My Jilly lived to just over 13 despite being born the runt of the litter and having a series of medical problems, especially early on in her life, though she still had GI issues all of her life. Once we got the worst of her emergency-type GI issues were solved for the most part with diet and medication, she lived a relatively normal life but was getting slower from some arthritis which I think could have been from her much jumping and repetitive landing. She just had to be up on the couch or bed with me and was an active little dog so that meant she jumped or bounded up and down her doggie steps at least a dozen times each day and some days many more times day after day for her whole life. Eventually, the right shoulder joint in her tiny 3.4 lb. frame just gave out on one step down on her doggie steps as I was watching and she went down with a dislocated shoulder, requiring emergency surgery. I decided from that point on I would provide any older small dog a ramp rather than doggie steps to help save those tiny joints. A ramp seems much kinder on the repetitive impact and stress to the joint.
__________________  Jeanie and Tibbe One must do the best one can. You may get some marks for a very imperfect answer: you will certainly get none for leaving the question alone. C. S. Lewis |