Mr. Willie is ten years old now, in spite of my incantations to the spirits to keep him eternally young. I’ve retired him from sheepdog competitions, which I’m sure was a good decision. But it also means that every day I walk back to the house after Maggie and I have a long training session, and see Willie’s big-eyed face looking at me by the door.
“My turn? Is it my turn now?” If you have a “retired” dog, you know exactly what happens in my heart when I see his face looking at me as I begin to leave. Sometimes it IS his turn, because there is always work to do on the farm. Perhaps Willie and I will go back up the hill and move the sheep down to the barn for their evening meal, or to sort out a limping ewe. But sometimes there are no farm chores left for him to do.
Granted, Willie and Maggie get a hard run every morning in games we’ve adapted to Willie’s shoulder issues and his somewhat rude style of play. (That deserves a post all by itself, I’ll make a note of it.) And granted, he does still work sheep 4 or 5 times a week, and gets to play at herding when we’re off the farm. But it’s not enough. It might be for some dogs, but not for Willie. He’s still the one who barrels through the door to go out unless asked to wait, who leaps up in the living room every time I shift my legs while watching television (while 3 year old Maggie snores on a comfy chair). Willie may be retired from competition, but he’s not retired from having an engine always on “smoking”.
This is why I find myself thinking about how I can keep him engaged, while respecting the fact that he’s ten years old and not structurally sound enough to work sheep seriously. Not to mention that I myself am not retired from working, and I don’t have unlimited time to entertain my dogs. I know I’m not alone. How many of you have driven away from an older dog who you couldn’t fit in the van on your way to some dog sport? I know there are a lot of us out there; I can’t count the number of times I’ve heard someone say it broke their heart to drive away and leave their elderly, retired competitor at home.
That’s why I resolved this weekend to balance things out as much as I can. Every time I return from a training session with Maggie, I’m going to take Willie out to teach him some new tricks. We’re playing around with some freestyle games, although I know I’ll never find the time to compete in two dog sports. But Willie loves learning new things, and even five minutes having him heel on both sides of me or weave through my legs is enough to make him happy.
Tootsie needs some more mental exercise too. I’ve resolved this winter to teach her a few new tricks. Granted, her favorite trick is sleeping on the couch, but she’d do anything for food, and is capable of far more than I ask of her.
What about you? I know I’m not alone here, and I’d love a conversation about how you have coped with keeping an aging dog mentally and physically active. What has worked? What hasn’t? Of course, we can define “worked” in a variety of ways, including worked for you, or for your dog? Certainly we need to honor the reality that older dogs can’t be expected to perform as they did when younger, at least if the activity requires strength and stamina. At the same time, we need to remember that staying vital is surely as important for aging dogs as it is for people. And then, there’s that lack of infinite amounts of time and energy that we have ourselves… Please jump in here, I’d love to hear your thoughts and experiences.
MEANWHILE, back on the farm: Good news and bad news. I’ll get the bad news out of the way first. My favorite ewe, Lady Godiva, has contracted a horrible disease, Caseous Lymphadenitis, which has been transmitted to all three of her lambs. It’s catching, nasty to treat (I’ll spare you the details), and standard protocol is to “cull” the affected animals. Of course it’s Lady G, who truly is like a pet to me. She comes when I call, leading the flock back to the barn when I call out for her. She is also our best breeding ewe. She’s nine years old and has twins or triplets every year, including three lovely lambs this year. I don’t know exactly how I will precede, I have lots more research to do, but I do know that we can’t have our co-owned ram come to the farm as scheduled this fall. Thus, no lambs at all next year. That in itself breaks my heart; it’s one of my favorite parts of spring. Neither can I keep one of her ewe lambs to join the flock as a breeding ewe. I know this is just part of the package–sometimes nature really is “red in tooth and claw”.” But that doesn’t mean it doesn’t hurt.
Here are the four of them in quarantine:
However, there’s lots good on the farm right now too. The weather continues to be postcard perfect. Blue sky sunny, red leaf-colorful, and white, puffy cloud gorgeous. Of course, the only day last week it was dull and cloudy was the day of the “photo shoot” at the farm for photographs for the memoir website I’m working on. But it was a perfect Saturday morning when we went to look for congregations of migrating Sandhill Cranes. And find them we did, somewhere around 300-400 of them. They nest here–we have a pair that nests just a bit south of the farm–so we get to see them all summer, but seeing massive numbers of them is special indeed.
We also had perfect weather to host the annual fall party for the “Decon” volunteers for Habitat for Humanity. “Decon” stands for deconstruction, and refers to taking out valuable materials from buildings being torn down or refurbished to sell them at “Restores” to raise money to build the new houses that we are most familiar with. Jim is a volunteer on the Decon team, and for two years now we have hosted the annual fall party. After a yummy potluck, we walked up the hill for a sheepdog demonstration. We all had great fun, but Maggie and Willie most of all. I had plans to take lots of photos for you all, but got so wrapped up in hosting the party I completely forgot. What I can show you is my chrysanthemum extravaganza. I found a place that sold massive ones for ridiculously little money, and went a little crazy. Hey, I only bought 17 of them. They added a lovely note of color to the yard, and how wonderful that I had such a good excuse to buy them!
HFR says
This is a timely subject for me. I also have a 10 year old dog who, while not nearly as high drive as Willy, would love to do more these days. I tried agility with him when he was a pup, but that wasn’t his thing. Then we found nosework. Bingo! He loved it and was pretty good at it. Now, nosework is not hard at all on a senior, but here’s the thing: I just got a puppy. One with tons of energy and one that does not like to be in a crate. He also goes nuts when he sees other dogs (he LOVES them and cannot tolerate not being able to get to them). So after multiple attempts to bring him along to my older dog’s class, I had to give that up. He can’t stay home by himself since he hates the crate and honestly he’d be so wound up by the time I got home, I doubt we’d be able to sleep at all (it’s a evening class).
Not only that, but I take the puppy to 2 classes on the weekends, so I have to leave the older dog home by himself. And for the topper, the puppy goes to daycare every day (due to energy surplus) while I’m at work, so the older dog is home by himself. I feel so awful about this, but I don’t see a solution right now. I just keep telling myself it’s temporary until the puppy gets older and he’s better trained and his energy tank gets smaller. But then again, my older dog is getting older by the second and he’s a large dog, so 10 is getting close to the end of his lifespan. To compensate as best I can, I engage him with activities as often as possible. I never leave him alone when I don’t have to. I run errands and come right back. I take him for long off-leash walks whenever I can and hug him a lot more than I used to.
Here’s my question, do you think dogs can think to themselves “Boy, things were a lot better before”? Or do you think they just accept what they have as what is available to them and they either like it or not? Somehow it’s worse for me if I think that he’s sad not only because he’s less active, but also because he has the capability to miss a time when he had it better.
Sorry, not offering much in advice on how to deal with the situation, as I’m still figuring it out myself.
I’m so sorry to hear about Lady Godiva. I can’t imagine what it would be like to be an animal lover and have to make decisions when you can’t listen to that part of your heart. I’m sure whatever you decide, it will be the best for her and for you.
LisaW says
On good days, I think of it as passing historical knowledge from one generation to the next. Our stories become our children’s stories and they get modified and become our grandchildren’s stories. It’s how aging works — the young learn from and go beyond the previous generation. My younger dog has a different story than my older dog, and I take what I have learned from the old and pass it on the the young. Each stage requires a different role.
