The Old Dog

My Lacy is 16½ now. ’Tis a good age!

And, she’s very well.

• She still loves her walks

• She still loves her bed

• And she definitely still loves her grub!

I want to share with you some of the things I have learned about keeping my old dogs fit and happy for as long as possible.

Walks for the older dog

You play this completely by ear - there’s no hard and fast rule. But I know that if we walk for more than about 45 minutes, Lacy is lagging behind on the way home.

Accordingly, most of our walks are shorter than that. Half an hour’s happy snuffling off-lead on a path she’s familiar with works wonders. And when she’s paused to inspect a particularly interesting scent, she’ll happily trot - or even run - to catch up with me.

And as you can see here, her BARKING is untroubled by 16½ years of heavy use, and she still enjoys racing about!

Sleep for the older dog

Older dogs sleep a lot. So all I need to do here is ensure she has a choice of comfy beds, and hard floors when that’s what she wants. She usually starts the night crashing onto the hard floor. But she’s almost always on her comfy bed when I wake in the morning.

Stimulation for the older dog

This is super-important! They can’t do crossword puzzles or all the things they tell old people to do to keep sane. But as long as you’re feeding a natural diet - processed foods and ready meals are as bad for dogs as they are for us! And in the case of humans have positively been connected to brain ageing - then that will give them a puzzle to solve daily.

Mine get a lot of raw chicken carcases, and chomping through those takes application.

Yannick frequently presses his PUZZLE button, so I make puzzles for them all.

🐶 Sometimes these are lickimats with paté spread on them.

🐶 Sometimes they’re feeders like kongs.

🐶 And more often I wrap treats in screws of paper, and stuff them into cardboard boxes or packets for them to rip and shred and munch. They love these “puzzles”!

Yes, there are a lot of cardboard and paper shreds to clear up before bed, but - so what? It keeps them very happy for quarter of an hour.

Old dog health

Like my previous old dogs, Lacy’s hearing has almost gone. I stamp on the floor to rouse her in the evening before bedtime, rather than spook her by touching her. Sometimes she can hear a high-pitched whistle, but banging on a door or cupboard will often penetrate her silent world.

I’m so sorry that she can no longer hear me chattering to her. I wonder if she thinks I’ve given up on that? So I make a point to talk animatedly to her when she’s right in front of me. The connection is strong, and must be maintained!

She doesn’t wear the “Deaf Dog” vest I had for Rollo. She tends to walk just behind me, while Rollo was always out front. So Lacy doesn’t need it.

Old dog grooming

Just because she’s old with failing hearing and eyesight, doesn’t mean that her coat stops growing! It has changed a bit, becoming longer and wispier, so it needs careful brushing. Lacy’s always had a dense coat, looking like a black bear, and it’s still just as dense. Trousers need attention for mats or very occasional stains.

She has various small lumps and bumps here and there on her head and body, but nothing that needs veterinary intervention. It would have to be deadly serious for me to risk an anaesthetic for her! But to me she is still just as beautiful as ever.

I’ve always kept claws well-trimmed, and I clip the hair between the pads. I also have mats at strategic corners in the house, to prevent slipping.

But I’ve found one great addition - sticky socks for dogs! I put these on Lacy’s back feet and since I’ve been using them (about four months now) she hasn’t once slid her back feet apart and flumped to the floor (distressing for both of us). So I reckon they’re a great success.

You do need to keep the middle two claws well-trimmed and filed though, or you’ll spend a lot of time darning your dog’s socks! I use a grinder for best, quickest - and most pain-free - results.

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A peaceful old age for my dog

Lacy was a bit quiet the other day. I began to be concerned. But three things worked splendidly well to reassure me:

1. I opened the fridge door. (She may be deaf, but some things she just knows ..)

2. I tossed her a mini pork pie (caught, chomped, and swallowed in one).

3. I took the frisbees to the garden to play with the younger two. (Much woofing and dancing about.)

She was fine!

The old dog can still learn

Lacy still enjoys going through her repertoire of tricks, though I’m careful which ones I ask of her. When she’d had a stroke (she’s had three now, over the last five years) I wouldn’t ask her to spin, as she’d simply have fallen over!

When the others are racing for frisbees, I toss her one right in front of her nose. Sometimes she can catch it, and is very happy.

Perhaps what I’m saying is that you can keep including your old dog in everything you’ve always done together, though some things will have to be adapted. An agility dog, for instance, may be happy just to be asked to go round a pole. And sniffer dogs can always sniff. That sense seems to stay strong for ever …

RESOURCES:

The Old Dog: 5 secrets for keeping him young

Old dogs are the best!

