things instead of the little appreciative daily routines that the pet has. He enjoys eating, but is like, “I have trouble getting to the food bowl.” Let’s carry him over there.
I lecture a lot to veterinarians, also. I say, “When you’ve got these jalopies, you have to ask the family two things. ‘What’s your biggest problem? What are you managing? What are the joys of living for your dog now? Is it ripping up the newspaper? Give them the newspaper to rip up.’” What is their biggest struggle? As veterinarians, we might be looking at those teeth that are disgusting. We know that we should be cleaning those teeth.
I don’t even care if they’re an old dog, and I’m going to put them under anesthesia. I know they’re going to feel better and eat better. I know these things, but if that dog is panting and pacing all night long and nobody in that house is sleeping, I’ve got to hit that first. Although the teeth might be causing it. I have to get them to sleep. Quality of sleep is so important. It’s medicine also. I ask, “Is nobody sleeping at night?” Let’s hit that first,” then, they come back.
The value of sleep is completely underrated.
It’s restorative. It’s reparative. It’s all these things. It’s so good. In 2 or 3 weeks, when they’ve got some good night’s sleep, I’m going to talk about the teeth then. I’m not going to hit them up. They can handle it. You’re not going to spend $1,000 to get the teeth cleaned if they can’t even sleep at night. They’re going to be like, “Heck no.”
Looking After Pets With Cognitive Disorders And UTI
Speaking of that, Mary. What about some of these dogs with cognitive disorders that are up all night pacing? The sundown syndrome. Any tips for that?
This is the disease I hate. I hate this disease because the statistics are alarming. Fifty percent of dogs over the age of ten have it or something like that. Don’t quote me on that, but it’s crazy. Tip number one is to see your veterinarian way sooner because the sooner you catch it, the better. It’s little signs like getting stuck in the corner or going to the door, and they go to the hinge side. They know the door’s over there, but they’re confused. The sooner the better, because there are so many good diets and other supportive things.
See your veterinarian as soon as you see signs of cognitive diseases in your pets. Share on XBy the time they see Lap of Love, which is hospice, I’m getting them to try to sleep at night on Xanax and Valium. I want them supported. They could be years like this. It’s cats at 2:00 AM going crazy. The other small thing is that anytime you see cognitive problems, always check for urinary tract infections because they will exacerbate the signs in humans and animals as well. A lot of times, they are not incontinent, or it’s dirty down there, and they’re not getting cleaned. The cats can’t groom themselves.
They’re more prone to UTIs. Check that. Handle that. Sometimes, it’ll decrease it. There’s a lot of good stuff that your veterinarian can prescribe that can help you early on. Enrichment. When you go to a nursing home, they want you to play canasta and all the games. Play games. Bring them outside. Bring your cat outside to sniff the roses and chase the lizards with a leash.
Isn’t that interesting what you said about UTIs? Many elderly people have UTIs that they didn’t even know they had.
It affects their Alzheimer’s. It makes them worse. If you handle that, it won’t cure it, but it will decrease the symptoms. A lot of times, too, they forget to go to the bathroom, so they’re holding it longer. There are all these things. It’s amazing. There’s a great book by Atul Gawande called Being Mortal.
I have read it. It is wonderful.
I have so many books on my bookshelf. I never read them all, but this book I’ve read five times.
have it back here because I saved my favorite books.
It’s phenomenal. I love this book.
Dr. Mary’s Pet And Human Peeves
Dr. Mary, we have to ask you our question that we ask all of our guests. What is your pet or human peeve? What gets you? It can be about humans, pets, cars, or jalopies.
It’s more of humans because pets don’t get me too much. I love a pet.
Do you know how many veterinarians say that to us? They always give a human one.
It’s because we love what we do.
Can I give you two that annoy me?
Knock yourself out.
I can’t stand when people talk on their cell phones on speaker in public.
That’s Alice.
Alice does it?
You put your phone on speaker.
It’s because I can’t hear.
Put earplugs or whatever.
She’s like, “Da, da, da.”
I don’t do that, Mary. She’s making this up.
The other pet peeve of mine is when I’m on an airplane. When you’re exiting the airplane, let the people in the row go. If you’re in row 5 and row 6 is trying to push out, it’s like, “Back up. Let me out first.”
Do you know what pisses me off?
Janet, I know you’re going to tell this.
