Older dogs usually do best at home with a familiar routine, so an overnight sitter (from 380 ₪ per night) or regular visits and short walks (from 70 ₪) are often better than boarding. A good senior dog sitter keeps meals and medication on schedule, walks slowly and reports any change in appetite or mobility. For health questions, your vet is always the first contact.
What changes as dogs age
Senior dogs often:
- walk more slowly and tire faster;
- find stairs, slippery floors and heat harder;
- need to go out more often;
- sleep more and may be less tolerant of change;
- see or hear less well;
- take medication or eat a special diet.
None of this means they cannot be left with a sitter. It means the sitter must be patient and attentive and must follow a clear plan.
Home or boarding?
At home your dog keeps its bed, its smells and the layout it knows. This matters a lot for dogs with reduced vision or hearing. An overnight sitter keeps your dog company at night and walks it in the evening and morning, and midday visits can be added.
Boarding at a sitter's home can work for senior dogs that are still sociable and adaptable, especially if the sitter has no other dogs or only calm ones. Choose a ground-floor home or one with an elevator if stairs are difficult.
The senior dog plan for your sitter
Write it down, even if you explain it in person:
- Feeding: food, portions, times, how to soften food if needed.
- Medication: dose, time and method, with your vet's instructions. Tablets add 30 ₪ per visit and injections 50 ₪.
- Walks: route, length and pace; where your dog likes to rest; how to help it up steps.
- Toilet: how often your dog needs to go out and signs that it needs to.
- Normal behaviour: how much it usually eats, drinks and sleeps.
- Warning signs: anything your vet told you to watch for.
- Vet details and an agreed spending limit for emergencies.
Heat and older dogs
Israeli summers are hard for senior dogs. Walks should be early in the morning and after sunset, short and in the shade. Keep water available at all times and keep the home cool. The sitter checks pavement temperature with the back of a hand before going out.
Comfort at home
- Non-slip mats on smooth floors.
- A soft, supportive bed away from drafts.
- Water bowls in more than one room.
- Night light if your dog's vision is weaker.
- Barriers on stairs if needed.
Choosing the right sitter
Ask the sitter whether they have cared for older dogs, whether they are comfortable giving the specific medication and how they would handle a dog that refuses food. A calm, unhurried person matters more than a lively one. Always book a meet-and-greet.
Keeping your dog's routine stable
Older dogs rely on predictability. Ask the sitter to keep feeding times, walk times and bedtime as close as possible to yours. Leave your dog's own bed, blanket and bowls, even if it boards elsewhere. If your dog sleeps in your bedroom, tell the sitter, so the night routine does not change suddenly. Small details like the order of the evening routine can make a big difference to how calm an older dog feels.