I've spent so much time focused on my puppy that I sometimes feel I've neglected my older girl. I thought I was going to lose her this spring when she was misdiagnosed with osteosarcoma. The lump that scared us turned out to be a simple bony growth, possibly triggered by an injury I was unaware of. She's still doing well, though I'm noticing more signs of age: hearing loss (or is it selective hearing??), sight problems, a loss of stamina, but her attitude is still sweet and wonderful. Molly is about 14 this August, though she was a rescue so we don't know for sure. I've had her for 13 years and she's been an absolute honey. All the "horror" stories we've ever read about Labs are not true about her, except for the eat-anything trait! She's never been destructive, was a breeze to train, deals well with all sorts of people and situations, and has even come to tolerate the young interloper! She makes me look good 8) Here's a link to a few pictures of her with her favorite toy (the frisbee she's standing on), her less favorite young housemate (she's like a stern spinster great-aunt who never approves of your behavior ) and last, the clover she loves to eat. "Molly, leave it!" echoes across the arena... https://www.dropbox.com/sc/x03i09zfau73vk1/AAClhnXXV-Y2jdt12HLeeIuya I'd love to hear about your senior dogs .
Re: Let's hear about our older dogs! Molly is lovely. She doesn't look 14. I love the vignette. Stern spinster great aunt LOL ;D What a great idea for a thread.
Re: Let's hear about our older dogs! Nancy, Molly just doesn't look 14 years old, she is beautiful and obviously you adore her and the little one in the background is just as beautiful. She sounds like the perfect lab and I'm not sure we have one of those on the forum ;D I haven't experienced an older dog yet, Hattie is very nearly 7 years old so still only middle aged, she still believes she is a puppy : Charlie our rescue is only 3 years old. It's lovely to read about Molly and the joy dogs bring to us in their golden years. Lovely and thanks for sharing xx
Re: Let's hear about our older dogs! She looks fit, slim, healthy and happy. I hope mine looks like that at 14!
Re: Let's hear about our older dogs! She looks a darling and very young for her age. I have an 8 year old Lab and this is the first year when he seems to be slowing down a bit and getting easier Yes, we do feel we neglect our older dogs, but I am sure they know they are well loved. I do try to put Drift first. but of course my younger dog, two and a half, gets all the fun of gundog training etc and I feel so guilty leaving no 1 behind when he was the one that I took. Perhaps they don't feel what we do, hope so.
Re: Let's hear about our older dogs! Lovely pooch!! I had a wonderful dog who lived to be 16, and people were always surprised to hear his age right til the end. He was pretty much deaf, and getting cataracts, but was full of life and the same loyal, frisbee obsessed (liked to carry it on walks, not chase it, much, at the end), faithful companion that he had always been.
Re: Let's hear about our older dogs! Oh what a great idea for a thread...but you know how I am ,I'll be weeping as I'm reading.....Lisa has me off already! I agree with everyone else,Molly looks so well for her age,you must have been beside yourself when she was misdiagnosed....thankfully she was ok and looks very happy ,healthy and loved x
Re: Let's hear about our older dogs! What a gorgeous girl , so beautiful , I love to hear about older dogs too We are unsure of Millies age , the rescue said she was about 4-6 but our Vet thinks much older, possibly ten or even more , the rescue did admit that they had to guess as she was a stray . It matter not to us, she is loved and will have the care she didnt have before she came to us a year ago , older dogs rock
Re: Let's hear about our older dogs! Wow Kate! I can't believe Millie could be 10... Or more?She looks brilliant x
Re: Let's hear about our older dogs! Tell you what, Nancy, no way does Molly look 14. I too have 14 year old yellow lab (she was 14 in April). She too has gone deaf, now wears a collar with DEAF on it so people know. I would be totally lost without megs. She's still very active, probably due to the years of hydrotherapy she's had. She can still run, not play so much now though, although she loves her cuddles (so do I) Her eyesight seems fine, her appetites good. She was diagnosed with Cushings Disease earlier this year but that is under control with medication. She started to become incontinent of urine and after trial and error that is now controlled with 2 tabs incurin a day. I give her her tablets wrapped in pate, she loves it, thinks it's a treat. I've had people say to me that she's only young, how old is she and they're gobsmacked when I tell them 14. She loves people, children and other dogs. She's never given me a minute of trouble (well apart from the other week when this strange man suddenly appeared, and even then it wasn't her fault) and is always well behaved. I wonder if it's because they're yellow and show no signs of ageing, i.e. going grey around muzzle, that keeps them looking young. Molly looks alert, fit and healthy. Well done you.
