Be Aware of Vision-Related Issues
Blurry vision is usually part of growing older, even in humans; however, it’s vital to have any vision problems appropriately diagnosed. Please keep in mind that it could be due to cataracts, glaucoma, or other issues. Early detection and treatment could save your senior Shih Tzu’s sight, depending on the severity of the case.
Symptoms of vision-related issues due to Shih Tzu aging include: possibly appearing disorientated, bumping into household objects, and having difficulty finding his toys and water and food bowls.
Pay Extra Attention to His Skin and Coat
As your Shih Tzu grows older, their coat loses its shine, and their skin loses elasticity. This could result in poor skin health and oftentimes severely dry and itchy skin that could quickly lead to cracking, peeling and even infections.
The ideal thing to do is to always keep the skin healthy and to promptly address any issues and nip them in the bud before they worsen.
Take Care of Their Paws and Nails
The dry skin problems mentioned previously comes hand-in-hand with this. Oftentimes, their paws are the most affected because they’re usually in contact with something. Massaging them with a good paw wax, as well as carefully getting in between the senior Shih Tzu’s toes and around the nail beds and his paw pads could greatly help.
It will likewise offer your senior Shih Tzu even more traction, which could help avoid slips and slides.
Furthermore, there could be issues with their nails, too. As your Shih Tzu ages, their nails could get brittle, making them susceptible to breaking off or splitting, which could be extremely painful. It could be associated with issues in nutrient absorption, which is actually a common issue with senior Shih Tzus.
To help with this, you could try to incorporate vitamin B12-rich foods like eggs, fish, and liver into your senior Shih Tzu’s diet. Also, since shorter nails are much less prone to splitting and breaking off, keep their nails trimmed down.
Bottom Line
It is sad to see your Shih Tzu aging and losing the sprightliness in their steps bit by bit. Nevertheless, there are some things you could do to help them age gracefully and more comfortably.
