Seeing The Not Too Distant Future

  Mosby is now the old man of Hillcroft.  He will be 12 in July and has all the characteristics of a senior dog.  He had slowed down in the last year or so, but didn't really show his age until lately.  Once he stepped on that path, though, it seems he is rapidly heading towards his final months.
   The gray is starting to cover his muzzle and face, his eyes are cloudy and his hearing is not sharp.  Often, he has weakness in his back legs and he acts as if his joints bother him.  He's lost weight, even though he eats every meal.  His appetite is not alway strong so it may take him longer to eat his food, often needing encouragement to finish.
  Mosby still enjoys going outside and socializing with the other dogs.  He likes to sniff around the trees in the back yard and doze in the sunshine in the recent, spring-like weather.  Sometimes, he'll even break into a trot as we go back and forth to the kennel!
 But, a recent development is that Mosby is showing signs of dementia.  It started about a month ago with periods of restlessness and barking, about mid morning.  Even though Claire and Lauren are in the house with Mosby, we realized that he felt alone.  This was easily solved by turning on the tv.  Either the voices or the movement comforted Mosby as he would watch for awhile, then go soundly to sleep.
  Lately, Mosby has become worse, needing a very rigid routine to make him comfortable.  Since the kennel is what he knows best, that's where he heads if given the opportunity when something out of the norm happens.  When Lauren jostled him   as we came inside to see if food was left in his bowl, he immediately made a u-turn and ran out the open door, going to the kennel.  The same thing happened when a mop I had left by the back door got knocked over and landed on Mosby as he was coming inside.
  When these incidents happen, Mosby goes into a complete panic and is so frantic that he doesn't respond to me or seem to recognize me.  It's so hard to see him like this when he's always been such a happy, carefree dog.  It brings back a memory of our trip home from Clarion with Mosby, when we made a puppy potty stop.  I had Mosby on a long lead and he was running to me after I called him.  I heard a woman say nearby, "look how that puppy loves her"!
  I need to concentrate on memories like that and help Mosby cope with his aging body and mind.  While the recent developments are happening more frequently, we have many more normal days.  We know what makes Mosby comfortable and happy and if that means more time in the kennel as it gets warmer, rather than in the house with us, well, so be it.  We always treasure every day we get with our seniors!

Birthday Catch Up

  I've been woefully behind on celebrating the dogs' birthdays!  Mosby turned 11 in July, Gemma and Ref were 2 in September and Claire turned 9 at the beginning of this month.  While I wished them all "happy birthday" on their special days and gave them extra attention, I didn't bake them birthday treats.
  Yesterday, I got caught up and tried a new recipe I had been saving for the occasion.  With my granddaughter's "help", I made Peanut Butter Dog Treat Balls.  It is a super simple and fast recipe to put together--even with a toddler by my side!
   The dogs got their treats this morning and it was huge success!  I think this recipe will be used for holiday gift baking for my dog walking clients.
  Claire's birthday celebration isn't quite finished.  She will be coming inside for a bath, then will become a house dog. I miss having a dog inside, now that Ben and Sophie are gone.  I had planned on making both Claire and Phoebe house dogs this winter but will have to make do for awhile with just one inside dog.  Even though Mosby is older, his coat is always so thick that he would find it hard to adjust to the warm house.  I'm keeping an eye on him though, and Lauren, too (who will be 9 in January).  Maybe if the forecasters are correct and we have a snowy and colder than usual winter, they'll be ready to be full time house dogs, too!

Mass Exodus

  With Lauren and Mosby now having their storm phobias, they readily escape their kennel when a storm is nearby.  Or, sometimes, they get out when it's just raining...or it's windy..or, who knows???  We moved them to the puppy/senior yard which is escape proof (we think) but frequently bring them inside at night.
  But then, Phoebe started barking at several periods during the night for no apparent reason.  So now she also comes inside.  And, because Claire thinks she needs to go wherever her sister goes, she sleeps in the house, too.
  Then, Dixie discovered her kennel door has an opening that she could squeeze through and started to leave her kennel at various times.  She doesn't have a storm phobia, doesn't bark at the wildlife or even try to get out of the main gate.  My husband says Dix is only getting out because she knows she can!
  For the others--what is going on???  Why don't the dogs like their kennel house anymore???  Obviously we need to repair some fences, which we are hesitant to do until the storm season is over as we don't want to take a chance that the dogs will hurt themselves trying to escape during an electrical storm.  I don't mind dashing outside (or sending David) to bring in the dogs when we see the clouds coming up from the valley.
  Actually, I don't mind having half the dogs in the house at night!  Phoebe though, has let me know that she is now house dog status and I've complied.  Her time in the kennel is a couple of hours in the morning and a couple of hours in the evening.  The other dogs have not picked up on the fact that I readily acquiesce to what they want so we currently have the upper hand.  But...stay tuned!

