A Barkspective Book

The Dog
Longevity Guide

Why Most Dogs Die Earlier Than They Had To

Forty signs owners read as old age

He takes the stairs one step at a time now. He turns for home a little earlier than he used to. He circles four times before he lies down, where he used to circle once.

You have already noticed. You said he is getting old, and the matter closed.

146 pages·40 signs·every study named at the back

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Old age is not a condition

No dog has ever been diagnosed with it. It is the name we give a change when we do not have a better one, and a great many changes with much better names look exactly the same from the sofa.

At the University of Tennessee, thirty dogs with no known history of joint problems were put through a set of joint X-rays. Eighteen of them had arthritis. Sixteen of those had it in more than one joint. Nobody had brought a single one of them in limping.

That is the whole problem in one study. The signs were never hidden. They were simply never laid out in a row.

Read one, in full, before you decide

Every one of the forty signs is set out the same way. This is the fifth, complete and unedited, exactly as it appears in the book.

Sign Five

He gets up in stages

He used to stand in one movement. Now there is a sequence. Front end first, a pause, then the back end, sometimes with a shuffle of the hind feet to get them underneath him. The first few steps are stiff, and then he walks it off and looks entirely normal, which is the part that makes owners dismiss it.

What it usually is. Arthritis. This is the textbook presentation, and the fact that it improves with movement is not reassurance. It is the diagnosis. Inflamed joints stiffen at rest and loosen with use, which is why the worst moment of an arthritic dog's day is the first minute of it, and why a vet examining him at two in the afternoon may see nothing at all.

What it can also be. Cold and damp make it worse, so a dog who is stiff in November and fine in July has not recovered. He has had an easier month. Weakness without stiffness, where the back legs simply fail to hold rather than hurting, points somewhere else and needs a proper look.

What to do. Film it. This is the single most useful thing an owner can hand a vet, and almost nobody does it. Thirty seconds of your dog getting up from a cold floor first thing in the morning carries more information than any description of the same event, and it removes the problem of a dog who performs perfectly in the consulting room.

III

Fifteen chapters, forty signs

The Most Expensive Sentence in Dog Ownership
How He MovesEight signs, from the stairs to the walk he cuts short
Eating, Drinking, and the GardenEight signs, and the two numbers worth measuring at home
Breathing and SleepEight signs, including the one-minute test a heart specialist would recognise
His Voice, His Face, His HeadEight signs, and why a change in the bark matters in a large older dog
What He Does All DayEight signs, the ones people mistake for personality
WeightThe largest number anybody has measured, and why small dogs lose the most
Movement, Company, and HeatWhat the evidence actually supports, and what it does not
Three Conversations to Have With Your VetNeutering timing, teeth, and the rhythm of appointments
What the Popular Advice Is Actually WorthRaw feeding, grain-free, fasting, supplements and longevity drugs, weighed honestly
Four Checks That Cost Nothing
What Your Dog's Breeding Is Likely to Ask of You
The Last Conversation
Quick ReferenceTwo pages made to be printed and put on the fridge
Where the Numbers Come FromEvery study named, with what it cannot tell you

What it looks like when you open it

One hundred and forty-six pages, set in large dark type on a warm background with generous spacing, and illustrated throughout. It was laid out to be read comfortably in an armchair, not squinted at on a phone.

Two sample pages: He takes the stairs one step at a time, and His breathing at rest has sped up

Plate I. Every sign gets its own page, in the same three-part form.

The weight table, showing how much life each breed loses

Plate II. The table that surprises most owners — small dogs lose the most.

Plate III. Two pages at the back are a printable summary, meant for the fridge.

Twenty-four dollars

One PDF. One payment. Nothing renews and nothing expires.
Print it as often as you like for your own household.

Buy the book — $24

Written by the person who makes the videos

Barkspective is a YouTube channel about dog behaviour, with more than four thousand five hundred subscribers and over six hundred thousand views. This book grew out of the same questions that keep coming back under the videos: he has started doing this, is it something, or is he just getting old.

Every figure in the book is listed at the back with the study it came from and an honest note on what that study cannot tell you. Where a popular claim turned out to have no research behind it, the book says so instead of quietly repeating it.

VII

From the button to the first page

One. You buy the book, by card or by PayPal, whichever you prefer.

Two. It arrives in your email, usually within a minute. The email has a link. Click it and the book downloads to your computer, tablet or phone.

Three. You keep it. Nothing renews and nothing expires.

VIII

Asked and answered

Is this a printed book that comes in the post?

No. It is a digital book, sent to you by email as a file. If you would rather hold paper, print it yourself — it is laid out to print properly.

Do I need a Kindle or a special device?

No. The book is a PDF, which opens on any computer, tablet or phone. Nothing needs to be installed.

Is this only for old dogs?

No. Roughly half of it is about the years before anything goes wrong, and several of the signs first appear in dogs of five or six. The earlier you read it, the more of it is still useful.

Does it apply to my breed?

Yes. The forty signs are the same in every dog. There is also a chapter on what size, shape and coat change about the risks, which covers mixed breeds as well as pedigrees.

How is this different from the Golden Retriever Decoder?

The Decoder is about what a Golden is saying to you. This one is about what any dog's body is telling you, and it is written for every breed. They do not overlap.

What if the email does not arrive?

Look in the spam or junk folder first, because that is usually where it is. If it is not there, use the contact button on the Gumroad page and I will send it to you directly.

Does this replace a vet?

No, and it does not try to. Nothing in it diagnoses anything. Every sign in the book ends by telling you when it is worth a professional opinion, and the honest answer, whenever you are unsure, is that it is.

Is it going to frighten me?

It is not written to. Most of what you find will turn out to be nothing, and knowing that is worth having too.

The Dog Longevity Guide