I realize that I haven't posted much about Maggie lately, so I thought I'd provide a quick update...
Health
The thing that has become apparent in the past few weeks is that Maggie really is getting older. This may sound a bit obvious/silly, but until recently Maggie has behaved much as she did when she was 5 years old. The only signs of her age were her grey hairs and an increased tolerance for other dogs.
A few weeks ago, I started to notice some changes in her behavior -- she didn't want to go on walks as much, she wasn't standing square on all four legs, and some of her leg joints seemed a bit more pronounced. This concerned me, so I took her to the vet.
They did some x-rays and it turns out the the old lady is getting some arthritis in her elbows and wrists. We put her on a bit of Deramaxx for a week to bring down the inflammation, and changed her joint supplement - from Cosequin to Dasuquin. We also added some dog stairs to family room sofa so the old lady doesn't take so much stress when she gets down. She seems to be feeling a bit better - she's anxious to go on walks again, and spends more time in the yard.
Given this, I've not been doing much training with her. She still demands to work (i.e. gets in the way and barks incessantly) when I work Rip or Ziggy, so she is doing some training - but nothing with a lot of running and no jumping.
Who's the Boss?
I now must admit that Rip is the boss of the place. Maggie defers to him most of the time, but still stands up for herself if she doesn't want to play, wants to keep a toy, etc. The corgfuffles for the most part have stopped. We're down to once a week rather than once a day. I continue to put them both in a down stay if something happens. It seems to be working well.
Hangin' in the Yard
The Cardis all seem happy that the worst of winter is over, and enjoy staying out in the yard.
Maggie wanted to let you know what yard time is like:
Health
The thing that has become apparent in the past few weeks is that Maggie really is getting older. This may sound a bit obvious/silly, but until recently Maggie has behaved much as she did when she was 5 years old. The only signs of her age were her grey hairs and an increased tolerance for other dogs.
A few weeks ago, I started to notice some changes in her behavior -- she didn't want to go on walks as much, she wasn't standing square on all four legs, and some of her leg joints seemed a bit more pronounced. This concerned me, so I took her to the vet.
They did some x-rays and it turns out the the old lady is getting some arthritis in her elbows and wrists. We put her on a bit of Deramaxx for a week to bring down the inflammation, and changed her joint supplement - from Cosequin to Dasuquin. We also added some dog stairs to family room sofa so the old lady doesn't take so much stress when she gets down. She seems to be feeling a bit better - she's anxious to go on walks again, and spends more time in the yard.
Given this, I've not been doing much training with her. She still demands to work (i.e. gets in the way and barks incessantly) when I work Rip or Ziggy, so she is doing some training - but nothing with a lot of running and no jumping.
Who's the Boss?
I now must admit that Rip is the boss of the place. Maggie defers to him most of the time, but still stands up for herself if she doesn't want to play, wants to keep a toy, etc. The corgfuffles for the most part have stopped. We're down to once a week rather than once a day. I continue to put them both in a down stay if something happens. It seems to be working well.
Hangin' in the Yard
The Cardis all seem happy that the worst of winter is over, and enjoy staying out in the yard.
Maggie wanted to let you know what yard time is like:
When we go out in the yard, the boys like to frap, wrestle and play.
I appreciate that it wears them out so they don't bug me.
While they're playing I like to bark.
No, wait, I love to bark. And I bark A LOT.
It's my way of joining in.
But sometimes the little troublemaker tries to get me to play.
This is me ignoring him.
But he's persistent.
He taunts me with toys, and tries to take the ball from me.
Clearly I wasn't hard enough on this one when he was a puppy.
And then I remember that playing isn't so bad.
Maybe if I run a bit he'll leave me alone.
It worked. Now I can rest in the sun without him pestering me.
If you're getting up there, it's good to have a plan. Maggie seems to be pretty tolerant of having two stoopid boy dogs in her space.
ReplyDeleteMaggie is also 11, right? Rufus has had arthritis in his knees for about two years. I started him on Cosequin at 9 and Rimadyl last year. He still has a few bad days here and there, but overall he is still in great health and pretty happy. Except when Nick is annoying him...that look on Maggie's face when she's ignoring Rip is soooo Rufus. That and the barking. :-)
ReplyDelete(counting on fingers) Yes, Maggie will be 12 in June. She's just 10 days younger than Riley. Now *that's* one mistake I haven't made again: 16 puppies in 10 days.
ReplyDeleteAlice will be 11 in June and she is slowing down. I also notice an increased tolerance of other dogs in her.