Celebrate your Dog while you still have her

My blog is reader-supported. When you buy through links on this site, I may earn an affiliate commission - but you’ll get the best deal!

To learn more about how I manage my multi-dog household, old and young alike, go to https://my.brilliantfamilydog.com

Take it easy with your dog

Fools rush in where angels fear to tread - Alexander Pope

That is so true when it comes to dog training! 

We get an idea of what we want our dog to do - respond as we’d like to a knock on the door, manage fireworks calmly, walk beside us on a loose lead … whatever it is, we say, “That’s what I’ll teach today!”

Come the end of the day - a frustrating day, to be sure - and you say, “I tried that and it didn’t work.”

Imagine your three-year-old attempting a PhD dissertation! 

We can’t develop new behaviours in a day … why should our dog? 

Slow and steady for your dog

Slow and steady wins the race - Aesop’s Fables

Leads on, now we wait patiently at the door

That’s another saying we can call to mind. 

The tortoise used craft and guile to beat the fast, agile, hare.

Let’s look at the sort of craft and guile we can employ when training our dogs! And I’ll use one example, and break it down.

Calm when the doorbell rings

The mad, barking, leaping, response to a knock on the door may be an entrenched behaviour by now. In that case, all the more reason to teach slowly, step-by-step, what it is you’d like your dog to do instead.

You see, dogs can’t not-do. They have to do. 

He can’t freeze mid-air and wait silently for you to go to the door.

You have to teach him what you’d like instead.

Let’s say you want him to lie down, quietly, on his bed.

So you’ll start, when no-one is around, just sending him to his bed and rewarding him.

Next you’ll add a little duration, so he relaxes into the bed, rather than staying on his toes, ready to leap.

Once this is established, you can start randomly sending him to his bed at any time, from any place in the house. Take this s-l-o-w-l-y. First succeed in sending him from one place, then another in the same room, and so on. 

You’ve taught the ‘down on your bed’ and now you’re consolidating. You can take a long time on this stage. 

Once your dog is happy to play this game with you at any time, you can stand by the front door and send him. Once ready, the next step is to knock on the door and send him, go outside and knock from the other side of the door, and so on. Always reward heavily for each correct response. 

If you have a doorbell, you can play around with a remote doorbell and move quite quickly forward. 

Finally, you can take it a step further. Ideally with a friend who will come and knock on the door, knowing he’ll never be let in. It may take quite a while to get your dog calmly onto his bed, and it’s crucial to solidify this. 

For my dogs, it’s the clank of the gate latch that sets them off. So your stooge person will need to start out at the gate!

What you want your dog to do is the variable here. 

Maybe you’d like him to accompany you to the door. In that case, have him come to you to clip on his lead, and first work through the door manners system in this post and video: Does your dog crash the door??

Once you’ve taught this, you are guaranteed sanity every time you touch any door handle, anywhere. 

Don’t forget, if your dog’s favourite reward is a quick game with a toy, be sure to check out the super, long-lasting toys here and don’t miss out on your special discount! 

It takes time to shape your dog’s behaviour

So you can see, it takes time. It’s not something you can change in an afternoon.

And also, you have to break it down into steps. Most things we want our dog to do are a series of steps.

A recall needs response to the call (maybe away from something as intoxicating as a bunny chase), a smart return, at least a pause when he arrives with you - possibly a sit. This requires teaching the several steps separately.

Walking nicely on lead needs the dog to know exactly where you want him to be when on lead, then to keep that position regardless of your speed or direction. This takes time! Especially with a dog who naturally wants to charge ahead, nose down. 

Getting your dog relaxed during firework season. This needs Desensitisation and Counterconditioning, as you’re working against fear. He isn’t deciding to get in a state, it’s not a voluntary action. So take your time, take it as slowly as you can - then a bit more slowly. 

Read: Counterconditioning doggy fears!

Want more dog training tips? 

Head over to my.brilliantfamilydog.com and look for the Search box at the top of the page. Here’s an example of what you’ll find:

This is an amazing resource. See all the results it brought up, over on the left?

Whenever you find yourself thinking, “What would Beverley do now?” this is where you’ll find out. 

It will search all my books, courses, blog articles, and community answers. 

Bob’s your uncle! 

The tech is ultra-fast. But for us hoomans and our dogs, sometimes it’s better to be the tortoise than the hare.

RESOURCES: 

Find quick answers by searching everything I’ve written here: 

https://my.brilliantfamilydog.com/search

Your dog is an individual!

There is more variation between individuals than between breeds.

Yes, it’s one of my favourite sayings.

And I can’t say it often enough. 

