Living with aging dogs can bring some humorous moments, but there are also many moments that bring a touch of sadness with them. Then of course there are the funny moments that make you sad.
I think I’ve mentioned before that Sampson has been having some issues with noise. He gets very upset when either Hubby’s or my mom’s cell phones go off. Typically he gets up and leaves the room. One day last week Hubby caught him lying down in the shower. His belly got all wet. Silly dog.
The strange thing is that my cell phone going off doesn’t bother him.
I’m pretty sure the reason he’s having such issues stems from last year when the smoke alarm went crazy and he was stuck in the house for who knows how long with that infernal beeping. The holistic vet says an incident like that can ruin a dog.
Ruin. A. Dog.
His regular vet feels Hubby and Mom’s cell phones may have the same frequency as the smoke alarm, which could attribute to why he freaks out when he hears them.
To be clear, he doesn’t run around in a blind panic when he hears the noise, he simply gets up and leaves the room. Sometimes he wants to go outside. If I’m there with him, I usually just call him over to me and reassure him it’s okay and that’s usually enough.
Remember last week when I said I was grateful my mom wasn’t in the hospital over Thanksgiving or Christmas? Well for sure, she went into the hospital on the 30th and has been there ever since, which means, there is no-one downstairs for Sampson. Most of last week Hubby was home with him so he could just let him downstairs, but with everyone back to work, I don’t like leaving him down there alone.
I picked up some calming chews at my local Pet Valu store and ran it past my vet, who said sure, try it. (FTR she has a preferred brand, but I’d already bought these so they are the ones we’re using.)
The directions say 1 to 2 chews per day for a dog Sampson’s size. I wanted to try them on him while someone was home with him, so last week I gave him two. Didn’t think that through, because I should have saved one for the afternoon, but I learn. 😉
Anyway, he doesn’t seem to be having an issue with them, except I’m thinking they help him relax so he can get into a super deep sleep.
Tuesday night he was snoring away on the couch. I was in the kitchen finishing supper clean up and Delilah was there supervising. After I finished I gave her a bit of beef lung as a reward for sitting so nicely. As is the custom, when Delilah gets a reward for sitting in the kitchen, Sampson gets one for staying OUT of the kitchen.
So I walked into the living room. Did I mention he was snoring on the couch? So I stuck the chunk of lung under his nose and waited for him to sniff it in his sleep and wake up. But he didn’t. I got my camera, went back over and stuck the treat under his nose again.
Yes, sometimes his eyes are open a bit, but I assure you, he is sleeping.
Nothing.
I snapped the picture.
He woke up, ate the treat and closed his eyes to go back to sleep.
It made me laugh, but it made me sad at the same time. My old boy is tired, he’s really tired and he sleeps a lot, which makes me sad.
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I have two senior girls now, and yes, seeing the changes that come with old age makes me sad. But it also reminds me to treasure every day I have with them. It’s one of the reasons I feel so angry when I read about yet another senior dog dumped at a shelter. These moments are fleeting and should be remembered always. Fortunately you and I have blogs to record and share all these memories….which is leading me to dedicate a post soon to my own seniors.
Aw, that photo of Sampson sleeping with his eyes open reminds me of Callie – she slept with her eyes open many times, even as a puppy. Just enjoy every moment you can with Sampson. All he wants is to love you and be loved by you. It is sad when our pups start feeling the effects of aging. All we can do is help them when they need it and reassure them that they are still and always loved.
Old dogs have such zen moments. Has your husband tried changing the ring tone on his phone?
My mom has tears in hear eyes at some point almost every day with Katie. She falls down or doesn’t hear things and it breaks mom’s heart. She also will stay sleeping with a big fat, juicy, smelly treat right under her nose. It is life but it is hard to watch from the front row. Our Gramma has also had many health issues over the past 15 months, in and out of the hospital. Between Gramma and Katie, Mom can get pretty sad, but she has Bailie and I to cheer her up. It is important to remember how happy the senior pups are, and the humans are really the ones with the problem of aging, not so much the dogs.
Have you tried changing the ringers on the phones? Poor old guy needs his sleep. All of ours are like that after a long weekend home with us. I think they miss a lot of sleep when they spend time supervising us…lol.
Poor guy. I have not been blessed to have a dog live to be a senior. I admit I am looking forward to it.
That’s so sad, I’m so sorry you lost your others at a young age. I lost two dogs when they were both close to 15 years old. And I lost one when he was only 7. But one thing I have found, no matter how long we have with them, it’s never long enough.