But, on most days I’m not so sanguine about aging, and I fret about leaving Phoebe, who will be 11 next month, home while I take Olive out for a longer hike or walk than Phoebe can handle. She isn’t “retired” from anything in particular, but for a dog with severe hip dysplasia and a few other issues, it’s amazing she is still with us and willingly so. She looks longingly out the glass door as we leave, but I have found that a hollow bone with some peanut butter inside given to her as we are leaving almost makes up for being left.
HFR’s question gets right to the heart of it for me, too. Are they longing for the good old days or are they seeing that these are the good old days? Or are they just grumbling into their kibble?
LisaW says
Oops, hit send before I could express how sorry I am about Lady Godiva and her lambs. It must be excruciating, and they look so healthy and gorgeous. You will do what is best, you always do, but so hard. Sorry.
Diane says
I think HFR poses a great question….one I grapple with daily as my dog is 11-1/2 and is also a large dog. Walks are very short now (shoulder and hip issues). I am taking him to “swim” therapy in a resistance pool which, luckily for me, is run by a retired vet who I trust a lot more with physical decision about his age and stamina than me…and that’s what I mean and why I agree with your question. Am I making things so much worse with my worry. Is he happy with things as they are? I keep telling myself that all I can do is try to keep him comfortably active, engaged and well taken care of…I wish I could be sure that’s all that matters to him! PS, I can’t imagine how you all do it with multiple dogs at different stages and ages. I am thinking of volunteering to walk shelter dogs, but don’t think I can commit to a scheduled time yet…and, of course, I worry that my time there takes away from my time with my dog!
Sally S says
Nose work is great for senior dogs. Leverages their talented noses and they set the pace. Easy to set up practice at home – in the yard, in the garage – or a quick trip to a park, school campus, etc. Nose work has really stretched my brain reading my dog: hunting for odor -> in odor -> at odor. I’ll set hides and think I know how my dogs will work them, then watch the dogs and learn how the scent really moved. As much as my Goldens love the cookies and party when they find the odor container, I believe they also thrive on being the focus of my attention and appreciation of their amazing abilities.
Leigh says
Our dogs may feel insecure or might go self-pity if they feel in any way that we treat them less than how we treated them when they were a lot younger. Thanks for bringing this up!
Mireille says
How how sad for Lady Godiva and her lambs. Since I am a (human) clinical microbiologist, let me know if I can help you with research. I did a quick look around on the net, found that it is a facultative intracellular micro-organism which makes it difficult to treat. If antibiotica treatment is warranted (along with incision and drainage?) , than an antibiotica of the macrolide group would seem preferable. In animals mostly erytromycin is used, in humans there are some newer drugs such as claritromycin and azitromycin but I have no idea if these are ever used in sheep.
As for the elder dog: when Chenak got old, he still wanted to pull even though his back would not let him work long / hard. He could not run in tandem with our other husky anymore, but I would take him along on the bike, he would pull to his hearts content for 5-10 min and the we would saunter-ride home. He was happy. I was sad to see how limited he was, but the grin on his face said it all. So yes, we did let him pull/ work, knowing full well that is might have shortened his life (we put him to sleep when his back started troubling him so much that he could not walk anymore.). Here is a picture of him on his last holiday in the snow at 13 years old: short stretches, light pulling and happy dog: http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-kO7ZTi3w97k/S17te5Mcs-I/AAAAAAAAAsE/5gAHvN9AP1w/s1600/IMG_0602.JPG
jackied says
It’s hard when their memory is going a bit too. There are times when I ask mine to do well known tricks and despite being keen as mustard he can only remember one of them. And then on another day the spark is back and I can shape him to do a new thing. He would always *like* to do training and I don’t know how to approach that.
It was such a shame that he had to give up agility – that was a physical neurological problem rather than mental thing – it was his favourite thing in the whole world.
Even more sadly, he’s probably only 8 or so. The specialist vet thinks he sustained brain damage as a puppy which is slowly getting worse, and his behaviour is regressing too, which severely limits what we can do with him – though it also means he’s not that keen to go out, so at least he doesn’t mind being left behind.
Jen G says
I also have to chime in on Nosework for older dogs. It has been a revelation for my 11-year-old labrador who doesn’t have the interest in long hikes after the passing of her lifetime friend and her own aging issues. Nosework brings out that old spark we’ve always loved about her and it is a cinch to make easy for rapid wins or more challenging when she’s in the mood for it. I think it keeps her mentally sharper, too, and I think she enjoys making us laugh by being a little silly too.
Jo says
Senior dogs tug at my heart strings. Some of my fondest memories are of the last few months of both my 10 year old senior rescue Great Danes. Believe me, both my Danes had a great life. We went everywhere and did everything together, but as with age, things changed. Then my eyes were opened to what there legacy would be in this world. At 10 years old “Yava” was certified as a therapy dog. Somehow my girl led me to what she wanted to do in her senior years. We were a team and she loved every nursing home visit, but our time was cut short as she passed only 2 months later. My other 10 year old “Bubbles” was nudging me to to do nose work, which she took of interest after Yava passed. Together, Bubbles and I discovered the world of nose work . We goofed around at home and in the back yard playing our “find it” games. We even went to some small, just for fun, local events. Everyone loved seeing her and laughed as my ol gal would strut away after all her yummy finds with an attitude of “this is how ya get it done youngsters”. We shared this for 3 months until she joined her sister in heaven. My girls brought me so much joy and unconditional love. They also, as seniors, showed me there is wonderful things to do in this world that I didn’t even know existed. Honestly, they showed me how not to fear aging and how we each have a legacy, we just have to “find it”
Chloe de Segonzac says
My girl BC is almost 12 now. A bit of a shoulder limp if she chases squirrels too hard and a bit of a hip limp after out long hikes in the Columbia gorge. I care for her not letting her jump down from car after the hour drive home and post hikes I have Advil for 24 hours and she has half dose of Rimadyl.
She competed in Agility the first three years of her life and loved it but her anxiety put her in danger of running if a loud sound happened unexpectantly or a storm etc so we stopped.
I consider her a working dog because I walk dogs train the pups and housesit. She still helps with teaching respectful behavior to the young dogs; she likes an orderly crew.
Recently I have left her home because the dogs that day needed more exercise that she can put out. Yes that look! Breaks my heart.
I have a good group of young Collies and a mini Aussie twice a week who stay the afternoon and those boys adore her. I’m so glad for that. You should see her welcoming the dogs at every stop as they leap in my car for their afternoon with me.
Linda Keast says
Our “beloved elder” is a 13-year old over-sized Papillon who has for years worked happily off-leash with at-risk children as the main dog for The Little Dog Laughed Animal-Assisted Therapy (http://www.theLittleDogLaughed.org). We’ve successfully adapted activities to support various structural problems throughout his life, but now we’re faced with one hurdle for which I have no answer: both his hearing and his sight (especially peripheral) are starting to fade. This means he startles easily, and may snap at a hand that suddenly enters his vision on the side of his head. Ergo, no more playing with younglings.
When I train my other two dogs at home I always include Eli and ask the same level of performance. Whenever possible I use him as my “demo dog” since I will be the only handler. But by far his favorite thing in the world is to have me all to himself — walks, or an occasional full-day Barn Hunt competition where we focus only on each other.
Andy says
Weirdly, the fact that I was kind of a crummy owner when I got my first dog wound up making her final years much better than previous ones. By the time she passed I think I was pretty good to her, and she had a lot of fun.
