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When is 'elderly' for your performance dog?
- Kelly Daniel (Hybrid Dog Training)
- Mar 20
- 3 min read
Deo my little terrier crossbreed is my oldest dog. He's currently 12 1/2 years old. Recently I retired him from agility.
On his second to last show, he got a challenge. This brings his total of challenges pretty close to 90. This is, in my opinion, pretty amazing!
In the last couple of years, every year, I've thought 'is this the year he retires?'. It's been a deliberately gradual process, with first dropping out Intermediate agility runs, then all agility and only competing in Jumpers. His agility has been relatively low in frequency over the years, and he hasn't really done much training regularly.
So what did I consider?
Physical condition and injuries. Does he have any injuries? Any areas of weakness that are not improving? Is he maintaining muscle mass and symmetry?
Emotional wellbeing and desire to compete. Deo even now, is enthused about doing training. He actively engages, and has not shown any deteriation of sports specific skills.
Sports specific goals. Is there any point in him still competing? I was trying to get him to 100 challenges if I could.
Agility specific performance indicators, like success of skills performed (rails etc), and speed.
Year | Fastest speed in JA course |
2016 | 5.28m/s |
2017 | 5.14m/s |
2018 | 5.18m/s |
2019 | 5.38m/s |
2020 | 5.66m/s |
2021 | 5.77m/s |
2022 | 5.82m/s |
2023 | 5.56m/s |
2024 | 5.26m/s |
2025 | 5.17m/s |
But in the end, it came down to a gut decision: even though his body is still strong and healthy (he's only ever had a couple of sore muscles in terms of anything close to an injury), and he's happy to run agility, he was an older dog who just felt a little slower and it took a little longer to recover after a weekend of agility. He's also a dog who if he is sore or grumpy, is really NOT fun to live with - he can be mean to the other dogs at home.
Photos by Paws The Moment Photography
So what's the difference between elderly, and geriatric?
In my canine fitness training we were taught that dogs that are 7 years old, or older should be considered geriatric.
'Small-breed dogs are often considered senior around 7–9 years and geriatric beyond 11–13 years, while giant-breed dogs may reach geriatric status as early as 6 years due to accelerated physiological aging' https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC12520855/#:~:text=Small%2Dbreed%20dogs%20are%20often,accelerated%20physiological%20aging%20%5B25%5D.
'The term “senior” is used to describe the older, aging pet. Because of the variability in aging based on species and breed, there is no specific age for senior status.' https://www.aaha.org/resources/2023-aaha-senior-care-guidelines-for-dogs-and-cats/defining-the-senior-patient/
I think that I consider a dog elderly, when I start to see some changes in their lifestyle. This might be their sleeping, activity levels, diet. But I wouldn't really consider them geriatric until either the home accomidations changes significantly, and / or they have multiple medical conditions common in older dogs.
For example Deo's activity levels are different. He sleeps more, runs around at home a little less, and overall does less training and physical activity. But I haven't hade any changes at home for him and he's not got any orthoapedic or medical problems, other than terrible teeth (though he's had this his entire life!). I would consider him elderly.
However in Chace's last year of life we had to make some accomidations at home to help her out as she was less mobile and tolerant of the other dogs, and has canine cognitive dysfunction, and urinary incontinence and some kidney issues. She was geriatric.
What are fitness considerations for older dogs?
I believe that as a dog starts to age, they have different goals in terms of their physical and functional needs. Therefore their fitness training should change, to meet these needs. Generally older dogs start to loose muscle mass (sarcopenia). This muscle mass can not only impact functional life activities, but also mean joints are less supported. Therefore strength exercises are important.
However we absolutely do not want to fatigue an older dog, as this could lead to them having accidents and injuring themselves, or being sore. So we need to consider the equipment used, and the amount of exercises performed.
Because older dogs also loose their balance more easily, simple proprioception and balance pathways are physically and neurologically engaging.
So what's next for Deo?
He will absolutely continue to do fitness training. I firmly believe that this is essential for keeping him strong and functional as he continues to age. But apart from that... maybe we'll have a play at hoopers, or nosework?
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