When the row’s ahead of you, I’m like, “I’m waiting.” They’re putting stuff away. I’m like, “That’s it. I’m going,” because I’m prepared to exit.
The last time Janet flew out, she said she was sitting next to two elderly people. She said, “Everyone’s getting up ready to go, and these two people are sitting there and waiting.” That drives me nuts, too. It’s like, “Get up. I want to get past you.”
I’m like, “I’m ready to go. up. I’m going. Everything’s set. Let’s go, people.”
I’m with you on that, but here’s the thing. I’m also ready to go. I’m a window girl, so I’ve got to wait. My aisle person goes out, and then here’s the row behind me. I’m like, “Back up. I’m ready to go.”
That’s right. It’s like, “Where did you come from?”
I mow them over. If I’m ready to go and they’re waiting around, I’m out of there.
You and your sister on her cell phone on speaker, I can’t travel with you.
That is not true. She’s making that up. First of all, I’m hardly ever on my cell phone.
It’s because it’s in your hand and you’re talking to it.
This has been an absolute pleasure.
I told you that you would love her. Mary, after I listened to that webinar of yours, I was on my thing emailing you because I learned so much. We’re going to put some of those photos of helping things, the Help ‘Em Up Harness thing, and your Amazon shipping page.
It will be helpful for pet owners. YogaDirect.com.
I do have to add one more thing. When I was in practice, I had seen people with their third generation of pets. By then, they’re in their 70s or early 80s, and they’re coming in with a twelve-week-old yellow Lab. As a 71-year-old person, I normally adopt old dogs that nobody wants because I enjoy older pets. I’ve got these 3 and 4-year-olds, and I’ve looked at my husband and said, “I don’t know that we can do this.” Keep in mind, you’re young in spirit, but physically, a twelve-week-old Lab when you’re in your 70s or 80s is tough.
I only adopt seniors. I would only adopt geriatrics. I’ll take two months of love. It’s so amazing. It’s lovely.
It’s so rewarding to help them through their journey. I love it.
I’m on the advisory board for the Grey Muzzle Organization. It’s a nonprofit that raises money for grants to go to shelters and rescues for Grey Muzzle dogs. I’m on the grant approval group. Every spring, we look at grants from shelters and rescues because they’re asking for $5,000, $10,000, or whatever. I cry reading it. It’s lovely, though, because they talk about all the senior dogs in their care. The number one problem that they struggle with is dental care. They all have dental disease and need their teeth cleaned. Who wants to adopt a dog with hot garbage breath?
You’re right. A lot of people don’t want to adopt seniors because they’re afraid of the expense. They don’t want to lose them. They’re like, “I can’t go through this again.”
They don’t want to lose them.
I know, but it’s not about you. It’s about treating that dog or cat for the few years they’ve got left. Treat them like a King and Queen.
You don’t save money because a puppy is going to chew your shoes. Let’s be clear.
You do not save money by refusing to take care of a senior pet. A puppy will always chew your shoes. Share on XI know. The three-year-old does that. I don’t care about the chewing, but I feel badly that they have anxiety when I leave. I never leave, but on occasion when I do.
You did a great job. This has been informative. Thank you so much. It’s a pleasure getting to know you.
This is Dr. Alice Novotny Jeromin saying goodbye for now.
This is Janet Novotny King saying thanks for tuning in. We appreciate you. Don’t forget to send us your questions. We love hearing from you. Love your pets a little more. Give them an extra biscuit from us. We’re the Novotny Sisters from Cleveland, Ohio. Thanks for joining us. Bye.
Important Links
- Dr. Mary Gardner
- Dr. Mary Gardner on Facebook
- Dr. Mary Gardner on YouTube
- Lap of Love
- Dr. Mary Gardner’s Amazon Page
- Nine Lives Are Not Enough
- It’s Never Long Enough
- Treatment and Care of the Geriatric
- Yoga Direct
- Help’ Em Up Harness
- All About GOLPP
- Being Mortal
- Grey Muzzle Organization
About Dr. Mary Gardner
Veterinarian, innovator, professional speaker
A dynamic and engaging keynote speaker, Dr. Mary Gardner is able to draw on a wide range of career experiences and life lessons to educate and motivate diverse audiences. Her presentations cover a variety of topics, and encourage both professional and personal growth within the veterinary industry and beyond. Ironically, veterinary medicine was not her first career choice.