What worked for me was – somewhat ironically – taking on a high-maintenance foster dog. I knew that to do right by Duchess I would have to commit to giving her dedicated time doing fun things, so I enrolled her in agility classes, which she truly loved more than just about anything. Additionally, having another dog in the house sort of forced her to take life more seriously since there was now this potential competitor. That kept her engaged. I don’t think she was especially fond of Cecil – one of my favorite memories of her is some of the looks she gave him, which seemed to wryly communicate that she felt he was an idiot – but he provided company of a sort when I was gone, and given how much she’d suffered from S.A. in the past this probably helped her a bunch. I was just very careful to make sure she felt safe, and knew she wasn’t going to lose privileges (sleeping with me, dedicated walks, etc.).
To HFR’s question, I don’t know if we can truly know if dogs feel that kind of disappointment. It sounds like you’re a great companion to your elderly dog, though.
Khris Erickson says
Mystic is almost 12 and I still take him to agility class and run him through a course at extremely low jump heights. He’s in great shape and he is so much fun to run.
But because I’m doing so much training with Quinn I was feeling guilty, so last spring I started nose work with Mystic, and it’s really been so much fun. I can’t believe how quickly he picked it up, and how much we really enjoy doing it together!
Frances says
That sounds a truly horrible disease. Are you avoiding breeding because of the risks of it spreading through the flock despite vaccination, or simply because of the risk to the visiting ram? If the latter, would AI be feasible for this year?
I think perhaps it is easier to manage aging in animals whose great joys in life are sleeping on laps, playing silly games, and going for walks in interesting places, rather than working sheep or other physically demanding activities. My dogs are still young and fit (well, 7 and 8 which is young for toys), and love long walks and the occasional fit of the zoomies, but if the time comes that they can’t manage serious walks I know they will be very happy pootling gently along footpaths and over fields, and that I will be able to lift them in and out of the car and carry them if necessary. Scent games are a very good idea; they are already one of Sophy’s favourite things. She is very good at finding cats and people for me!
Trisha says
Well, HFR asked the money question for sure. Isn’t that what we all worry about? Whether our dogs are looking out the window pining for their younger days when they did get to go on the long hike or the competition? And, as has been pointed out, we simply don’t know. We just don’t know if dogs have that kind of episodic memory, although several studies (I sense another blog topic coming on) suggest that they don’t. I don’t think we know enough yet to say, I’m skeptical of the argument that only humans have episodic memory (remembering the day you got your first dog for example). I just don’t think we know enough. But certainly we know enough about emotions to know that dogs can feel disappointment and frustration when they expect to go along and don’t get to. Unmet expectations don’t require a high level of cognition after all.
Thus, one question related to HFR’s is: Once we drive away, does the dog then go lie down and not think about it anymore? Surely dogs ruminate (mentally) less than people do, that’s part of why we love them so much. Surely they are far more accepting of what’s happening in the present than we humans who become obsessed with the past and the future. But are we talking about a difference in kind or degree? Hummmm… not sure we know yet.
Amy W. says
I lost my dog, Axle, this past June at 11.5 years. In the last few months of his life his mobility was compromised due to degenerative myelopathy; however, he still enjoyed going to the park and just hanging out under a tree and watching the people and squirrels.
His entire life we made daily trips to a park to hike and play. So, it seemed very important to keep this daily routine in tact. Instead of hiking miles or playing fetch, I would help him out of the car to a spot in the grass a few feet from the car where he could lie down and watch the activity. I am blessed to live within a 15 minute drive time of several different parks, so each day we would visit a different park and he continued to be the “world traveler” that he always was. Even if your daily park trip can’t be a long hike through a variety of terrains – that doesn’t mean it can’t be a different locale day-to-day. The changing scenery, I hope/think, kept his brain engaged. The park trips were different at the end of his life, but still just as important. He got “to go” – which was always extremely important to him, but were within his physical limitations.
Maria says
After 8+ years of competitive agility my little beagle cross started having trouble with his joints around 11 years old. When I finally made the decision to retire him, even from low-key weekly classes (we’ll still do a run every once in awhile), I decided to occupy him by doing a complete 180 and starting nose work with him. However, as our classes take place in a training space with agility equipment, he’ll sometimes squeeze onto an a-frame pressed against a wall or ‘over’ a bar-less jump. Nevertheless, the change has been fun both of us. Being a beagle means he took to nose work like a fish to water, and I sometimes I wish that I had started with him earlier, it certainly would’ve saved us many winter nights in an unheated barn in WI!
Trisha says
I love the comments about nose work and I heartily agree. I taught Willie to find a hidden toy in the yard when we could no longer play fetch because of his shoulder injury and he loved it. And you can play it anywhere, including in the house when the dog’s movement is restricted or it’s a blizzard outside.
To jackied: I’m so sorry about your dog’s brain damage. I am reminded of people with dementia who can’t function as they used to, but can have a wonderful life as long as it doesn’t create a lot of frustration for them. This could be a great time to learn canine massage, and maybe even try to simple nose work as a silly game if that could work. Whatever happens, your dog is surely lucky to have you.
Lori says
All my dogs, especially my senior, LOVE nosework!
Stacie Shirko says
My first Border Collie, an agility dog, continued to run at run-thrus, with ever lower bar heights until the bars were on the ground. Once she was past that, she could come into the ring with me and my other dogs and “supervise” until she was past that even and had to tell us we were doing it wrong from ringside. She was happy, demanding, engaged and in charge until the day she died at 15. My 11yo BC, another agility dog, has found her retirement career in Barn Hunt, which she loves even more. She’ll leave me in the agility ring for rats!
Trisha says
To Mireille: Thank you so much for your comments about caseous. I had a very informative talk with a vet specialist at Washington State University yesterday, learned a lot. It is indeed a bacterial disease, but it does not respond to antibiotic treatment because the abcesses are walled off so well. It can also live intercellularly (in some cases) and thus also not affected by antibiotics. There is a chance that Lady Godiva’s abcess has walled off and it will never spread to her internal organs and that will be the end of it. Her lambs, on the other hand, have active abcesses around the lymph glands located in their neck which have to be lanced and cleaned out before they open themselves and spread the bacteria all over my pasture. It’s a gruesome treatment for all involved, I have to say. I’ll spare you more details.
Soon I’ll be having serology done, UC Davis found a correlation between the results and how systemic the bacteria is. That’ll give me a guess as to whether than can be used as market lambs at least. Hopefully any bacteria that got into the pastures already will be killed by the cold this winter. It does mean that we can’t have the ram here this fall, and that I can’t keep one or two of Lady G’s lambs as planned. But I might be able to keep Lady G. We’ll just have to check her daily all the way til spring to find out. Thanks for the expressions of sympathy from several of you; they are much appreciated.
carol paton says
Nosework, nosework, nosework! There is a reason this newer activity has taken the dog world by storm. I cannot say enough good things about this ‘sport’ for any dog—young, (very) old, blind, deaf, handicapped, reactive, etc. I have seen multiple dogs 12 yo+ that have titled. Plus, you can do it inside when the weather is too hot or too frigid to do much outdoors. Nosework is basically dog-directed; simply perfect for BC’s who want a job and likes to work semi-independently. And I cannot say enough about the way it builds the relationship between handler and dog—even if you are positive you and your dog are completely in synch and can read each other like a book. Besides, what could be more fun for the dog than using his amazing schnozz and getting rewarded for it!
