Our black lab, Bubba, who we rescued 9 years ago was an extreme example. He was so needy and clingy it took us one year to get his mind right and let him trust us not to leave him.
It was worth it. He’s been a wonderful dog. I just had to get him a doggy ramp to get into the car and I dread his birthday next month. He’ll be 7 years older and so will I.
Omega 3 capsules and get the grain out of his diet, there are some brands that aren’t too pricey. If the mobility gets to be much more of an issue, consider an NSAID but carefully. Metacam was a godsend for mine, he went down at age 14 and couldn’t get up on his own, I was carrying him, all 110 pounds, his name was Woody. He got up on his own and walked 15 minutes after his first dose, but I was scared to death that he’d react badly and be harmed instead of helped. Some small number of dogs react very badly to NSAIDs though, so be very careful and stop the minute you see any evidence of blood in the urine or anything else out of the ordinary. Follow the directions to the letter and do not use any other NSAID with it, right down to even aspirin. The consequence is potentially fatal. But, it gave Woody another good year and he was happy as a clam right up to the day he died, here at home, in my arms.