Besides, it is extremely rare for veterinarians see infectious
diseases in elderly dogs and cats — recently vaccinated or not.
What experts do observe is that it mostly
occurs in elderly dogs that have no other organic cause other than some degenerative changes in the brain's structure, leading them to believe that it is synonymous with the Alzheimer's disease in humans.
Hypothyroid disease (8 %) is frequently autoimmune and therefore inherited, though some cases — particularly those
arising in elderly dogs — may not be.
Seizures in an elderly dog or cat that has no prior history of seizures could be an indication that he / she may have a brain tumor.
Renal disease is
common in elderly dogs, so the finding that 19 % of dogs 13 and older died of renal failure is not surprising.
However,
in elderly dogs, the dosage is kept to the minimum extent to ensure that the animal finds no difficulties in withstanding the medicine.
In elderly dogs, age related causes of blindness will need to be considered too.
Siderotic nodules are common
in elderly dogs and are not clinically significant.