My BC ran in agility for 3 years until his hideously dysplastic hips put him too much at risk for injury. Nosework was substituted to keep us both from go nuts with boredom…and it was the best thing that ever happened to him. We thought he loved agility, but compared to nosework, it’s just ‘meh’ for him. But he would do absolutley anything to earn a turn to search for odor. Imo NACSW has the best trial structure, but not the best training methodology. Try to find an instructor who does not start off pairing odor with food (Denise Fenzi, Margaret Simek, etc.). I think you and Mr. Willie will have a blast!
carol paton says
Apologies for not reading your reponses (above) before posting. Clearly you are already aware of the versatility and benefits of nosework.
Amelia Looper says
Coincidentally, we just went over caseous lymphadenitis in my large animal medicine course at Texas A&M University veterinary school this morning. One of the things we talked about was the difficulty of treating the disease without massively contaminating the environment. At our large animal hospital, we actually do subcutaneous or intralesional injections of antibiotic to resolve these abscesses with less risk of contamination (no lancing)! Our instructor has conducted a clinical trial on this treatment regimen and had promising results, link here: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19405888. Maybe show that to your veterinarian and discuss it? If he/she wants more information, contacting one of our clinicians may be an option!
Monika & Sam says
Sam is a therapy dog and visits patients at a large city hospital and their on site hospice center. Now aged 11, I think the energy it takes to visit sick folks slightly waning. He doesn’t refuse, but seems to prefer spending more time with hospital visitors and the nurses. Perhaps it’s just the scent that sick people have that affects him since he seems more than willing to stop and linger with every nurse and technician we encounter so I let him spend as much time as their busy schedules allow, all the while monitoring his reaction. Our hospital visits seems a bit shortened because of his preference to staff over patients.
HFR says
Yes, I guess whether dogs have episodic memory (I love that I have a name for this now) will probably remain a mystery for now. But I do believe they “forgive and forget” pretty quickly. A funny story about their memory: I have a 9 month old sporting dog puppy. Okay, I’ve accepted that he probably wasn’t the smartest dog in his litter, but he’s trainable at least. I had an out-of-town guest for a week. When he first met her, he was definitely a little wary and would back up from her and bark. She would give him a treat and within a minute he was all over her with his wagging tail and generous licks. But when she would go into another room and he heard her in the other room, he would run in to that room and bark at her and she would have to introduce herself all over again. If she went upstairs and then came back down, he reacted to her as if he’d never seen her before. I have to admit, we were laughing pretty hard at this. We had a grand old time imagining his barks were “Who the heck are you?!? What are you doing in my house?!?” each time he saw her anew. Assuming he isn’t brain damaged, I’m thinking this is pretty good evidence that a dog’s memory sucks. 🙂 I asked his trainer about this behavior and she was sort of stumped. She suggested that because dogs are so context-centric, maybe he didn’t know her in a different surrounding. Then she suggested he was “special needs”…oh well, at least he’s cute.
Nosework is a great game for seniors. My problem with doing it with my older dog outside of a classroom setting is that the puppy will have none of it. No one is allowed to do anything that doesn’t include him right now. I’m working on it, but he is reminding me how lucky I’ve been with all my puppies before him. He’s a handful, for sure.
Elizabeth says
My dog is still young, however we regularly meet/see two older dogs (different owners) with age/mobility issues who go for ‘walks’ by being pushed around in a carriage, link to an example of the type of thing below. It looked a bit odd the first time that I came across one however I now talk regularly with one owner who has two whippets, one a very lively young dog and the older with episodic but severe lower back/leg problems who often rides along. He explained that the older dog seeemed to really enjoy getting out and about and still being with his ‘pack’ outside rather than being at home. Older dog always looks very alert and ‘smiley’ in the carriage when we come across them except once when he was happily curled up asleep at the end long outing being pushed along.
https://www.amazon.com/Best-Choice-Products-Stroller-Suspension/dp/B00N11PEPQ/ref=sr_1_7?ie=UTF8&qid=1477422287&sr=8-7&keywords=dog+carriage
Susan S says
You might want to consider Barn Hunt (www.barnhunt.com). It’s a fairly new & rapidly growing dog sport in which dogs search for rats hidden between/around/on bales of straw. The rats are in very sturdy foot-long PVC pipes, securely closed at both ends, with plenty of ventilation. It’s kind of a combination of nosework & very low impact agility, with multi-turn tunnels & bales to climb. BC’s are absurdly good at it. A dog moves up through levels of proficiency, which means more rats & more time to find them. Both the AKC & the UKC recognize Barn Hunt titles.
I thought my ten-year-old Weimaraner would be good at it. Turns out my enthusiastic three-year-old is better, but it’s a great sport for active older dogs. I did worry about the rats in the beginning but I don’t now, since I’ve seen how well they’re treated. There are trials all over every weekend, including a bunch in Wisconsin.
Gayla says
So sorry to hear about Lady Godiva and her lambs! We’ll all be hoping she can be saved, and the disease will be contained and eliminated.
I’m not sure if this qualifies as an episodic memory, but I have a friend whose dog once found (and ate) half of a hamburger she discovered behind a bush on their daily walk-route. And for all the many years after, until her passing, would refuse to pass that bush unless allowed to check behind it.
Trisha says
Amelia at Texas A & M: What great timing! My vet came out today to take blood samples to send to WSU, and is very interested in your comments. I’ve copied them and sent them to him. Love the idea of no lancing! Thanks again, you gotta love the village!
Beth says
We spent the last year-and-a-half of Jack’s prime years with Maddie going down with DM, and then in a cart. She could do mile loops on paved ground. He longs for longer and more varied walks and hikes. Trying to balance both their needs was a challenge and one dog always ended up disappointed. Once or twice a week we would leave her behind and take him for longer outings, but we would come back to find her waiting with her nose pressed to the door. Do they forget once we are gone? No, I don’t think so. Not unless being left by themselves while you do something else with the other dog was a regular part of the routine.
Now Jack is nine-and-a-half and he’s slowed down a lot. He never was a working dog but he was always high-drive. He gets sore in front if he pounds after thrown toys and so we try to limit that play but he loves it so, which makes it hard. To give you an idea of how high-drive he is, I was throwing a toy for him and trying to avoid throwing it in such a way that he put on the front anchors too much, but he came up limping. He three-legged skipped back with the toy, dropped it at my feet, sat down holding the sore front leg completely off the ground, and barked barked barked for me to throw it again. “Look, I still have three good ones!!! Come on!! I don’t need four!!”
So I’ve modified how we play but I don’t eliminate it completely. Luckily he thrives on hikes in the woods and we have a lot of that around. He’s an excellent hiking partner, and I highly recommend agility training for anyone who hikes off-leash with their dogs. He will “walk it” over a makeshift bridge instead of barreling through the mud, “go out!” to go ahead on a narrow bit, wait, jump, follow hand signals and all the other things you learn in agility class.
He’s an only dog now and we’ve decided to keep it that way. He’s already given up a lot of attention while we helped Maddie live out her last months in relative happiness. I don’t want him to have to sacrifice to a puppy now. And he seems to enjoy the undivided attention.
