If your dog is getting up in age, there are a few telltale signs of chronic illness and serious ailments. Use the following overview of symptoms to identify the potentiality of canine medical disorders:

Arthritis
• Muscle loss
• Discomfort lifting or raising hips
• Changes in behavior, irritability or isolation from others
• Difficulty ascending or descending flights of stairs/steps
• Problems with jumping
• Household soiling

Cancer
• A suppressed appetite
• Reduced stamina
• Any difficulty swallowing or eating
• Persistent abnormal swellings that continue to develop in growth
• Any type of sores or lesion that do not heal
• Weight loss without changes in feedings
• Any discharge or bleeding from any orifice of the body
• Any offensive odor
• Lethargy or a hesitation to exercise
• Breathing problems
• Changes in urination or defecation

Kidney Disease – Kidney Failure

• Excessive thirstiness
• Loose stools Diarrhea
• Regurgitation
• Increased volume of urination and thirst
• Weight loss without changes in diet
• Suppressed appetite to a loss of appetite
• Frailty and feebleness
• Discolored, pale gums
• Black tar stools to blood in vomit
• Oral ulcers, lacerations and smelly breath
• Modifications in behavior and temperament

Prostate disease
• Household soiling
• Dribbling urination
• Blood in urine

Cataracts
• Eyes appear cloudy
• Clumsiness, bumping into objects
• Failure to retrieve balls and other objects

Cushing's disease
• Thinning coat or changes in thickness of skin
• Frequent urination and an increased thirst
• A pot-bellied appearance
• Excessive to extreme appetite

Dental disease
• Bad breath
• Difficulty eating or swallowing
• Without changes in diet and nutrition, Weight loss

Hypothyroidism
• Uncalled for weight gain
• Lethargic
• Super dry and thinning coat
• An unenthusiastic or depressed temperament