Why should I teach my old dog new tricks?
I love old dogs. That’s right, I adore, cherish and coo over old dogs. It’s the way they calmly accept affection, the way they look into your eyes and you can see the weight of the world in them. Grey muzzles, stiff back legs, the obligatory snoring in deep sleep and the old dog mannerisms. I flipping love an old dog.
That said I see a lot of owners getting young dogs, or puppies, as their old dog goes into the twilight of their lives. I understand this, an old dog no longer wishes to go on long walks, you don’t want a time without a dog when your elderly friend passes to the big dog playing field / beach in the sky. However, I feel it is important, just because old dog spends more time sleeping, you don’t write them off too soon.
Many conscientious owners decide to help their elderly dog to keep moving through the wonders of either prescribed drugs, supplements or complementary therapies. Sometimes, if you are like me, it is all three.
I discovered Clinical Canine Massage Therapy thanks to my ageing dog Daisy. Daisy was a Guide Dog until she was eight years old. Guide Dogs should work until they are 10; yes, Daisy was retired early for being naughty. I knew Daisy’s blind owner and, when Daisy was retired, her blind owner asked for Daisy to come to me. This was one of the best days of my life and I am fairly sure it was one of hers too. Although Daisy’s blind owner adored her Daisy was constantly stressed and under stimulated. When she came to me it was long walks and good, healthy food. Finally she got to enjoy life.
As Daisy got older she started to slow. We all see this in our ageing dogs; the slowness of getting out of bed, not being able to jump into the car, difficulty traversing the stairs, not wanting to go on long walks, finding it difficult to regulate body temperature in the heat.
When I started trying to find ways to make Daisy more comfortable I found Clinical Canine Massage Therapy. A Clinical Canine Massage Therapist works along side you and your vet to help the rehabilitation of soft tissue injuries and can also help ease some orthopaedic issues such as arthritis.
As a Clinical Canine Massage Therapist I cannot perform miracles; I cannot make an old dog young. I can, however, help to relieve pain, ease up tight muscles and get blood flowing. I can help to give back your old friend some quality of life.
Many of my clients come to me with older dogs and say that their dog won’t go for long walks any more. Fair enough! Massage will only help so far; arthritis will always be there. But why not teach your old dog a new trick? There are many wonderful things to do with your friend and, what is even better, is that many of them are now being taught in the North East of Scotland. These new activities are low impact but will work your dog’s brain and will also help to keep their muscles moving. Moving muscles are oxygenated muscles so they will keep moving for longer. Ten minutes of brain work will tire out your dog as much as an hour long walk!
Scent Work - mental stimulates dogs and enhances their natural ability to sniff things out. A dog’s nose is about 40 times better than ours and they love to sniff the scents of other dogs and animals whilst out on a walk. So what is better than to harness this sense and learn scent?!
Hoopers - similar to agility as dogs navigate a course of hoops, barrels and tunnels but without the jumping and hence far less pressure on the joints.
Rally O (Obedience) - think of it as a sort of obedience exercise obstacle course that you and your dog navigate. You walk through the course and numbered signs indicate different exercises to perform.
So these are just three activities your ageing best friend can learn and, what is even better, spend time with you to learn together.
If you need further incentive to give your old dog a second chance just think of my 12 and a half year old girl Daisy. We have just completed our first ever Rally O competition online (posting a video on YouTube that gets judged) and in her group she came 4th! That is fourth in her group that had dogs of all ages and from all corners of the UK and Europe.
Yes, you can absolutely teach an old dog new tricks!