World Animal Day: Can you make a difference in your aging pet’s life?

On World Animal Day, Stannah is happy to share an inspiring story that will surely make your day! But why would Stannah – a stairlift company – join in this social event?

We are all responsible for promoting a compassionate culture towards animals and, as pet owners, we need to be aware that animals like cats and dogs also face the inevitable ordeals of aging. At Stannah, we believe it is important to provide a voice for those who have none. That is why Stannah advocates for the advancement of animal welfare standards and respect for their status as sentient beings.

In fact, with all the scientific advances and medical care, our pets are also living longer, so we’ll have to make sure that we provide all the necessary health care, in order to ensure their well-being as they age.

Stannah is known for making their customers’ needs a prioity, so why shouldn’t that include our customers’ pets?

Hopefully, this story will inspire others to take their pets’ wellbeing just as seriously.

• A pet-friendly stairlift overlooking the Amsterdam canals!
• Common Ailments in Senior Dogs
• Warning signs that your senior dog could have arthritis.
• What can you do to help your dog with arthritis?
• A stairlift for the entire family, human or not!

A pet-friendly stairlift overlooking the Amsterdam canals!

World Animal day is an international event, celebrated around the world, so it’s fitting that we tell the story of one of our Dutch customers and his lucky pet, who got his very own stairlift! Nico Kool, lives in a beautiful house overlooking the Amsterdam canals. The houses are known to be steep and narrow, especially the staircases, as many of them date back as far as the 17^th century!

“I have a Labrador Retriever. I used to have a Labrador and they tend to have a lot of issues with their joints, resulting in arthritis as they grow older,” Nico told us. Arthritis and other joint-related ailments are very common in dogs, and result in pain and reduced mobility. Nico decided that a stairlift would be the perfect solution for his Labrador and the rest of this family. As his mother in law comes to visit often, she can benefit from the stairlift as well!

Nico was impressed with Stannah’s work method. On the first visit, it was clear to him how the stairlift would look and how the installation would be done.

“We wanted to avoid him not being able to climb up and down the stairs when they do become an issue.”

On the day of installation, the technicians were able to complete the entire project in just one morning! Nico was so surprised that he and his dog could use the stairlift that same afternoon! As you can tell from the video, the pup sure is happy with his new method of transportation, it even tastes good! Did he choose the bacon flavoured upholstery?

Common Ailments in Senior Dogs

As wildlife photographer and author, Roger Caras once said, “Dogs are not our whole life, but they make our lives whole”. Dogs are now, more than ever, true members of our families. They bring so much joy and love to our homes, that there’s just no denying it.

Just like us, our beloved canine friends are aging and dealing with the ailments and struggles that come along with growing older. What can we do to help them? Osteoarthritis, also known as degenerative arthritis, is a common condition in dogs characterized by progressive deterioration of articular cartilage in their joints. It can cause a great deal of pain and lameness.

Arthritis in dogs is one of those ailments from which they can suffer, in fact it is one of the most common doggy health issues out there. Sometimes, it can be difficult to diagnose joint related issues, as dogs tend to ignore discomfort and even pain until it is really too much for them to endure.

Warning signs that your senior dog could have arthritis.

If your senior dog shows the following symptoms, he or she might be suffering from a degenerative joint disease (DJD), or osteoarthritis. Here are some signs to consider:

• Stiffness, especially in the morning.
• Lies down more than usual, the lying down is accompanied by a groan.
• Can’t jump onto the couch/ into the car, or the dog clearly hesitates prior to jumping.
• Wants to go home sooner than usual during daily walks.
• Is scared to climb up and down the stairs.
• Doesn’t play with his/her usual toys.
• Is not as enthusiastic as he/she used to be.

If you’ve noticed some, or all of the signs above, we recommend you make an appointment with your veterinarian just to be safe. Also, if you’re not sure, it’s always better to be safe than sorry!

What can you do to help your dog with arthritis?

Your vet is really the best person to help you and your dog, however there are some strategies that can be beneficial. We found some advice from a vet about how to help relieve your dog’s arthritis, let’s take a look:

• Avoid putting your dog’s bed in cold or damp spaces.
• Non-skid flooring.
• Padded steps or a ramp to get on and off the bed.
• Muscle massage to stimulate blood flow to atrophying muscles.
• Glucosamine or Chondroitin supplements can be beneficial as well, but as is the same with humans, this is not guaranteed to help.
• Exercise, it’s important that your dog exercises every day at his or her own pace. Swimming is also beneficial as the pressure on the joints is much less.
• Pharmaceuticals, there are many options when it comes to drugs. This is best looked at together with your vet, who will be more of an expert on this subject.
• Surgery, and treatment with NSAID’s and corticosteroids (a class of steroid hormones).
• Other treatment with warm compresses or acupuncture.
• If you have stairs in your home, installing a stairlift is, of course, ideal as we saw with the Dutch lab.

A stairlift for the entire family, human or not!

The video shows us how helpful a stairlift can be for both a dog and his family. His owner kept him on his lap while they glided together up and down the stairs. The stairlift is perfectly capable of transporting your pet in this way.

Pet owners typically buy stairlifts for dogs, as they tend to have more joint related issues. However, other pets, like cats, could also hitch a ride on the family stairlift!

Learn more about our stairlifts:

https://www.stannah.ca/stairlifts/