As for episodic memory, perhaps it depends on the dog. Certainly Madison seemed to never have too much on her mind besides the here and now. But when we head out with Jack to our huge neighboring park, he seems to have a walk pre-determined in his mind ahead of time. Down the hill? The one over the river? The long one through the woods? Past the reflecting pool? He will set out at a much faster pace if he has a particular walk in mind and start drifting in the correct direction long before we get to the actual turn. He seems to set out the door with a particular route in mind, and if he doesn’t have episodic memory, how would he do that?
I too am sorry to hear about Lady Godiva. Nasty bacteria. Amazing how adaptive they are.
Debby Gray says
I hope Texas A&M has a solution for the sheep. I can’t imagine no lambs in the Spring! That would be so sad for you Willie and Maggie. Please keep us posted.
Kat says
All paws crossed for Lady G. and my sympathy to you for having to juggle not just the nasty disease but all the decisions and emotional freight that’s part of the territory.
Ranger is 10 but his job as a therapy dog is still well within his capabilities. He appears determined to achieve his Gold level of 500 documented visits (about 143 to go lol) He doesn’t always want his long evening walk these days and sleeps more heavily but he’s as eager to go to work as ever. Lately I’ve been working on teaching him to count. And I continue to toy with teaching him to read. If only I had unlimited time and no other responsibilities. I can only imagine how hard it would be to leave him at home while a younger dog headed out with me to do his job. Fortunately, psycho bitch Finna would never have been a therapy dog even if she’d come from better beginnings her passion will always be something more physically demanding than visiting people. I suspect that because they’ve always done their thing without the other the longing for the good old days won’t look the same at my house as it does when an older competition dog is succeeded by a younger one.
All I can really do is my best to provide each of them with the appropriate amounts of mental and physical stimulation.
Katie @pet_IQ says
I just found your blog by accident, which is great timing. I was going to write a blog post about knowing when to retire service dogs, and what some options to ‘keep them going’ after retirement. I love the suggestions & I must say that you have an interactive following with so much input from readers, its very nice to see!
Sorry about Lady G and her lambs, and for you, and Mr. Willie. Its tough when plans don’t pan out as expected.
I had a pet named Molly growing up and my dog and I both were very attached to her. I hope things can work out for the best!
Its difficult as our dogs age. I had the luck of owning a truly great dog who passed away some years ago. She loved agility, but when she couldn’t keep up anymore I had her certified as a therapy dog and visited seniors. That too was cut short due to her health. I found that keeping the things she loved in manageable doses for her kept her spirits up. When we got near the end I was nearly in tears as went for our daily walk, two houses down and back. It broke my heart that that was all she had left in her and I was sad because I’d think about ‘how it used to be’ and wished I could rewind time. It didn’t seem to matter to her, she was so happy to be included with a walk anyway. I think the key for old dogs aging gracefully is to still give them purpose. They have too much heart to quite so we must let them try. It’s our job to protect them, so working within their limits.
The question that struck me the hardest in your post was “Once we drive away, does the dog then go lie down and not think about it anymore? ” and here is my answer:
I think they honestly do (for the most part) go and lie down and not think about it anymore. Dogs seem to be so good at adapting to the times, the circumstances, and their limitations. Think of a dog who just had a leg amputated. They get out of surgery, take a look for their now missing leg and carry on with 3 like that’s the way its always been.
I think when we pack up the truck to head off without our old pal, its our hesitation and partly out of habit that they anticipate us asking them to hop in and come with us. When we don’t they are little shocked what to do themselves. They noticed that we hesitated and sort of wonder whats up. Its a bit like taking a kennel away after your dog is used to being kennel trained and going to their place every time you leave the house. They watch us get ready, put our shoes on and pick up our keys. They know the routine so they head for their crate. Take it away suddenly, and now they just don’t know what their response should be. The kennel isn’t there anymore so where do they go instead? Its confusing for them. I like to believe its along the same lines for dogs. I honestly hope so. If I have to think about all my old dogs longing and dreaming about the good old days it might break my heart beyond repair. That is human brain and programming to respond that way and I would never wish it on my dogs. They are my strength on the tough days, they just keep on going despite the challenges, and they seem so resilient. So there is no way they can be all that AND dwelling on the past at the same time.
I think finding new purpose and appeasing our old dogs as best we can (in their interest) is the best we can do with them. More than anything, I think they just miss the connection that we had during our working partnerships. The attention was all on them. They would give everything they had in them to reach our satisfaction and make us happy. If you sat on the floor and scratched their belly and feel the same about them then, as you would have, had you just taken home another title instead of packing up and heading off to class/practice they will love you for it just the same 🙂
Christy Paxton says
My darling girl Tawny has been at my side since I started training 13 years ago — helping me grow as a trainer, going to my lectures, demoing at events, etc. Now, at somewhere around 14 years, she is pretty much retired from those more strenuous things but still is active (eg does figure-eight zoomies in my back yard, just a little slower and not as many!). She thoroughly enjoys 1) sniffing adventures at parks, etc. where she sets the pace and direction; 2) driving adventures where she sits in the middle of the back seat riveted by everything we pass; 3) learning new behaviors (she’s losing hearing, so we’re ramping up the non-verbals), and 4) starring in my videos, even if she isn’t supposed to be in the shot (is “vid-bomb” a word? Yeah, that’s what she does. And thoroughly enjoys it…me too 😀 ).
Frances says
Do behaviours that can be attributed to episodic learning imply episodic memory? We all know how good dogs are at learning from experiences, good and bad. If Robert’s car is parked by the gate at the start of our walk in the morning, Robert (and his pocketful of treats) is further up the path, and the dogs will run ahead to look for him. If the car is not there but they can hear his dogs, he is on his way, and they will want to wait hopefully by the gate. If I put things in my backpack it means a long walk with FOOD, and is a signal for joyous excitement. If I get out the sewing machine or the electric drill it means I am going to be busy and they find somewhere to settle down. If the toast scorches, Poppy trembles and hides in case the smoke alarm goes off. If it takes only one really memorable experience to change future behaviour, is that evidence of episodic memory, or of some more primitive kind of memory or learning? This is not my field, so I have no idea of the correct terminology.
MinnesotaMary says
One of the things I do to keep my animals mentally stimulated is to volunteer at a home for young adults on the autism spectrum. The residents interested in animals will help do some “new trick” training with my dogs. This is beneficial for them as well (win-win).
Chris from Boise says
The sandhill cranes – what a wonderful sight! Our sympathies on the caseous lymphadenitis – hope your research turns up some better alternatives.
Habi, now 12, went through several weeks of being a creaky old dog this fall. Her vet diagnosed kidney issues and a degenerating spine. A new diet, a wonderful sports vet, acupuncture and many hydrotherapy sessions later, and amazingly she’s back to her normal bouncy self. We realize that she’s more fragile than she used to be, but we were surprised at the difference PT made. A big part of the hydrotherapy was rebuilding her core strength, which diminished more than we knew while she was restricted after the knee surgery last spring. We now incorporate core strengthening games in everyday life, and we keep her as active as possible, on as many different surfaces as we can find. There are no more 20 mile hikes in her future, but a one-mile sniff-walk is entirely satisfactory and secret off-leash areas give her the chance to romp. Her younger partner-in-crime Obi is a fantastic self-handicapping playmate, and both thrive on learning new things and (as so many have mentioned) nosework games.
