Changing Fur - by Lee

 One of the things I have noticed this summer, as I am well into my 14th year, is that my fur is changing.

I use to be sleek and black.

Here is a nice picture of my fur in 2020.

Now, I am getting a red undertone. My fur is not as shiny and I am shedding more.

It is hard to catch the difference in pictures, so we hope you can see it

I guess the changing fur is just another exciting change I get to have as I get old.

Your pal, the young at heart, Lee, who didn't mean to keep Lady up for almost an entire night last week, and she had to take a day off work because with like 3 hours of sleep was useless, and I spent the entire day pacing and she had to take me out something like 18 times and ended up with a bad headache but still really loves me

Trouble on a Tuesday - Getting Old

This week, in an attempt to get on our bed in the dark, Hailey, aged 12,  missed and fell and hurt her back. She didn't reach the bed because her night vision is not what it is (she is losing sight) and her bounce isn't what it was. In the fall, she hurt her back.

Hailey has 'tweaked' her back a few times in the past year and a half. We treat her with some pain pills and rest. With the extreme cold, rest was much easier this week. It still seems a little sensitive and every few days since, she has moved in a way that makes her 'meep' (her little sound when she is in pain). Other than this, she seems fine. We will monitor her. Previous flare ups have taken a few weeks to settle.

We are trying to teach her to use a ramp to the bed, but she is terrified of it. The Man has been putting her on the bed, if she comes in when the room is dark. We will continue to try the ramp and are wondering if she would like stairs to the bed. If anyone has experience with helping dogs who are slowing down, I would love it.

Living With A Senior Pet

Lee and Phod are dog 3 and 4. While our cats lived long lives in relative health (aged 19 and 20 respectively), we were not so lucky with dogs 1 and 2. Loki died of his auto-immune disease at age 8 and Gemini was 6 when she died as a result of an accidentt.

After their deaths, I really wanted to have a dog who lived into the double digits. It became my dream. I remember telling our vet, I would adopt a 10 year old dog if that is what it took to get one to that age! Now I have 1 and maybe 2 who are in their digits (as we aren't 100% sure of Phod's exact age).

At 10, Lee is still her exuberant self. Yes, she has more white fur, especially around her mouth, and yes the vet says you can see her eyes getting old, but behaviour wise, she has hardly slowed down. We are not really seeing her age yet. She just seems finally 'manageable!' I recently told her she is now the dog we always wanted, it just took 9 years.

The same can't be said for my Phod. He is at least 9.  He doesn't like going on as long walks. He knows not to play as much ball (he has matured and will actually stop now and won't keep playing until he nearly kills himself!). He is often stiff when he has had a long walk or too much ball or after a long sleep. In general, he is just slowing down. It makes my heart hurt. It is hard to imagine a house without my boy in it. But to be clear, while he is slowing down, he is still happy and not suffering.

While having older dogs makes me sad, it also makes me appreciate the time I have with them. The past 12 weeks with them have been wonderful. I have so enjoyed it and I look forward to every moment we have left and the adventures we are going to face as we enter senior dog life!