10-Year-Old Golden Retriever – What You Need to Know
When a Golden Retriever reaches the mature age of 10, it can bring about significant changes. Any dog that makes it to this age should be admired for their resilience and cherished for all the years of love and happiness they’ve shared. After many years of running, playing, and sharing loving family moments, the Golden Retriever has earned much-needed rest, tender care, and many more seasons of fun and joy! At the age of 10 years, a Golden Retriever’s body will gently be nudging them towards a more peaceful time, but parents shouldn’t think that means lacking exercise and energy. Read on to find out what to expect at this time.
10-Year-Old Golden Retriever Care
Golden Retrievers at 10 years old will likely not be much different than they were at 2 or 5 years old. Ensuring their health and happiness for the rest of their lives is the recipe to follow with good nutrition, plenty of sleep, and strong social connections.
If you continue to do all that, your Golden Retriever will be happy until the end!
Diet and Nutrition for a 10-Year-Old Golden Retriever
At this point in your Golden Retrievers’ life, they will have had many seasons of eating a healthy, protein-rich diet. Hopefully, they haven’t gained too much weight along the way from excess treats and table snacks.
It’s not likely since the Golden Retriever is an active dog breed that probably hasn’t slowed down one moment, even now at their advanced age.
Still, the main focus in their lives will be to maintain a healthy weight while enriching their body to combat any health issues that might arise.
Their diet should continue to be focused on protein. Wet food or a combination of wet and dry might be good for digestion and teeth, but this is up to the parent. Many dogs still do best with dry food, but sometimes a parent wants to give their mature dog some tender loving care.
It can be tempting to give the 10-year-old Golden Retriever extra treats knowing they are on the other side of that life mountain. It is best to keep treats healthy and to a minimum, of course, but the occasional extra nibble is well deserved.
It is important at this point in their life to consult their veterinarian to ensure their diet and health needs align. Some dogs, at this point, might need specific diets or to avoid certain things due to health issues.
They generally need between 3-5 cups of food daily, but activity level and sleep will affect how much they eat. Since they are advanced aged, serving their food at multiple meals helps remedy any digestive issues they might have for comfort.
If your 10-year-old Golden Retriever isn’t interested in eating at any time, let them be and watch. Sometimes they may not be feeling well and need a break from food. After a few meals have passed and they haven’t eaten, it might be best to consult their veterinarian.
Exercise for a 10-Year-Old Golden Retriever
At 10 years old, your Golden Retriever might have already eased back on its exercise and activity daily. If this is not the case, there is no need to make any changes unless they seem tired on any given day. Let your dog be your guide.
That is particularly true for this dog breed which has always had an abundance of energy and enjoyed exercise and adventure. Forever the puppy, the 10-year-old Golden Retriever will be pretty good at this point in deciding what they want to do in a day.
Providing at least an hour of gentle activity per day is a good idea as a baseline. If they don’t feel like that one day, it’s fine; if days go by and they don’t want to go outside for a walk or playtime, it may be time to consult their veterinarian as a precaution.
Illness can strike at any age, but a 10-year-old Golden Retriever is more likely to struggle with mild or moderate health issues affecting their lifestyle and exercise.
If you get to the end of the day with your 10-year-old Golden Retriever and they don’t seem interested in sleep, full of energy, another walk might be needed.
The main focus at this stage of their life is providing exercise in a gentle manner that aligns with where they are physically and regarding their health. There is no need to press them to do more or force them to do less.
Veterinary Care for a 10-Year-Old Golden Retriever
Now more than ever, veterinary care is important. At this age, your 10-year-old Golden Retriever needs to be monitored for health issues that can creep up suddenly without warning. Annual health and wellness checkups give you as the parent comfort but also help should an illness arise.
During these visits, discussing with your dog’s veterinarian if they should be taking supplements, vitamins, or anything beyond good basic nutrition can be helpful. These things may or may not be recommended depending on their veterinarian, but they can aid their health for the remainder of their life.
Of course, should any issues arise, injury or illness, it’s important to take them to their veterinarian immediately. A 10-year-old Golden Retriever can struggle or rebound slower from illness and injury and may need a little help.
Sleep and Home Life for a 10-Year-Old Golden Retriever
Sleep is always important in every dog’s life when they are puppies; it’s needed for growth. During adulthood, it is needed for maintenance. In the mature stage of life, a dog needs enough sleep to recover from what ails them and to keep them strong to tackle each day they have left on this earth.
It is hopeful that, at this point, they have a comfy spot in the home to sleep that is their own. This spot should be free of distractions and where they will not be prevented from sleeping.
Most dogs will have more than one spot at this point, a cozy chair beside mom and dad on the bed and their dog bed. Whatever they may or may not have, your 10-year-old Golden Retriever should be comfortable.
When they are in bed, they should be left alone and allowed to rest and recuperate from whatever they need. It can be tempting for kids and other pets to disrupt them but doing so takes away that calm and peace they so much need.
There is no exact amount of sleep they need, except that they fall in line with whatever sleep pattern they have been getting. The 10-year-old Golden Retriever might take more naps and sleep less in one solid stretch, which is fine.
Whatever they choose to do, a parent can rest assured is what they need to do. If, for some reason, they suddenly seem to be sleeping more or less than usual for more than a few days, their veterinarian should be consulted.
Dogs are notorious for displaying their physical ailments silently, like not eating or sleeping. Since they can’t tell you they are hurting, they might not sleep out of discomfort, which signals something is wrong.
Socializing for a 10-Year-Old Golden Retriever
For a 10-year-old Golden Retriever, the thought of socializing may still very much be a part of their life. This social dog breed makes friends and delights in being the center of their family’s world.
Should that be the case, then nothing needs to change. If they appear to get tired of the puppy following them around the house all day or the kids hanging on them, it’s best to provide some relief.
Using your 10-year-old Golden Retriever as a guide, be prepared to intercept and give them a break when needed or provide more social interactions if they seem lacking.
Whatever makes them feel good and happy is the thought for this time. Make sure to provide plenty of opportunities to interact with other dogs and people and let their great personalities do the rest.
