When any animal gets older (you included) it’s likely to experience numerous physiological changes. These changes can have the knock-on effect of changing behaviour. In the case of dogs, as they get older they can begin to exhibit behaviour that could be considered negative, even destructive.
When a dog gets older they are likely to suffer various medical issues. These issues are commonly arthritis, which is an incurable pain in the joints, or sensory dysfunction, e.g. your dog might lose its hearing either partially or completely.
As your dog loses some of its senses or develops a painful condition like arthritis this can affect behaviour in all sorts of different ways. For example, your dog might become more vocal, less active or even aggressive, and these behaviours can be traced back to a physiological medical condition.
Mental decline might also become an issue. Senility is not only a problem for humans but can affect dogs too. Your dog might become more emotionally dependant on your presence, and develop separation anxiety when you’re not there. Dog’s might also experience disrupted sleeping patterns.
As many behavioural problems in dogs can be traced back to physical causes it’s important to maintain your dog’s health as well as you can. Choice of pet food plays an important role in this, and you can look for Hills Pets food online. Hills Pets also offer a wealth of free to access advice regarding pet care.
