Dr. Monica Tarantino

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Dr. Monica Tarantino I am a small animal veterinarian sharing insight and info to help keep your beloved pets happy and he

10/14/2026

You guys were amazing! Yes! The sausage has Cushing’s and has started his meds. Who else wants to see a senior sausage glow up for Frank the Tank✨🐶? What’s your favorite part about him?

Most dogs with arthritis aren’t limping. Old dogs hide pain really well, so it usually looks like them just getting olde...
10/12/2026

Most dogs with arthritis aren’t limping. Old dogs hide pain really well, so it usually looks like them just getting older.

Comment WATCH for my free Chronic Pain in Older Dogs guide. If you’re checking things off, bring it up at your next vet visit 🤍

10/03/2026

Poor health and age are not synonymous.

That’s one of my favorite quotes on senior pet health.

Because it’s true! Poor health is NOT the standard for an aging or geriatric pet.

But in order to make that the case, we as pet parents have to BE PROACTIVE in promoting the health of our seniors.

Sharing some ways to do that above. What’s some of these that you do?

09/30/2026

Most people think a “good” walk means going far.

More distance = more exercise = better, right?

Not always for an old dog.

Sometimes a short, slow walk where they get to sniff EVERYTHING is exactly what they need.

Let him stop at the same patch of grass forever. Let him investigate the fence. Let him pick the direction. You’re not trying to get anywhere.

Because sniffing is doing something too. He’s using his brain. He’s taking in his environment. And for a senior dog who may not be able to walk as far or as fast as he used to, that matters.

Even 15 minutes where he gets to lead and you just follow can be a really good walk.

The goal doesn’t always have to be more miles.

Sometimes the goal is just letting your old dog enjoy being a dog. ❤️

What do walks look like with your senior dog now?

13 small things that make a big difference for senior dogs. Which one are you starting this week? And what's something t...
09/29/2026

13 small things that make a big difference for senior dogs. Which one are you starting this week? And what's something that's made your senior's life better? Share with us below 🤍

09/27/2026

Senior dog pain is REALLY easy to miss.
It doesn’t always look like limping or crying.
Sometimes it’s taking a little longer to get up. Pausing before jumping on the couch. Shifting around before finally getting comfortable. Walking a little slower. Or just not doing something they used to do.
And this is one of the biggest things I want senior dog parents to know:
Your dog can still be happy, eating, playing and wagging their tail AND living with chronic pain.
I have a mini-course for senior dog parents where I go much deeper: the subtle signs I look for in my own patients, what changes actually get my attention, what to track at home, and what to bring to your vet so you can have a better conversation about your dog’s pain and options.
I haven’t shared it in a while, but this felt like a good time to bring it back.
Comment PAIN and I’ll send you the link. ❤️‍🩹

09/25/2026

6 things I do to protect my old dog's sleep. Save this one for later.

1. They have a spot that's theirs. Somewhere safe and quiet where nobody bothers them. That matters even more with kids or other pets in the house who don't always leave a sleeping dog be.

2. I know what normal deep sleep looks like. Easy, steady breathing, the chest going up and down, maybe a little snore. That's usually just a dog who is really, really asleep.

3. I let them sleep. Deep sleep is when the aging brain recovers, so when my old dog is out cold, I leave them be.

4. If I rest my hand on them and they don't stir, I don't panic. Deep sleep is deep. I let them stay there unless I truly need to wake them.

5. I only wake them for a real reason, and safety is one. Becca once fell asleep stretched across the front door mat right before my nieces and nephews came over, so I woke her gently and moved her to the bedroom.

6. When I do have to wake them, I never startle them. I hold something that smells good near their nose, or stomp softly a few feet away so they feel the vibration and come up on their own.

Liked these tips? Follow Senior Dogs | Dr. Monica Tarantino 🐶😻 Veterinarian if you love an old dog ♥️🐾

09/25/2026

An old dog's day runs on a schedule and you are the one keeping it.

Something first thing. Something with food. Something that has to be away from food. An eye drop twice a day. A joint supplement you're not entirely sure is doing anything. A tablet you cut in half with a knife that is now only used for that.

Nobody sees this. It doesn't look like work from the outside and there's no word for it, so when someone asks how you're doing there's no short answer that's true.

Two things worth saying. First, a weekly pill organizer is the single biggest quality-of-life change I can offer most owners, and almost nobody does it until I say it out loud. Second, if the schedule has become impossible, say so at the next visit. There is very often a longer-acting version, or a combination, or one thing on the list that could quietly come off it.

You're allowed to ask for it to be simpler.

How many are you running right now?

I'm a vet with old ones at home. Follow along if you're the one holding the schedule together.

09/25/2026

The thing that stops most people is the commitment, and I understand it completely.

You're not sure where you'll be in three years. You've got a lease, or a job that might move, or you've just lost one and you can't sign up for the whole thing again yet. So you don't do it, and an old dog sits in a kennel while you think about it.

Fostering exists for exactly this. The rescue keeps the medical costs and the long-term responsibility. You give her a sofa, a routine and somebody who knows her name, for however long you've got.

And here is the part people don't expect. Senior fosters get adopted faster, because a foster can tell an adopter what a dog is actually like in a house. A kennel can't tell them that. Nobody adopts a dog from a description of a dog.

Six months in a real home is not a smaller version of the good outcome. For a fourteen-year-old it may be the whole thing.

Have you fostered before?

I'm a vet with old ones at home. Follow along for the senior rescue side of this.

09/25/2026

She was eighteen and a half.

We took her at ten and the rescue was straight with us about what to expect. Two years, maybe three. We went in with our eyes open about that part.

Nearly half her life happened after the point where everybody assumes the story is nearly over.

I am not promising anyone eight and a half years. Some of that was luck and I know it.

What I will say is that we got eight and a half and I loved every single one of them, and I would have said yes for two. That is the part I actually want you to hear. If you are sitting there running the numbers on an old dog you have already met, the numbers were never going to be the reason.

How old was yours when you got her?

I'm a vet with old ones at home. Follow along if you're thinking about taking on an older one.

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