At what age do we

[2newffamily]

consider our Newfs to be "senior citizens"??? Caera, my first, will be 7 in October. Mr. Murphy, our rescue, will be 6 in November and Misha, my baby and Caera's half sister, will be 5 this month. I can see Caera is slowing down, but she still tries to keep up with Misha and Mr. Murphy. We are treasuring each and every moment we have with each of them. We're keeping our fingers crossed that we will have a lot more time ahead to share with them.

 

[wrknnwf]

I have always considered 7 to be a senior. But I think every dog is individual and there's not a lot of point in dwelling on their age. Some are as fit as a fiddle until they're much older. Hugo is now 11.5 and up until this year, he wasn't slowing down for anyone or anything.

 

[KodysGrandma]

Thunder is 7 but I don't like to consider him a senior (scares me I might lose him) so I personally am putting off the designation until sometime down the road- far down I hope.

 

[Pipelineozzy]

It depends on the dog. I have one who is 9 and is very definitely a senior..but I've also had one that was 11 before she started to show any signs of slowing down. (She lived to be 14). For show purposes they become a "veteran" at 7....so I guess by that standard that would be considered entering their senior years. Personally, I don't call them a senior until their demeanor tells me they are!

 

[NinaA]

I personally think that 9 or 10 is a senior. My Moonlight is 7 and she isn't more than middle aged.

 

[Capri]

I consider an 8 year-old to be senior, just because that's the limit for the veteran class at shows. Dogs' conditions can vary a lot, and an 8 year-old can be in perfect shape despite being called a senior .

 

[Leonard and his bud Snuffles]

Snuffles is 7 too. I like to think of him as middle age. But at our July vacination/general check up vet appointment, our vet thought at Snuffles age, she wants to do yearly blood test starting in January assuming nothing else pops before hand up when they do the heart worm test/check up. So she is thinking senior now.

 

[celtfrost]

I was under the impression that Newfies are considered senior citizens at 6.

 

[BoundlessNewfs]

I always thought senior, for giant dogs, was around 7, since their life expectancy is 8-10. It's a testament to the good care (and good genes of some) that so many are living into their teens.