Old Dog High's and Low's

[jvw]

My old gal Tyra (pronounced Teera, NOT like the model) turned 14 in November. This year was a good year for us. Last year was bad for us. Strange bouts of whole body pain where she couldn't even get up, uncontrollable urinary incontinence, fatty tumor infection, and discovery of a pretty big heart murmur. Things got so bad I actually was at the ER vet on Christmas day thinking I was going to have to put her down. Thankfully it was a false alarm. But still I did not think we would be here together today!

 

Everything seemed to really turn around once I had her eye removed. She had a ciliary body tumor. Unfortunately I didn't figure out how much her eye was bothering her until it was really bad. She must have been in extreme pain for at least two months. Sigh. But in January after a valiant effort to try and save the eye we finally had it removed. Literally she seemed a million times better after walking out of the clinic after surgery.

 

We got her heart murmur under control with meds, her old dog restlessness under control with melatonin, and she adjusted to having just one eye pretty well. My neighbor now comes over daily to let her out mid day and that seemed to make the incontinence magically disappear (she still gets a very low dose PPA three times a week just in case!). And I am adjusting to no longer being able to call her from a distance since her hearing is pretty much gone.

 

The only bumps we have now are eating and some, we think, arthritis in her right shoulder. She used to eat pretty much anything and fast!!! She now has become picky. She still wants to try almost anything but often ends up taking a bite and then realizing it is not what she wants and walks away. She no longer wants to eat out of a bowl. But she will eat off a plate. Thankfully she still eats ground lamb and chicken wings with no problems. And we currently are in a period where she will eat the Orijen senior no grain.

 

Perhaps the very biggest change is that my fiercely stubborn independent dog has become dependent on me. And she seems to even enjoy that! When she starts getting fussy eating she looks to me to come "play" with her food. Sometimes just pushing it around is all it takes. But more and more she wants me to scoop it up and she eats it out of my hand! It is so funny. She clears my hand. Takes two steps back, looks at me, I scoop another handful, and she steps back to eat it.

 

She used to DETEST getting picked up. Now she WANTS me to carry her on the stairs. And I have to pick her up a very specific way. Otherwise she growls, even though she wants to to be carried. She must be painful in certain positions. First it started out just going up. Lately she has added going down. Used to be if she needed/wanted to go out during the night she would go downstairs and then bark by the door. Now she just lays in her bed in our bedroom and whines until I get up. Then she walks to the top of the stairs and "gets in position" for me to pick her up.

 

So it has been a much better year. Even my neighbor asked me if I got a new dog! (Those black and white dogs look alike LOL!) I cherish all these moments with her. Every day is a new adventure with her. But she knows I'm there with her every step of the way. And she seems to cherish that!

 

 

 

 

[Gideon's girl]

What a wonderful life you two have had together, each blessing the other more than the last. I hope you have many more peaceful days together.

[juliepoudrier]

What a lovely story. I'm glad she (and you) has had such a good year. I cherish the old dogs; they are so, so special.

 

J.

[Bogwoppit]

Wow, it sounds like this year has been a grace in itself, that is amazing to read .

I like the thought of her wanting to be carried now and then. Sometimes I see older dogs being carried by their owners on the last leg of their walk past our house, and very often it's BCs (or gun dogs), their heads tucked in close and (in my eyes) looking very pleased that their owner is holding them.

[jvw]

Even though she is heavy for me I love to carry her. All her life I wanted to pick her up and hold her. She would have none of it! Actually, I don't like to carry her down the stairs. I have a bad knee and it scares me. But we manage just fine. Some days I can imagine her living to 19!

[G. Festerling]

I also cherish my old ones. They are so special. It is hard to watch them at times. But a blessing as well. She is a lucky girl to have you looking out for her.

[Sue R]

You will be glad for every single precious memory when she has passed on. She is one lucky dog to have you. Cherish!

[gcv-border]

I am glad to hear your old girl is doing so much better - and that you have found ways to accommodate her.

 

My old girl (18 years old) has many of the same 'problems', but in the scheme of things, I don't mind dealing with them since it doesn't take much to accommodate her.