Yes, it’s true that spaniels are in general more like each other than like say, huskies, or whippets. But you can find plenty of spaniels who don’t like hunting, huskies who are couch-potatoes, and whippets who can’t run for toffee. 

The thing is, that humans and dogs are very similar in this respect. 

Take your own family! I’m sure you’ll find there are siblings who had the same parents, the same upbringing, the same food, the same school … and yet who are totally different in many ways. 

It’s one of the joys - and challenges - of parenthood, to find what works for each individual child. Lumping them all together will come to grief, sooner or later. 

Same with dogs!

And it’s just the same with dogs. Just because they happen to be the same breed as your previous dog doesn’t mean they’ll be a carbon copy (copy/paste, or duplicate, for younger readers!). 

Even pups from the same litter show huge divergence in character from very early on. 

Sarah Whitehead says: Behavioural scientists have been measuring these early differences for decades. Even at just eight weeks of age, puppies in a single litter vary in confidence, sociability, curiosity, activity levels and their responses to unfamiliar situations. (Wilsson & Sundgren, 1998; Fratkin et al., 2013).

Further, in a more recent study (Barnard et al, 2017) it was found that 

“the effect of litter emerges as playing a stronger role than breed in modulating puppies’ behaviours … The large variability both within and across breeds found here, mirrors results with adult dogs.”

“The large within-breed variability found among a generic sample of breeders, highlights the importance of shifting the attention of future dog owners from just ‘breed selection’ to a more careful assessment of the pups’ characteristics. Relinquishment of dogs to shelters may be linked to failed expectations, which could be fuelled by an inadequate/misleading view of a specific breed. Hence, increasing public awareness of the importance of visiting the breeder, asking about breeding strategies, seeing the parents of the litter and assessing individual behavioural differences among littermates are key steps to engender informed buyers.”

Now, where have you heard all that before?? ;-)

See the resources below for clues. 

And don’t go without checking out the massive resources for you at my.brilliantfamilydog.com which features an extensive search across all my work - including this post! 

RESOURCES 

• Breed, sex, and litter effects in 2-month old puppies’ behaviour in a standardised open-field test, Barnard et al, 2017

• Effects of weight, litter size and parity of mother on the behaviour of the puppy and the adult dog

• What do you EXPECT from your dog?

• How much does a dog’s breed predict his behaviour?

• My next dog will be … an individual!

• I know he’s only a puppy, but … what you expect is what you get!

Does your dog prefer Tug or Chase?

Does your dog prefer chasing or tugging? 

Even Cricket the Whippet loved a frisbee chase!

My dogs ALL love playing frisbee!

Even the whippet and the miniature poodle, as you can see from the pictures here. 

And most of them have always loved tug as well. 

So … how about combining the two in one terrific toy?

This is just what Tugenuff.com  has done - they’ve come up trumps.

Coco waits for the frisbee to arrive in his mouth

A soft, safe, frisbee

This is a priority for me - that the frisbee is soft, for their mouths and for my hands. But these can be hard to find.

Now, we have the answer! A padded fabric frisbee that flies, floats in water, and is specially designed for vigorous tug games. 

This picture was taken on Jake’s 14th birthday - it’s a game to be enjoyed for a long time

It floats! Howzat for your swimming dogs! 

Heaven for dogs! 

You see, combining the excitement of the chase with the triumph of the catch, and the reward on returning to you of furious tugging, is a perfect combination. 

It’s got a special holding place for the dog, and a bungee handle for you, to protect your shoulders.

It’s made of ripstop fabric so should withstand the fiercest tugging.

It floats! Howzat for your swimming dogs! 

The importance of safe dog toys

This company is my go-to for durable, safe, dog toys. (You wouldn’t believe what awful stuff goes into some of the cheap ones you can find in shops and online … )

I have several of the dogs’ favourites by the back door, ready for me to grab as we go into the garden. They last for ages. 

This wizard new dog-toy just been released today, and I’ve already ordered mine - can’t wait!

🐶 Flies, floats and tugs

🐶 Soft, padded, gentle - no hard plastic with sharp chewed bits!

🐶 Handles for both of you

* Easy to loop onto your lead or walking belt for walks and outings

Here’s where to get your Aero-Tug Dog Frisbee

I’d love to hear what you think of it!

Exciting changes at Brilliant Family Dog!

By now you’ll have seen my emails about the terrific changes happening here at Brilliant Family Dog - all designed to get you the help you need with your dog - at new, unimaginably low, prices.

This is where you can check out the new learning platform: my.brilliantfamilydog.com

If you’re an existing student in any of my courses - don’t worry! You will be receiving new login details any moment now to ensure you can continue your learning without interruption (or further payment!).