Garden Dog

  I have to be careful on the dog match-ups when it's play day in the big yards.  The girls get along with anybody, but the boys get prickly with each other.  Ref and Gibson are fine to be together but sometimes they get irked with Jackson.  Gibson and Jackson will frequently fight with Mosby and Ref cannot stand to have Mosby near at all.  Even the girls seem to find Mosby annoying some times.  Poor Mosby!
  Since Mosby seems to be frequently standing on the outside, watching the others play, I have found another way to give him quality time.  He helps me garden!
  I wish I could have Mosby in the vegetable garden with me to help discourage the rabbits that keep trying to set up a home in there, but he would rather sleep on the plants than the mulch paths.  We have plenty of gardens, so there are many other places he can plop down while I dispatch the weeds.  Recently, Mosby settled under the hydrangea while I worked nearby.  I wish I had my camera then!  His blue merle coat under the blue hydrangea flowers made a very pretty picture!
  We've had to take a break during this recent heat wave.  The weeds are taking advantage of my absence and are trying to take over!  Fortunately, I can get back into the gardens this week and Mosby can join me.  When he sees me put on my gardening gloves and pull out the wheelbarrow, he starts to bark and dance, ready to come out and "supervise"!

Settled in, ready for a weeding marathon!

Taking a break to roll in the grass, in the sunshine!

Aahhh, life is good!

A nap is always in order after weeding!

Storm Phobia

Last night, we had a severe thunderstorm (as did much of the eastern section of the country) with winds up to 80 mph.  We live next door to radio towers and a generator for  the electrical co-op, both of which have lightning rods attached.  Needless to say, lots of lightning comes our way!
  The kennel is situated between the two lightning rod locations which reduces the risk of the trees nearby or the kennel itself getting hit by lightning.  Generally, the dogs aren't concerned by the storms, they just go inside until the weather calms.  But, this summer, Mosby has developed a storm phobia.
  The storms we've had up until last night have not been bad, a few lightning strikes but mainly heavy rains.  Mosby has reacted by finding the loose spot in the kennel fencing, getting out, then standing by the gate, panting and nervous.  He's fine once I get him inside, which I now do whenever storms are predicted.
  Mosby has never been bothered by storms before but I think it must have something to do with being older.  This had happened with one of our other dogs, Abby,  a few years ago, again starting when she was about ten.  Research was in order!
  I found a couple good sites on the internet and a good book at the library.  I learned some very interesting things!
  Storm phobias can worsen as a dog ages, just as I suspected.  And, as I know from experience, the phobia can become "contagious" from one dog to another.  I don't want the other dogs to learn from Mosby that thunderstorms are something to fear so we've become very quick to get him out of the kennel.
  Behaviorists can't pinpoint what the dog is reacting to--the lightning, the thunder, the wind blowing or the sound of rain on the roof.  Some dogs will start with their phobia symptoms well before the storm arrives.  This could be caused by the sudden drop in the air pressure, the electrical charge in the air, or with their acute sense of smell, the dog can detect the change in the air scent before the storm.
  Some dogs, especially those with long coats (and Mosby has lots of coat!) can feel the static electricity of a thunderstorm before it arrives.  The electricity in the air causes little shocks to the dog, which would be very disconcerting!  This theory I have experienced myself.
  I had Abby outside with me while I was gardening.  It was a beautiful morning, blue sky and no clouds.  Suddenly, Abby became frantic and ran to the back door, scratching to get in.  She was panting heavily and showing all the signs that a storm was near.  I was puzzled as the sky was clear and no storms were predicted.  But then, the hair on my arm stood up and the lightning rod on the radio tower started to crackle.  I looked up and a dark storm cloud was overhead.  Abby and I got inside just as the cloud burst and the rain started!
  Another theory in the July/Aug 2001 issue of Journal of the American Animal Hospital Association is that genetics plays a part.  Herding dogs are bred to react quickly to stimuli but not to be aggressive from it.  A collie could have a strong reaction to the startling noise of thunder and flash of lightning but repress their natural aggressive response, thus causing their anxiety.
  For Mosby, I think it's a combination of factors.  I'm sure the change in atmospheric pressure must bother his geriatric ears and with his abundant coat, must feel the static electricity.  I not only want him in the house to relieve him of his anxiety, but that the other dogs don't learn that storms are to be feared and start to react by association.
  In Mosby's case, being inside resolves the problem so exposure therapy to de-sensitize him would not be effective.  I'm hesitant to fix the loose spot in the kennel fence on the chance that we would not be home when a storm started and Mosby would harm himself trying to get out.
  During last night's storm, we had tree limbs blow down next to the kennel.  I found Lauren outside this morning, sleeping by the front gate.  She and Mosby share their kennel spot so she's either learned from him that storms are scary or is starting with her own phobia at 8 1/2 years old.  I'm glad she was safely able to get out of her kennel when she needed to but we won't take any chances from here on out.  Both Lauren and Mosby will be indoor dogs frequently, especially during this heat wave and the chance of sudden, severe storms!  Hopefully the other dogs won't become afraid of bad weather after last night.  They seemed quite nonplussed when I checked on them this morning but did seem disappointed that my early morning visit didn't include breakfast!

What a surprise when I opened the kennel door and found these tree limbs!

Ref and Gemma didn't seem to care that this was just outside their fence.

We were very fortunate that this fell next to the kennel and not on it! Only the top rail of the fence had minor damage.

This tree limb was on the play yard fence.  The dogs were content to stay in the kennel with their fan while David was busy with the chain saw!