My dog is going to live forever. I am convinced this is what I believed until I started seeing changes when we went for our daily walk.
Our little guy just simply refuses to walk somewhere if he does not want to. Trying to pull him toward the intended path is fruitless. He will also randomly decide to stop walking and this makes me almost lose my middle as the harness is fastened around my middle. Then the big guy looks at me with a confused face. He also trails behind me. He does not pull out in front anymore. He also does not want to jump in or out of the car or on the couch. He now insists on being picked up.
The big guy just tends to be slacking. Instead of having to call him back because he wandered too far from me I have to call him to actually come along. It is like he is stopping and smelling the flowers, but then forget that he actually needs to walk. Half way he also seems a bit famished more than usual.
At first I thought they were just being tardy and then one day it hit me like the blood drained from my face kind of realisation.
My dogs got old.
It dawned on me that there is a reason why they are acting differently or even strange on their walks these days.
My 3 year old puppy is not 3 years old anymore. He does not look old, but he is older. He is turning 9 at the end of this year.
My little old guy is not 7 years old anymore. He is turning 11!
It is not like we have not been talking about their ages, but it just simply did not click that they are actually getting old.
I asked Etienne, listen is it not time that we start buying senior food for the doggies? He looked at me kind of dumbstruck and then realisation hit with “oh my word! Yes, I did not think of that”.
I had such a laugh. I think in my mind my dogs were still puppies.
I had to adjust our walks. We can not go for long walks like we used too which were between 6-10km’s. We have to stick to around 5km’s at a time and slower paces.
I started adjusting my fitness programme to help my doggo’s still get their daily walk, because even though they are older they are still excited like puppies when I pick up their leashes.
So, I had to, very quickly, get used to my doggies being seniors now. Wham! In the face.
Now I do not call them “seun”, “hondjie”, “boude” or whatever pops into my head first. From now on they will be known as “ou man”, “senior” or anything age related.
Dog's lives are too short. Their only fault, really. -Agnes Slight Turnbull
E xx
The Travellingmind 