A simple question: WHY?

And you’ll be glad to know there’s a simple answer!

I have spent much of my life helping people with their dogs, using only force-free methods. 

And while I have competed with my dogs at a high level, I focus on everyday life with your family dog. (And even international competition dogs are pet dogs for 20+ hours a day, too!)

I want you to enjoy your best lives together, and be rid of those tiresome niggles that annoy both of you.

So with this focus, I created a number of free courses, nine books, seven audiobooks, and two signature programs - 

The Brilliant Family Dog Academy - Teach yor dog to listen!

From Growly Dog to Confident Dog - help for shy, anxious, reactive, “aggressive” dogs

I KNOW these programs work!

How do I know? Because I am forever getting emails and comments on how much they’ve helped, like these:

“The lessons have made a huge improvement in all of our lives.” BO

“Lois has done really well in the Brilliant Family Dog Academy, and is now the ‘Loose Lead Walking Champion’ of our local neighbourhood lol, recall improved dramatically too.” CR

“You are a gift to us and our dogs - pure and simple. Very grateful!” PT

“Thank you for caring, it is so genuine.” NMG

“Absolutely brilliant! I love your gentle, respectful way. I see a difference in my ‘rescue’ which warms my heart.” CS

So, now that I have passed rather too many milestones ;-) I want to ensure that with the least fuss and bother, everyone can access all that I teach, with as little barrier as possible.

Hence the prices are silly.

They’re just enough to keep the site running.  

You could call this a charitable gesture, if you like … but really, I just want to ensure that this valuable learning stays available for everyone who would benefit from it.

The result? 

Lots more of this, for me and for you! See Woodland Walk image

What can you do now? 

What I’d like you to do is head over to my.brilliantfamilydog.com and have a good look around! 

You’ll find a fresh, clean, easy-to-navigate, site, with an astounding Search feature which will search my entire output.

You’ll be able to join a community of like-minded people, upload videos of your own work, get professional trainer feedback, and support from your fellow students ..

.. and learn, learn, learn!

And I’d love it if you could comment below on what you found!

Don’t want a course, thank you, but just want to show support? There’s a place for you too, as a Silent Member!

Your dog is saying more than you think

It used to be said that dogs had the memory of a goldfish and only lived in the present. 

Yes - a lot of things used to be said, which fortunately aren’t being said any more.

And there are two things wrong with that statement above - 

1. Goldfish have very good memories and respond well to training.

2. Dogs have very strong memories of what has happened in the past and they can project into the future too.

This is actually the basis of reward-based training - they do things based on the historic knowledge that there will be a consequence. 

Interspecies communication

This has become abundantly clear to the folk who are working in the area of AIC (Augmentative Interspecies Communication). They don’t confine themselves to domestic pets, but work with all kinds of animals. 

When you think about it, isn’t the very thought of interspecies communication thrilling? 😃

And doesn’t it confirm what we all know? That animals are sentient beings. They think and feel. This is law in Europe and UK amongst others - there are 32 countries in all that have formally recognised non-human animal sentience in their laws. (Sadly the whole of North and South America is a long way behind in this respect.)

Dogs and cats frequently use buttons to talk about NOW, LATER, SOON, TOMORROW, REMEMBER. And given the opportunity, they will press buttons to express sorrow, fear, safety, happiness - and missing a person or family pet who has died or left. 

This means they are thinking about these things!

Things that may have happened years ago. 

Like when Yannick sees an image of Cricket the Whippet on the tv screensaver, and presses SAD, or CRICKET. (She died over a year ago.)

Or when a few days after my son’s visit, he presses his name on his button board. That gives us the chance to talk about the absence and how we both feel about it. 

They can also talk about things right now, of course! Like asking to be brushed, wanting cuddles, wanting to go out, play, specifically with a ball, frisbee, or flirt pole. 

Here’s what Yannick had to say yesterday evening, when he woke up from a nap:

Clearly it was nearly suppertime! 

Why is all this important?

We are all guilty of saying “ok, later” when hearing a request. Having to respond to your pet’s requests means that you have to become more reliable. Your promises must be fulfilled!

A request for BEACH WALK, once acknowledged by a promise of BEACH WALK TOMORROW, must be kept to!

You have to show that you are hearing your dog, listening, and keeping your word. 

Lesson for all of us! 

Would you like your dog to “talk”?

If you’d like to learn more about how to teach your dog (or cat) to talk to you through buttons, and unlock a new world of communication between you, take a look at: 

Getting Started with talking buttons

and

Real Stories from Pet Parents Teaching Them to “Talk”

You’ll get lots of help and support there! As I have.