When our dear old Bandit was in his final days, our daily walks got shorter and shorter, and we threw out all the rules and ate ice cream and hamburgers for breakfast and bacon for dinner. When he no longer wanted to go for a walk we knew it was time to let him go, but we enjoyed a bunch of Best Ever Days beforehand. We now occasionally declare a Best Ever Day for H and O, just because we can. And we consciously and joyously appreciate every day with them.
Donna in VA says
My Sheltie is 15 1/2 now. He has always been an “only dog” although he has a cat-sister now. He has never competed or trained in any sport, just some basic obedience. He is still good for short-distance very slow walks twice daily as usual. He gets to choose where we will go and how long. I am prepared to carry him home if necessary. He enjoys frequent sniff breaks and rest periods just sitting or lying down and watching the world go by. We meet other dogs on our walks. I take him to my enclosed garden plot when the weather permits. It is a short car ride away and he has always enjoyed riding in the car. We also still attend club meetings with other Shelties & owners. I take a yoga mat to give him a good traction area to move around on (rather than tile floor) and his car blanket to rest on.
He also remembers and will engage in some of our “games” like grab-my-paw and gentle wrestling and catch the (now soft knit) ball. These play periods are very gentle and short and he clearly enjoys them.
em says
Late chiming in, as usual- you know how it is, hectic schedule combined with the fact that I’m often reading the blog on a phone these days when I can grab a minute, and I keep thinking- ‘I’ll wait until I have a real keyboard to write a comment’. Mea culpa.
This topic is so close to my heart, though, that I can’t let it slip past, phone typing or no. I knew this time would come, when I first did the math five years ago and realized that a trio of thirteen year old cats, an almost five year old Great Dane and what we thought was a seven year old shepherd mix (turned out upon closer examination of her original shelter paperwork that she was actually a NINE year old shepherd mix, but close enough) that the inevitable turning of time would almost certainly bring us to a house full of elderly animals.
We recently lost the last of the cats to lymphoma, but she had a sweet and happy life, up to the end. I made the hard choice earlier than I ever had, once she started her final decline, and I’m glad I was able to do that for her, that her last days were full of sunshine and purring and beloved treats she would still eat, and my wonderful vet was so tremendously compassionate and supportive, but it still broke my weak and selfish heart, even as my braver, better self knew it was the kindest thing.
Now the dogs are in what might optimistically be called their golden years- Otis the Dane is nearly ten, and Sandy the shepweiler is a true golden oldie at fourteen. Sandy’s in a class by herself, when it comes to aging. Over the past year we’ve noticed that her stamina isn’t what it was. She overheats more easily and gets a little creaky when she first rises on damp afternoons, but she still runs for sheer joy, still plays in little bursts of dash and wrestle with the younger dogs (they’re all younger dogs to her 🙂 ), still seems to hear and see the world clearly, still loves all human attention, and still takes a keen and happy interest in life. She has no job to retire from, but the gradual reduction of her daily walk from the three to five miles of her middle age down to the mile or so it currently is seems to have little effect on her spirits. Just going is the thing- seeing new things, new dogs, new people, fresh smells (there was a possum in the back yard the other night and she was beside herself with glee, hunting for every trace of his scent for two solid days), being together.
In the end, I think I have to echo what so many other insightful posters have said, my dogs don’t seem all that wistful about the feats of stamina and athletic prowess they are no longer capable of- the key thing is feeling included, of being together out in the world, smelling smells and seeing sights in each other’s company.
The one exception I think I might have seen (and I may be imagining it, my own nostalgia coloring my perception) is a nice story, really, about a new dog at the park that Otis has become quite fond of in the past month or so. Otis is in very good health, for a giant dog past his life expectancy. He still walks his mile every day, and if his arthritic knees keep him from the kind of roughhousing play he used to love, he and his similarly aged best dog friend still enjoy a quieter kind of companionship. Medication keeps him feeling good enough to not just get around, but to run a bit every day, chasing or greeting or for the pure joy of it (across the beach today- he loves the wet sand) and even to play in a highly self-restrained sort of way.
The dog he met recently, though, is a youngster, a big rangy lab cross of mystery parentage. So big and rangy, in fact, that his owner’s vet suggested that the cross might be Great Dane. His owner asked my opinion of this theory. “Could be,” I said “there is something very familiar in his posture and movement. Looking at him walking across the lawn beside Otis, his stride and head position is practically a mirror image of Otis’ . Looking at his shape though, I’d guess one of those big livestock guardians- a Great pyr or akbash maybe.”
What his ancestry is, we may never know, but Otis seems to see a kindred spirit in this young dog. He has warmed to him as he has not done to any new dog in years- he likes to meet dogs, even now that he’s old and creaky, but he greets them affably, mostly ignores them, and watches them depart on their merry ways without a backward glance.
Buddy is different. Otis is happy to see him, objects to parting from him (he’ll nudge me, turn, and stare pointedly in the direction he went). Otis will even play a bit with his friend, running and gently bumping in short bursts. It’s then that my heart both warms and breaks for him. Buddy is a wonderful, well mannered dog, beautifully self-handicapping, but he’s young and fit and fast and strong. If he had known Otis and his best dog friend in their wild youth, they’d have been the three musketeers, so to see them together now makes me both delighted and sad in equal measure, because Buddy is the perfect friend for the dog Otis WAS.
I wonder if any part of that bittersweet realization is clear to Otis himself. I can clearly see that he wants to play with Buddy the way he used to play, I can see him putting his own brakes on, a half-second after the joyful leap, the carefree bound, the quick dazzling speed for three strides, four, five, until soreness and tight, tired muscles remind him of his limits. It doesn’t seem likely to do him any harm and any bit of happiness and conditioning Otis can get are all to the good, but my sentimental tendency makes me wonder- does Otis feel sadness in that moment? Regret? Disappointment that he can’t do the things he wants to do – sometimes it seems to me he does. Does he, like me, feel nostalgia for the body he had, the dog he was? That I think less likely, but watching him, it seems sometimes that in his head, maybe he still is that dog, that he forgets his limitations when not immediately confronted by them, that he might look at the arthritis I know to be chronic and irreversible as a temporary setback, not worth dwelling on.
There is a deep well of hopefulness in dogs, a powerful streak of resilience. I try to remind myself to let that inspire me, to let it be my comfort when I feel the weepy creep of nostalgia sneaking up on me, but sometimes it is that same courageous, unflagging optimism in pursuit of joy, that squeezes my heart the hardest.
Barb Stanek says
Sorry to hear about Lady Godiva and her lambs, Trish. What a hard time.
I’ll echo what’s already been said — NOSE WORK! My 12 year old started and stayed with it until his death at 13 and 1/2! He LOVED it! He pulled on his collar to start the hunt every time we worked, whether in practice or in a competition.
If you don’t have time now for more competition — I only started competing after I retired — I would still train a senior dog in nose work. The training will give you that priceless time to work with the senior dog alone as well as give the senior dog something to do!
I agree with all posts. Nose work is not physical as tricks can be. My Rudy was a bit forgetful about some things, but he never forgot how to sniff out the odor hides.
I have trained my dogs under the National Association of Canine Scent Work method, and highly recommend it. But there are other methods out there that one can try.
All of my dogs are now trained in nose work. They all love it. And the six and nine year old have that many more years of enjoying a sport that only they can do so well.
Nic1 says
Em, absolutely beautiful post. I don’t know if you write professionally? You seem to have an uncanny ability to articulate our complex and heartfelt emotions about living and being with dogs and other companion animals. Just wonderful to read.
‘Buddy is the perfect friend for the dog Otis was.’ ??❤️❤️?