Re: Let's hear about our older dogs! Jen ,possibly you are right,the grey isn't as noticeable on the yellows.I also think weight is very aging ....Chris and I were horrified in a restaurant in the UK when this hello lab huffed in and flopped down under a table...of course we got talking and were told he was only 4! I really thought the owners were going to say four.........teen!he was fed chips and burger off their plates all the way through their meal ??? I digress,Molly and Meg are both gorgeous older girls ,the Jackie and Joan Collins' of The Labrador Forum
Re: Let's hear about our older dogs! Angela. Here are a couple of very short videos I took, mainly so our vet could see how meg was. She was well pleased. Meg tends to be quivering wreck when we go to see her. So she wanted to see meg as her normal self. http://vid40.photobucket.com/albums/e215/lablover10/V_20140630_063956_zps6ea0bd80.mp4 http://vid40.photobucket.com/albums/e215/lablover10/V_20140630_063824_zps4a0f8c5f.mp4 And meg modelling her cool mat. http://i40.photobucket.com/albums/e215/lablover10/1403016686217_zpsbe3ab9f0.jpg Looking after her grandad http://i40.photobucket.com/albums/e...3-c13f-4ef4-b62c-485201441986_zpsa4369ab9.jpg Meg says that's enough now, apparently I'm starting to embarass her.
Re: Let's hear about our older dogs! Thanks, everyone, for the kind words about Molly. I've tried very hard to keep her slim, in spite of her desire to eat all day! I think her frisbee obsession has helped a lot - she won't stop until I do! With a few incidents of EIC in her past, I watch carefully when the weather is hot. I have to share one story about the frisbee and a bad me. We were out in the field and Molly was happily retrieving frisbees. I usually keep walking and throwing, and she chases and retrieves them. Well, I looked at her, all the way across the field, and she was coming back without the frisbee! I shouted, "Molly, fetch! Where is it?" and she obediently turned around to go find it and bring it back. It wasn't till she got closer to me that I saw the blood dripping down her leg! While in the throes of frisbee chasing, she'd apparently crashed into a farm implement and gashed open her armpit. She had a jagged tear that looked about 3-4 inches long (7-10 cm) that curled under her armpit, gaping open. But dang it! She brought that frisbee! Boy, did I feel awful! :-[ :-\ https://www.dropbox.com/sc/c45zdzq5o1zlvzz/AAAB4Y1Oayur--UTFUD4-1ARa She was excellent at leaving her t-shirt alone. I knew she'd be miserable in the cone-head, so I wanted to try it without. The t-shirt was just barely enough deterrent to licking, but it worked. It is hard when they get too old to go on all the outings they did before. I do a lot of snowshoeing around the farm in the winter (often the only possible way to walk anywhere!) and last winter had to leave Molly behind more often than not. Bounding and jumping through 3-4 foot deep drifts is just too much for an old dog! My hubby said she looked out the window at Henry and I and just whined... :'(. This winter will be even worse, since now she'll have to watch Henry and the puppy go with me while she stays back. I'll have to take her for a driveway walk before we go off on the snowshoes (the driveway is a quarter mile so a decent distance for the old girl). I wonder if a group of older dogs would have a relaxed tea-party kind of gathering or if they'd just argue the whole time? Puppy piles are more predictable, I guess!
Re: Let's hear about our older dogs! Bless her Nancy. The wound looks really sore and nasty. What a good girl though to wear the t shirt. She really doesn't look her age at all. It doesn't matter what age they are our labs still like to please and be obedient. I reckon if our old uns were to get together our ears would be burning. Just imagine them telling each other what hopeless humans we are.
