Life in a Dog Pack: Old Age

I had to share this… It touched my heart and required several tissues for me to read through to the end!  Marion~

by Dave Schuler on August 16, 2013  -  The Glittering Eye  -  Cross-Posted at Just More More Pet

When you live in a dog pack, eventually, if you are very lucky, you will experience life with an old dog. Tally, at 15 years four months, is the oldest dog it has been our good fortune to share our lives with.

Living with a geriatric dog means that every day is a new adventure. Not only are there the regular routine activities of meals, potty breaks, and medications, we try to remain sensitive to Tally’s limitations, adapting to them as new challenges arise, so that we can ensure that she is as happy and comfortable as we can keep her.

We’ve placed cheap runners and area rugs strategically so that Tally can move about without being forced to navigate bare wood floors. As she’s gotten weaker over the years her ability to manage bare floors has diminished and we’ve changed to take that into account.

Tally no longer sleeps with us. She gave up climbing stairs several years ago and since then we’ve left her on her own recognizance on the first floor. Generally, she’s just fine there—she’s always preferred her own company—but, occasionally, we’ll hear a yelp and rush downstairs to find she’s trapped herself beneath a chair, slipped off the rugs we’ve placed for her convenience and safety, or walked into a corner and is too befuddled to make her way out without assistance.

On rare occasions she’s had nighttime “accidents”. That’s just the cost of doing business. She’s always very embarrassed about it.

Walks have become increasingly rare. She wants to walk and sometimes demands a walk but we understand that she really doesn’t have as much ability to handle a long walk as she thinks she does. I’m not prepared to carry a tired fifty pound dog home in my arms so we limit her walks to three or four blocks, sometimes just a block depending on how she feels that particular day.

She wants to play ball but, sadly, her vision is failing so, if you throw the ball more than a few feet away from her, she won’t be able to find it. My wife is better at playing ball with Tally these days than I am.

Every night we have the same ritual. I’ll let her out the back door for her final nightly elimination and she won’t come back in until I’ve chased her one slow circumnavigation around our backyard, then helped her up the two stairs into the house. The joy in her eyes during these low speed chases is a delight to see. I’ve taken to calling her “the White Bronco”.

Last night we had something of a scare. When she rose from a nap she began a series of odd, hopping bounds. She wouldn’t stop. It was quite alarming.

We moved the other dogs elsewhere in the house and let her outside. She continued the hopping. My wife thought it was some sort of neurological malfunction. I thought she’d awoken with a stitch in her leg and, like an athlete with a leg cramp, was trying to run it out. She was unable to put weight on her left foreleg but wasn’t strong enough to maintain her balance and stand in one place. Hence the odd, forward-moving, hopping bound.

After a while she stopped and, although she was still hobbling a bit, she was behaving much more normally. I gave her an extra half Rimadyl before we went to sleep and this morning she’s shown no signs of a return to her previous condition.

It was, however, a reminder that Tally won’t be with us a great deal longer and we must savor every moment we have with her. We are resolved that Tally will enjoy her life as long as she lives. So far, so good.

The other dogs show Tally considerable deference, each in their own way. Will is extremely fond of her. Nola gives her a wide berth (although she’s not above stealing some of Tally’s food when she has the chance—stolen food always tastes better). Smidge, with typical Australian Shepherd temperament, is worried about her. She herds her, blocks her from moving into spaces she thinks are too dangerous for her (Smidge and Tally have different views on this subject), and sleeps curled up with her. It’s like having her own personal sheep.

I don’t know how our pack dynamics will change when Tally is no longer with us. It’s not something I look forward to. Although she’s always been highly independent, she and Jenny made us into a pack. Tally taught us all to howl.

Related: 

Pet Age 

The Nutrient Your Pet Needs More of As They Age: Protein 

World’s Oldest Dog Dies At Age 26….Requiescat in pace 

The Lottie June Show – WORLD’S OLDEST CHIHUAHUA 

How Long Will Your Dog Be with You? It Depends Heavily on This… 

Part 2 of Dr. Becker’s Interview with Bestselling Author Ted Kerasote: The Seven Factors that Determine How Long Your Dog Will Live 

Pet owners turning to non-traditional 

A Natural Herb That Fights Cancer, or Chemotherapy for Your Sick Pet… Which Would You Choose?

‘Until One Has Loved an Animal, Part of Their Sour Remains Unawakened’ 

Adopt a Senior Pet… 

WCBM’s Les Kinsolving’s beautiful tribute to Brendan, Griffen, and all dogs and dog owners

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Your Pet and Your Health

Many of us agree that we should do everything within our power to make sure that our companion animals enjoy the best possible health.  But did you know that simply by being a part of your life, your dog or cat could actually help you to be not only happier but healthier, too?

Of course you did.  It’s all part of the privilege (and fun!) of being a pet parent.  What you may not know is that there’s plenty of science to back it up.  A wealth of knowledge regarding the health benefits associated with having companion animals has been accumulated over the last two decades, including numerous research studies in the U.S. and abroad.

A study published in The British Journal of Health Psychology reports that people who have companion animals tended to be healthier than those who did not.  Additionally, when a dog was part of the family, the members had fewer minor ailments, lower blood pressure and lower cholesterol.  Although the explanation for these advantages is unclear, researchers speculated that all benefits could be accounted for by reduced levels of stress, possibly due to increased physical activity and levels of social interaction.

The positive effects of having a canine companion have also been chronicled in research published in the American Journal of Cardiology.  The year-long study documented the effect of having a canine companion in 369 patients who had suffered an acute heart attack.  The positive effects were nothing short of extraordinary!  The patients who had a dog in the home had a much better chance of survival.  Over 7% of patients without a dog died during the study, compared with only 1% of those who had a canine companion.

Researchers at the University of Leicester found that when pets are in a household, children six years and younger develop social skills at an accelerated rate.  Additionally, these children tend to have better coordination, improved confidence, superior communication skills and are even less likely to have allergies!

The British Medical Journal concluded that pets serve a vital need for socialization, especially for those at a higher risk for isolation, like those with physical limitations that might prevent opportunities for social interaction.  Most medical professionals agree that the broader the network of social contacts, the better we are able to deal with difficult life issues.  This study, and others like it, supports the idea that this need for social relations can be fulfilled equally well by companion animals as with people.

And a survey by the American Pet Products Manufacturers Association revealed that bringing a companion animal to the office resulted in higher worker productivity.

These and many other studies reinforce what we as pet parents have suspected all along … that our beloved four-footed companions are integral parts of our families, enriching our lives beyond measure.

Source:  Healthy Pet Net