 

For her, she was too unstable to go down stairs first, then a few months later, she couldn't make the whole flight of stairs up to the 2nd floor - but she can still go up the 4 porch steps in the daylight, not at night. She is also >90% blind and deaf (my own opinion). I can stand in front of her and jump around, and she will still turn her head every which way to try and 'see'. What is amazing is that she seems to sense objects while she is walking and very seldom bumps into anything. Maybe she sees a shadow?

 

She also had a frightening stage when she was very finicky about eating and for a couple of weeks almost stopped eating in spite of the use of a plate and lots of delicious meats and other tempting treats. I think she lost at least 20% of her already skinny frame. Then the vet prescribed the 'miracle drug' - mirtazipine. Within 12 hours, she was back to eating her normal foods, normal amounts and even looking for a bit more. Mirtazipine is prescribed as an anti-depressent for humans, but for dogs, it has been found to increase appetite, presumably because it also acts as an anti-nausea agent. Whatever. It works. No side effects. Perhaps your girl might benefit from mirtazipine?

 

Best of wishes for your senior girl.

[Maralynn]

Aww, what a special girl. Give Tyra some love for me please.

[jvw]

Wow 18 years! That is wonderful.

 

Currently I am still able to get her to eat plenty. Just takes a little work. She's still holding her weight and does have some extra for just in case! But good to know about that drug! Thanks

[bcnewe2]

I love the "hand" feeding part. I did that for one of my old girls. I think she just loved me fussing over her.

Enjoy your time. She and you both are very lucky to have each other.

[alligande]

Thank you for sharing your life with Tyra, it is a special time we have with our old dogs.

[Pippin's person]

Love hearing how Tyra is doing. Special girl!

[D'Elle]

I enjoy hearing about Tyra, and also from gvc-border...you have an 18 year old! Good for you!

 

I was told that Jester was 2 years old when he came to me, which means that he is either already 14 or is about to turn 14 soon, although I will never know his birth date. He is doing very well. He still insists, with the same level of intensity, on two frisbee sessions daily, although they are not as long as they used to be.

 

He still leaps to catch the flying disc, although my heart is sometimes in my throat watching him. The heat in the summer affects him more than it used to. Sometimes he gets a bit clumsy with his hind legs, usually when just getting up from a nap, but always recovers right away and goes on.

His hearing is not so good any more, and I see him depending on the other dogs to let him know what is going on. He is still his same self, though, in most ways. He has barely slowed down, it seems, although I am sure that it feels that way to me in part because it has been so gradual.

If he is 14, I can't expect too many more years with him, I suppose.

It is hard to imagine my life without him.

But old dogs are so cool. I will enjoy every day of his elder years and do my best to make them comfortable and happy for him.

 

PS....I am currently reading and enjoying Ted Kerasote's book, "Pukka's Promise". The author of one of my favorite dog books, "Merle's Door", in this book he writes his research on the longevity of dogs and his quest to increase the lifetime of his companion and others.

[jvw]

Yes, old dogs are the best!

 

I loved Merle's Door. I'll look into that other book.

 

Love reading about your Jester.

[Gideon's girl]

My JRT, Angel, is just shy of 13, going on 7. She still hunts everything in the yard and tries to spar with everything that moves in the house. She's had one ACL tear years ago and this evening started yelping, but won't say what's wrong, so it's off to the vet for her. I suspect it may be the other knee, but she just won't say. She is a tough little scrappy dog, and not at all ready to slow down. I hope we have a number more good years with her.

[D'Elle]

Thanks, jvw. I think you will love Pukka's Promise.

 

I am reading now the section in which he does an impressive amount, for just one person, of research into dog food and the companies that make the dog food and where the food comes from and so on. His final decision is to feed an organic raw bones, meat, and vege diet to his dog with some fruit thrown in as well.

 

That is what I would like to feed my dogs and cats as well, but lack the financial resources to do it. Still, I guess if Jester is doing as well as he is at this age, maybe I am not doing as great a disservice to my dogs by failing to provide them with raw organic food as I sometimes think I am. Who knows, really.

[GentleLake]

I can't afford raw organic foods for my dogs (or for myself for that matter), but I'm still of the firm belief that even a raw diet of commercially sourced ingredients are better for our dogs than kibble.

 

And it can be done at a cost comparable to good quality kibbles.