Happy Friday everyone !!!
This month is National Senior Pet Month and am going to talk about living with a senior as Layla is 14 years old and aging.
Since she was ill in June I have noticed many changes in her which I am learning to adapt to but there are days that I find it hard as it is taking its toll on me also.
We have been going through the past month or so her allergies so I against my will as I try not to give her medications put her on Apoquel as she was tearing at herself and thank goodness we have avoided hot spots, phew. I am also bathing her weekly which is helping with the scratching.
Another issue I am dealing with is her not wanting to sleep. She is up and down all night and if I can get her to sleep 6 hours without interruption I am happy, she is getting CBD oil to calm her down which seems to be helping. I need sleep at the moment LOL.
She otherwise is acting herself but a new issue is her barking at me when she wants to go out so off we go at all times of day and night, and Madam when she wants to walk we can walk which I do not mind but I do not like doing the side streets at night as it is not safe and that is where the arguments start LOL.
Today she is going to the vet, phew I managed to get an appointment as someone had cancelled as her left eye is very red, we have tried medications but they are not helping so the vet wants to check it out again.
Last Sunday, a good friend of mine took Layla away from me for a couple of hours to give me a break, they went to a different dog park, she took the backpack with her just in case but Layla did not want it. It was hard for me to be without her but on the other hand it gave me a break which was really needed as it helped me relax which I needed to do. She was very happy to see me when we met up again. Thank you Alice as always.
She also got spoiled this week with a parcel of South African treats by a company called ROAM, they sent her freeze dried venison, Crocodile jerky and Cape Ostrich jerky and she is loving them all. In South Africa you can buy Ostrich or Buck Jerky in all the stores and it is delicious.
And she got a new bed, the reason is she sleeps under the bed LOL so wanted her to sleep on something so I bought her a crate bed which fits under there perfectly so she now has her fourth bed. I am hoping with winter coming she will be warmer and it will help her to sleep.
So that is what is happening here, we are both aging slowly and learning to adapt to it all.
Stay safe everyone
With a woof and love from Layla
i cry every time my girls have a birthday, i wish they were babies again. my girls are 10 and 11. my oldest passed away 1 month shy of 16 4 years ago, but she had a rare form of cancer. she was very healthy til i used a certain well known brand of flea and tick collar on her. it caused all sorts of problems and her health went down hill fast after that. you just want them to live as long as you so you dont have to be without your very best friend in the world. mu 11 yr old is now deal but due to some meds she was taking for her liver disease which she got because someone gave me some raw venison that had e-coli in it, and cause hepatitis. my oldest that passed away had a little dementia, which is so hard to deal with, i had to hand feed her because she would forget what she was doing. she was also deal and almost completely blind. i wish i had never used the flea and tick collar, i got it from my vet. i try to use all natural products on my dogs and around my house. my vet is even a homeopathic vet. sounds like she had sundowner’s, like a lot of senior (human beings) get. my oldest had this too. i know how hard it is, with Evie and all of her problems it was a 24/7 caregiver job. i did not even like to leave the house. i would put her in the bedroom, lay down tarps everywhere because she could not control herself anymore. i brought tons of large packages of paper towels and make walls everywhere so that she could not get into any trouble when i left the house. many nights i slept on the floor with her on her bed because she no longer liked to sleep in the bed with me. take good care of your baby and both of you stay safe. we have had a new strain of kennel cough in my area and we dont go anywhere where there are other dogs.
Sending you lots of hugs Sandy and it is heart breaking when they pass away, that is why I am so so fussy and careful what Layla gets and I am trying to avoid any medication where possible to keep her as healthy as possible
I’m glad that you were able to get Layla into the vet! It sounds like she received lots of wonderful gifts and treats this week.
She is being utterly spoiled LOL and I was lucky with the vet phew.
My girl Daviana is 12 now, she’ll be 13 in February, and it breaks my heart to think how old that is for a dog. That being said, she still acts like a puppy, so I try not to let it bother me too much… She’s not ready to be a senior dog yet! There are, however, moments when you notice the age setting in a bit. She is a little slower moving after a day of running around outside, for example, and she has a harder time getting traction on our wood floors than she did as a young pup.
Britt I do not focus on it either but have researched as I have seen differences in Layla also
I think the best way of looking at it is this–Cookie is no 8.5 years old, a senior for her breed. That is 8.5 years nobody can take away from her.
I so agree with you