Bruce says
@em: Wonderful post! I especially like your phrase “deep well of hopefulness in dogs” – I have always seen that as one of their most remarkable characteristics.
Older dogs have an inspiring capacity for finding joy and contentment despite physical decline, but I can think of one instance where a dog seemed wistful about its diminished athletic prowess. Here is the story.
Ginger was a California dog. I met her when she was a young dog, walking with her owner down the streets of Santa Monica, stopping at all the crosswalks, and then running with joyous abandon on the beach.
Side note: Few things look more fun than a dog having fun. Watching dogs cavort brings me great joy, shaded with a slight tinge of jealousy.
Anyway, Ginger was well into her teens when her owner moved to New York City. Ginger could not walk up the apartment stairs, and she was too big for her owner to carry, so Ginger joined our household.
One day I was throwing a Frisbee in the front yard. Apparently Ginger had been a Frisbee dog in one of her previous lives, and was going nuts in the house wanting to chase the Frisbee. We let her out, threw the Frisbee, and Ginger bounded after it like a much younger dog, stood proudly over her prize, and begged me to throw it again.
The second throw was back uphill. Ginger made one bound and then, sadly, went back to being a creaky old dog. The spirit was willing, but the muscles and joints were not.
Clearly, Ginger remembered the joy of chasing a Frisbee, and clearly she recognized that she could no longer do so. I thought she looked wistful, but perhaps it was just me.
Mireille says
Oh Em. What a lovely lovely post. It made me cry a bit, because it reminded me of Chenak. In the end he sometimes lost control of his back legs. The first time it happened he looked at his back legs with a surprised and disappointed look. He was upset and angry that his body abandoned him. So we tried to find the balance between giving him what he needed so het still felt like a real Sleddog. Do they feel regret? Perhaps yes, in the moment. But I think they don’t fret about it as much as we humans do? Tomorrow is another day and it might be better or simply just as good.
I think that I leutend from loosing my first dog. He got pizza and ice Cream on his last day. But now I often tell myself ‘life is too short not to indulge my dogs’
em says
I can’t believe I forgot to say it, but I am so sorry about Lady Godiva and her lambs. I hope a way can be found to help them.
I also envy your flock of sandhill cranes. I saw a pair once, and they truly are grand to behold.
Trisha says
I’ve been offline most of the weekend except to quickly post comments, but wanted to add my thanks to em for just a beautiful and heartfelt piece of writing. I’m waiting for HER book to come out, I’d read it and love it even if it was about obscure german philosophers. Or the history of carpet fluff.
em says
Thank you so much Trisha, Nic1, Bruce and Mireille for your lovely compliments. I have never thought of myself as a writer, but talking about dogs (and cats) makes me dig down deep for the poetic tendencies I never knew I had, just to try to capture the least bit of the wonder I feel whenever I think of them. I’m flattered to think that maybe I don’t fail completely 😉
Kelly Schlesinger says
We have 11-year-old retired agility, epileptic Tag and 3-year-old “me-me-me” Jet, both BC’s. I get so sad when I’m taking Jet to class and Tag perks up and heads for the door. We live in Houston and it’s just too hot for him to ride along with us most of the year. I learned to include Tag in our regular tricks/impulse control/retrieve training and that both satisfies Tag’s training desires and works wonders for Jet’s learning to take turns. Tag also seems satisfied with running a few 4″ jumps and tunnels in the back yard. Considering all these ovations for nosework, I am going to look into that.
So sorry to hear about Lady G and her lambs. Do they have to be quarantined all winter? I hope you can find some supremely effective, less noxious treatment.
Beth says
I am almost reluctant to post this (I started typing and deleting three or four times) because part of me wants all of us to believe that our dogs don’t regret their aging in the way we do. I do think dogs are more in the moment than we are. But Maddie… My Maddie. She was a sweet, loving soul who was nothing but kindness and joy. We had a fairly unique experience with her where we saw her slowly lose her abilities, and then find new joy and activity when we introduced the cart, and then lose it all again. And if her experience— happy Maddie who was perhaps the least self-aware dog I ever knew— showed me how keenly they miss what they were, then I can’t imagine it’s different for other dogs.
Dogs have a more resigned approach to life than we do, perhaps, because they have so little control over what happens and because perhaps they can’t imagine other realities in the complex way we can. But the fact that they don’t imagine other realities as richly as we do does not mean they don’t imagine them at all.
I would have described Maddie as resilient and fairly happy through all her journey. She loved to be held and so when she had trouble walking and had to be carried, she seemed ok with that. When she first started going down behind, her walks got shorter and then were virtually eliminated. And she seemed ok with that too. But she was becoming an “old dog” who slept a lot when she started losing her hind end.
And then we got her the cart and all her sparkle and joy came back as she was able to run and chase and play again. We got her back in shape and she was able to go on longer walks and even into the woods again. And when that happened, she was brighter, she was more cheerful, she greeted all her tasks with more enthusiasm. She slept less, she started barking at Jack to play again, and laughing and bouncing again. And then when her front end grew weaker, and the walks became shorter and slower, “old dog” who slept a lot started to come back.
Normal aging and disability are of course not quite the same thing. However, she was coming up on 11 when she got the cart, so she was far from a young dog. My own experience tells me that they do feel the tug of longing when they want to do something they can no longer do, or can’t do as well. I grew up with hunting dogs and I’ll never forget the total heartbreak our ancient Springer suffered whenever my dad would go out without her, because her hearing had gone and he was terrified he’d lose her in the woods. I don’t know whose heart broke more, his or hers. He would try to sneak out, not change into outdoor clothes until he left the house, whatever it took to hide it from her, but she always knew. And she cried as if she’d lost her best friend in the world.
That is not to say they don’t still enjoy life, because they do. But if their mental faculties are still intact, I can’t help but think that they remember their old joys and recognize that they can’t quite respond the same way anymore. The dog who loved long walks will accept a short one, but I just don’t think they forget all those old paths and trails so completely… We stop bringing out the frisbee when the old dog can no longer chase it without hurting himself. But bring it out one day just for a gentle toss and watch how over the moon he goes, entire backend shaking in ecstasy, body quivering in anticipation. Of course they know.
The best thing we ever did was make a bucket list for Maddie when we knew her time was coming. I’d love to say it was an original idea, but of course it wasn’t. Our old dogs miss what we once did with them, so take a little time now and then to do something extra special. Commit to taking them on a car ride. Tossing that frisbee just 5 yards away for them. Finding a way to get them up the big hill they can’t manage any more to visit an old favorite trail or stream or meadow. They will love you all the more for it, and you will be so glad when the time comes that you did those things, together.
Trisha says
To Beth: Please never hesitate to write such a beautiful and insightful comment. I think all of us feel that we’ve got to know and love Maddie, and that makes your description of her aging even more compelling. The fact is that we do lose a lot as we age, and I agree with Beth that although dogs are indeed much more accepting than we are of what life brings us, surely they can feel some sense of loss or depression over what they no longer have. I remember when Willie spent 14 months recovering from surgery and massive soft tissue injuries in his shoulder. After month after month of only being able to walk slowly on leash, he was like Maddie, sleeping more, going through the motions of life without that eye shine that defined him before, and that does again now that he can do what he loves–run run run and play play play. I love Beth’s bucket list idea for dogs, which also reminds me of a book I write about in my latest post, Being Mortal. It’s about the core need of all humans to be able to be, well, themselves, in some way and what makes life worth living in the end. Seems to be a good question for us to ask our dogs too.