Ooh, I’d hate to be stuck with a smoke alarm going. The bipeds say it hurts their ears, so imagine what it’s like for us dogs!
Happy New Year!
I may need those calming chews for Torrey right now.
Maybe Sampson just needs his beauty sleep? Although I know exactly what you mean abut the aging part, Sam likewise sleeps more and deeper now that he’s 10. He still acts like a pogo stick when he’s awake but I see the proverbial hands of time slowing him down when he’s inactive.
P.S. When the smoke alarm went off recently poor Sam was practically apoplectic when I came back from the grocery store. 20 seconds of me hearing it was more than enough for me as well. I totally empathize when those things malfunction. 🙂
Sampson is always such a gentleman, leaving the room when the obnoxious cell phones go off instead of telling them to change the ring. I loved this post, sad but quite lovely.
So much about that reminds me of our beagle Kobi. He would sleep SO soundly when he got older, that it scared us sometimes. The smoke alarm was also his enemy…to the point that if we turned the fan on over the cooktop he would shake and shake…because he knew that the fan was used sometimes when the smoke alarm went off (ours is stupidly too close to our oven). Kobi was not scared of one thing in life except for that.
Luke will also get up and leave the room when something bothers him, and he always goes downstairs and stays there until a storm, fireworks, or even his sisters fighting is over. He’s a very sensitive boy and it sounds like Sampson is too.
Also, I’m sorry to hear your Mom is in the hospital, I hope she will be back home soon.
Jimmy is petrified of the smoke alarm beep! He has the same reaction as if it were a thunder storm.
Wilson is 12 (13 at the end of May) and his hearing is going. He misses so much and it makes me sad. We make a point of going to get him if he doesn’t know what’s going on. His nose still works just fine though! He has slowed down considerably on our walks and you can watch Jimmy stop and look back for him. I wonder if Jimmy wonders why Wilson isn’t keeping up anymore? I remind myself to be patient when the walks take a bit too long and yet go a much shorter distance. I’ve also started walking Jimmy by himself so he can get enough exercise 🙁
I don’t think I get as upset with Cocoa sometimes when she is acting like a puppy and being naughty because I remember Daisy slowing down and how sad I was about it. So I have more patience. I mean, not lots but I am better!! And what are those chews that help you get a deep sleep. I would like some!!
Haley was at home alone once when the smoke detector battery got too low and she really dislikes that sound too, but luckily she’s not ruined, yikes! Maybe a soothing low-pitched ringtone or song would be better for Sampson. I’m glad the chews worked well though, poor guy.
With each of our dogs who has become elderly, I’ve found my love for them grow even deeper. Our dog who lived the longest (16 years) also got issues with noises in his late years. And, he’d sleep that soundly. We once put a treat between his lip and his teeth while he slept. When he woke up, he looked pleasantly surprised as he chewed it 🙂
Lots of love to your Sampson.
Oh yeah, I know that deep slumber. I have to poke and prod and call their name and clap and almost yell to wake up Jack & Maggie sometimes. Doesn’t help that Jack is hard of hearing. Maggie is actually harder to wake up…she is in DEEEEEEEP slumber sometimes.
lily will be 11 in march. sometimes she is so sound asleep i find myself watching her chest to see if she is breathing. our walks are slower. we use a nitelight in our bed room to help her see better getting on and off the bed.
lily is also my service dog. she helps me in stores and at home. so it’s a lost to her and me as she gets older. i help her from feeling down by keeping her focused on all the ways she can still help me. I’m a trauma survivor non-military related.
my husband and i love her so much. we have lots of pics. of her as well as many memories.
we stay focused on the here and now. everything that makes lily who she is.
including being a furry beast that lovs cold weather. while I’m freezing my bum off trying to get her back into the house.
glad you brought this subject up. it’s comforting to hear from other dog parents about this.
what makes us laugh, sad, even exasperating times.
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I know what you mean about those “senior moments.” They do make you laugh, cry, wonder, and wish, don’t they?
Sherman has gotten sensitive with sounds over the years too. A few weeks ago our power went out when we weren’t home. When our powers goes out, the U-verse box downstairs beeps until the power comes back on. This droves Sherman nuts. When we got home he knocked down the baby gate and you could tell he was looking for someone to comfort him. 🙁 Made me so sad!
I just love the seniors and loved that they slept so peaceful.