what age do cavaliers typically considered to be a senior?

Elton has always had puppy like behavior. I adopted him when he was over 4 1/2 and I felt he was like the energizer bunny :jmp2:. He will be 7 in November and is pretty healthy. He had an ultrasound that showed some valve leakage but pretty good considering his age and there was no enlargement. He has a grade 1 murmur but at 7 I feel pretty lucky but he will continue to have exams. However, he is not as active as he used to be. He would chase the ball for hours but now he is not the energizer bunny he once was. Believe me, he still has plenty of energy and will chase the ball but I have to think that dogs (like humans) slow down as they get older. He is starting to get what a friend with a 16 year old cavalier said were age growths. His first one was this summer and was checked, biopsied and benign which I was told is normal. I don't feel 7 years is old but I feel I am still a teenager myself even though I am 37. He is on a good diet and is really healthy but any tips from others? I know some are active like humans for a long time and he still is but is it normal for them to start to slow down around 7 or is this still pretty young? When I say slow down, I mean that he is not as playful with puppies (never really was) but doesn't play as long as before.

So far as show/breeding circles in the UK are concerned, dogs/bitches are classed as veterans at age 7. Nowadays the average life expectancy for a Cavalier is classed as 12 yrs.

If us humans get lumps and bumps as we get a little older, they are tested and are diagnosed as either benign or malignant. The malignant ones are removed and any necessary further treatment given, but the benign ones are nothing to get worried about.

If you will allow me to say it, and in the nicest possible way, why not enjoy Elton the way he is as a middle aged Cavalier gentleman who is a little slower in his ways than he was as a puppy and try to stop worrying. He sounds pretty 'normal' for his age to me Anne.

I think Elton is very normal.

Sophie will be six years old at Thanksgiving. She has definitely slowed down in the past year. I notice it with play, because she doesn't want to play nearly as much, or as long, as she did before. Her heart is fine, but she lost most of her hearing over the summer, so she sleeps more (probably because she isn't awakened by various noises).

When our Sih Tzu was eight years old, he started to slow down. He lived to a week past his 17th birthday.

Oliver started to slow down when he was about 8 - when his deafness started to get worse, so perhaps they just don't feel so confident about rushing around when one of their major ways of relating to the world is failing. He's never been playful with other dogs, I think he shies away because of his CM/SM, which gives him severe headaches (or did, his meds work pretty well now), but we moved our annual camping holidays from the rather rugged Northumberland coast to the huge flat beaches of Norfolk so that he's not tempted to clamber over rocks or climb dunes. He's now 13 and has very weak back legs (probably due to damage to the cerebellum after years of CM/SM) but still enjoys life and manages to go for walks, and his heart isn't too bad. He's a wicked old man

Kate, Oliver and Aled

ByFloSin said:

If you will allow me to say it, and in the nicest possible way, why not enjoy Elton the way he is as a middle aged Cavalier gentleman who is a little slower in his ways than he was as a puppy and try to stop worrying. He sounds pretty 'normal' for his age to me Anne.

Click to expand...

Flo,

i completely agree and I learned that you never know what the future holds and to try and enjoy every minute. Thank you for this reminder . I spent a lot of time upset about Ella's condition and the future that I was so happy that I learned a valuable lesson when I let go of that fear. I did not know that her last weekend was spent enjoying the waves at the beach but those moments are what is important. Things happen and Elton could be hit by a car tomorrow or he could be 17 but I guess I am naturally a worrier. I know his bones will age as will mine but that's part of life. I ask a lot of questions and I can worry about nothing but I do think your words are very wise and I take them to heart. He will age and he will tell me when he is done chasing the ball but the moments together are important.

ByFloSin said:

... Nowadays the average life expectancy for a Cavalier is classed as 12 yrs. ...

Click to expand...

According to this study, the average lifespan of the cavalier is 9.9 years:
Longevity and mortality of owned dogs in England. D G O'Neill, D B Church, P D McGreevy, P C Thomson, D C Brodbelt. Veterinary Journal; 2013;189(3):638-643.

RodRussell said:

According to this study, the average lifespan of the cavalier is 9.9 years:
Longevity and mortality of owned dogs in England. D G O'Neill, D B Church, P D McGreevy, P C Thomson, D C Brodbelt. Veterinary Journal; 2013;189(3):638-643.

Click to expand...

Thank you for sharing this information. Now I am going to give Sophie lots more hugs and love!

I've had a couple that definitely slowed down around age 6-7 -- Lucy in particular was getting old ladyish by age 8-9 or so but most of my five now, have stayed pretty darn active still at 10 and 11. Jaspar however has never slowed down despite deafness and probably a bit of sight reduction, and will be 11 in two weeks... :Lol: He is exactly the same go-go-go boy he was years ago.

Just saw this, I think I was out of town when you posted. Madison at 11 runs down the hallway every morning and jumps around like a puppy. But she won't play. Oz at 7 is still my pistol and will play with anyone who's interested, but none of my seniors are interested. They all (with the exception of Oliver) race around my fenced in back yard and can walk for as long as I can. Oliver's rear legs are paralyzed from disc surgery last year so he uses a wheel cart to get around the yard. What a great invention! In the house he scoots around just fine. (The surgery was very complex and was unfortunately unsuccessful at giving him greater mobility but relieved his pain so he is a much happier dog). Both Riley and Oliver have numerous old age wart like growths. Oliver has a lot of them, Riley just has 2. I leave them alone as they don't bother them and the vet says they're benign. Oliver at 13 & 1/2 sleeps almost all day, so I'd call that slowing down! Riley has started sleeping much more deeply - but not more. Sometimes I still can't believe she's alive at age 12. I thought her SM surgery would buy her a few more years - not 6! And she's still going! So, 3 seniors in my family, no heart problems for any of them, they are slowing down but I think they'll all be around for a while longer.