Sue says
Once again a very timely post, thank you! My greyhound Tiffany has been slowing down quite a lot recently. She’s only 8 (well, at least that’s what her estimated DOB says…) and I’m finding it difficult to know whether I just need to accept that she is getting older and has different needs or whether I need to keep going back to vets (who can’t seem to find much wrong apart from the corn on one toe which is bothering her) to see if anything can be done… If only she could talk!
I love the idea of a cart, but that would have to be a rather large cart for her and I’d probably need a pony to pull it 😉 So at the moment I’m compromising with shorter walks and we drive up to the golf course where we go for our walks (lovely soft grass!) to save her having to walk on the road.
Sounds like I might have to look into nose work a bit more. We have always played ‘find it’ games in the house and also finding treats in a box full of balls. Perhaps we could build on that…
Not sure I like the idea of the barn hunt though, makes me feel sorry for the rats and I’m pretty sure my girl would want to kill it once found! Even if the rat was safe in it’s box, it would be quite scary for the rat & very frustrating for the dog….
Ellen Pepin says
My female Collie is 12 1/2 or more, we really don’t know. She has never been a high energy dog, but she did come with us on hikes. Both my husband and I are getting older, too. I have chronic health problems, so we haven’t hiked in a few years. I do feel sorry for Tess, as she looks bored and sleeps most of the day. A local trainer started a course that she calls “Communication, Cooperation, and Control.” I started taking Tess in the Spring. Tess has to learn to follow me as I walk about and then ask her for a specific behavior like sit. Then she is allowed to go to a puzzle that contains a special treat. Tess is quite smart and enjoys solving the puzzles. The past few times, I have noticed some frustration while solving the puzzles. It seems like she has forgotten how to solve the puzzle. There are three, which are used in rotation. They are also turned in different directions. She then acts as if she has to solve it all over again. Last week she actually gave up and walked away. My question is: Is this good mental exercise or is she too frustrated. I’m giving her a break before the next level starts.
Trisha says
Ellen: I would absolutely give her a break. It’s important to remember that solving puzzles and learning new things isn’t always fun. As a matter of fact, not being able to get to food that is right in front of me would drive me batty if I couldn’t figure out to crack the code. I’d probably end up biting someone if it was chocolate or roasted Brussel sprouts with Parmesean. Especially given that your girl is 12.5, it’s very possible that sometimes she feels mentally sharp, other times not so much. Time for easier puzzles, long sniff walks or a lot of belly rubs?
Jen Gibson says
I wonder if our dogs spend as much time thinking (worrying) about us as we do about them? “I hope Mama’s not missing out on all that crotch sniffing I used to do. I’m just so darn tired!” 🙂
We recently (ok, 6 months ago but it feels like yesterday) lost our lab, Remy, who was 6 months younger than our cattle dog, Kinka. And if you know cattle dogs, you know that Kinka’s mission in life was to tell Remy she wasn’t doing what she was supposed to do, ALL THE TIME! So now that Remy is gone, I wonder if Kinka misses her or is happy to finally have some peace and quiet!
She’s ten now, and mostly blind. She didn’t take to agility, meandering her way around a course, though we call her a circus dog as she likes to show off her cat-like ability on various items of furniture. She liked the Tricks and Clicks class we took, twice. And we did some scent work. Now that her vision is gone, we’re going to do the scent work again – something called a Barnhunt Class, where the dogs are trained to find rats. Ew. Hopefully no live finds!
Anyhow, not sure where this post was going…maybe some day we’ll find out what our dogs were thinking all along. Wouldn’t that be….fun?
Trisha – so sorry about Lady G. It’s going to be a quiet spring.
Ruth says
Although she could not keep up or go the distance, my elderly dog, Patch, desperately wanted to come along when the other dogs were walked. Our solution was to bring her along at first, walking for 5-10 minutes in the opposite direction of our planned walk. Then we turned around, dropped her off at home and continued walking. She was satisfied, the other dogs had a slow warm up, and full poop bags were left at home.
Otherwise, kibble filled toys or a Manners Minder (AKA Treat and Train) set to the down-stay setting so it periodically dropped a treat would keep her distracted as we departed.
Additionally, I made a commitment to keeping her very well groomed. Sometimes we made it an outing by going to one of those do it yourself places where she watched the other dogs as she was groomed. In her old age she seemed to enjoy grooming, it was one on one time. And I enjoyed her more because she looked, felt, and smelled nice
Jona Decker says
My current old timer Malinois retired from competitive agility at just shy of 12, when he was diagnosed with a femoral nerve deficit with minimal proprioception in both hind limbs. His heedless physicality and competitive spirit were not compatible with this diagnosis…and that meant agility was abruptly over for him without his consent. With his desire to work not diminished, and a younger dog still actively training, he was a bit bent out of shape.
I had to give him something. I’ll concur with the numerous responses above–anything that engages the brain and doesn’t put them in physical danger satisfies at least some of that need, as well as giving the dog that “special dog” time they are missing, and scent work is often an easy win.
My guy has played and continues to play in Nosework, but what he really loves is Barn Hunt. After his forced retirement from agility we took up Barn Hunt, where he earned his Master level barn hunt title 10 days ago (at 13 years 10 months), wrapping up our trial year. Hopefully by the time Barn Hunt ramps up again in the Spring the rule changes allowing me to “demote” him to a lower level class with less challenging piles and tunnels will be in place and he’ll still be fit enough to play.
We’ll probably take up tracking again, which he hasn’t done in years, because that too is a thinking, sniffing game that isn’t too physically demanding for him (we’ll not talk about my tendency to fall into groundhog dens, etc.). But key is having special dog time doing *something* that makes the dog feel like part of a team.
Another thing you could consider, depending on his stamina and physical condition, is offering to work set out for AKC herding trials. It’s always nice for the club to have an unentered dog and handler setting out groups for the trial dogs, and it’s not nearly as physical as doing set out in a BC trial. My guy found it immensely satisfying to work as a set out dog well after he retired from herding competition and even after his neuro diagnosis.
Catherine says
I know this is an old post now, but thought I’d comment anyway. I came across this post accidentally while Googling about my dog’s condition. I am not a dog expert, breeder, behaviorist–none of that. I am a regular dog owner. I adopted a six year old male beagle that was bred to participate in AKC field trials where they track (but don’t catch) rabbits. The dog is a retired champ, and was no longer needed by its owner. I’ve had him about 8 months now, and he always seems tired or depressed. He hates going on walks and sometimes even refuses to walk. His favorite pastime is obviously putting his nose the ground and tracking animals in our yard, but we live in the city and have a very small yard, so that doesn’t last long. He wasn’t raised with toys (they were considered a distraction, I think), so I can’t get him to chew on a dog toy or play with any toys. I feel bad for him. We have two other dogs, but he rarely plays with them. I will look into some of the activities mentioned here, such as nosework, to try and engage him. I’m also open to other suggestions for my particular situation. Thanks!
Trisha says
Catherine, so glad you are reaching out about your dear beagle. Beyond the obvious vet check, which I’m sure you’ve done, there are tons of scent games you can play in the house! Put the other dogs away, hide some treats close by and ask him to find them. That’s an inadequate description of all the great nose games you can play, so google nose games for dogs, get some books and have at it. Keep us posted.