Senior Dogs, Best Lives: The Four Pillars To Longevity #316
Shaped by Dog with Susan Garrett
DogsThat
4.8 • 679 Ratings
🗓️ 12 November 2025
⏱️ 16 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
Visit us at shapedbydog.com
Helping senior dogs live their best lives starts with simple, intentional choices that nurture their body, mind, and heart. In this episode, I'm sharing the four pillars that lead to longevity and how they can help your senior dog stay active, confident, and connected as the years go by. You'll discover how small daily habits can support lasting wellness and create a joyful, purpose-filled life for your dog, one where every stage of aging is celebrated and full of possibility.
In this episode, you'll hear:
• Why living with a senior dog is a privilege and how mindset shapes what's possible.
• The truth about what defines a senior dog and why age is more than just a number.
• How the four pillars (Physical Wellness, Nutrition, Emotional Connection and Joy, Cognitive Functioning) help senior dogs live longer, happier lives.
• Why "motion is lotion" applies to senior dogs just as much as it does to us.
• How maintaining a healthy weight can add years to your dog's life.
• Simple ways to boost your senior dog's energy and cognition through nutrition.
• How emotional connection and daily joy impact your dog's well-being.
• The importance of consent and respecting your senior dog's deep rest.
• Enrichment ideas to keep senior dogs mentally sharp and engaged.
• An opportunity to join Home School The Dog & Wag Nation.
• A special challenge to bring more purpose and fulfillment to your senior dog's life.
Join Wag Nation + Home School the Dog:
Write to us at wag@dogsthat.com with the subject line "Connecting with my senior" for a very special opportunity to join us in Wag Nation and Home School the Dog.
Resources:
1. Dogs That YouTube Channel - https://www.youtube.com/@DogsThat
2. YouTube Playlist: Feeding Dogs, Training Treats, Dog Food, Nutrition and Canine Behavior, Raw Diets with Susan Garrett - https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLphRRSxcMHy0ylVCv0BiSj27AeIdObb_q&si=QOwhqPDzbQs4ygUw
3. Podcast Episode 62: 12 Keys to Helping My Dogs Live a Long and Happy Life - https://dogsthat.com/podcast/62/
4. Podcast Episode 106: Consent In Dog Training: The Misuse, Misunderstanding And Misapplication - https://dogsthat.com/podcast/106/
5. Podcast Episode 314: Dog Enrichment Secrets Part 1: Using Your Dog's Natural Instincts To Build Variety And Engagement - https://dogsthat.com/podcast/314/
6. Podcast Episode 315: Dog Enrichment Secrets Part 2: 30 Day Enrichment Challenge + Free Planner PDF Shaped by Dog Podcast - https://dogsthat.com/podcast/315/
7. Shaped by Dog Podcast - https://dogsthat.com/podcasts/
8. Watch this Episode of Shaped by Dog on YouTube - https://youtu.be/518D-BzMFaQ
Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | I have a friend that I've known for probably 30 years and we get together almost weekly for coffee. |
| 0:06.7 | We discussed dogs pretty much entirely during that coffee visit. |
| 0:10.7 | Recently we were talking about senior dogs and why is it that there's so many senior |
| 0:15.8 | dogs that make their way to rescue or people give up on their dogs because this friend of mine is a veterinarian |
| 0:22.0 | technician and has been as long as I've known her. So she's seen both the best and the worst |
| 0:26.4 | of people and their pets. And we wondered how could people miss out on what we consider a privilege, |
| 0:32.6 | the privilege of living with a senior dog? And I decided maybe people just don't realize what might be possible |
| 0:39.8 | and that's what brought me to today's Shape by Dog episode. |
| 0:53.5 | Hi, I'm Susan Garrett. Welcome to Shape by Dog. |
| 0:56.3 | I'm going to share with you today what I consider the four pillars to giving your senior |
| 1:01.4 | dog a life filled with fulfillment and purpose. |
| 1:05.0 | But first, let's talk about what is a senior dog because there's a lot of different |
| 1:09.9 | definitions out there. Often people say, |
| 1:11.8 | well, my dog is over the age of seven, therefore my dog is senior. And they will then start |
| 1:17.2 | to adjust that dog's life based on a number. As the old saying goes for us humans, age is just |
| 1:24.2 | a number. I at 64 and a half do a lot of things people 55 and a half can't do. So |
| 1:32.6 | age is just a number with your dog. Please don't make decisions based on a number on the |
| 1:39.2 | calendar. Because I've had dogs who at 13 years of age seem to have really hit this cognitive decline. |
| 1:45.7 | Physically, yes, they were a little bit slower, but cognitively, sometimes they'd like |
| 1:49.3 | stare at a spot on the floor and they wouldn't know where they were. |
| 1:52.6 | They started at 13. |
| 1:54.1 | Yet I've had other dogs who've lived to be almost 18 years old who showed no signs of |
... |
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