A senior pack

I was up in the middle of the night with Jessie lastnight; upset stomach. This seems to be something that is happening more often with my two old girls. How on earth did my girls reach 11 1/2 and 12 1/2 already?

Luke turned 8 in August; hard to believe that 8 years could have passed by since that fateful day I met him. But after having him at the vets where he was official declared "a senior," I cannot believe that I have a senior pack. Luke doesn't seem like a senior; don't know if he ever will but in regards to dogs and lifespan he is a senior.

I never actually thought about having three seniors at the sametime. Each dog has come into our life just when they did; but here we are with three seniors. Over the years I've had many seniors but it was one at a time. We added Tilley to our family when Jessie was only 10 months old and Luke when Tilley was 3 1/2 years old.

I'm definitely seeing seniorism with my girls Tilley and Jessie. Jessie being a senior has meant that I don't have to run after her anymore. Jack Russell's chase trigger is a fast one and I've learned over the years to watch her for any ears up behavior. She doesn't always chase now when she triggers; I will often see her think about it before charging off.

Although she is 12 1/2 years old Jessie looks and acts like a dog half her age most of the time. No one would ever guess that she is nearing 13 years of age. Infact I am often asked how old my puppy is. What does give her age away is when we are looking through old photos and see an image of a young Jessie. She had a very distinctive 1/2 and 1/2 face. Once side of her face was white, the other had a large dark patch over her eye. That patch is now gone; we never noticed it leaving.

Tilley is showing more physical senior signs. As a large dog age hits her harder than the smaller ones. Having been an amazing frisbee dog for years; she is now grounded. There are things you have to do for your senior dogs that they may not agree with; like grounding them. I do use my chuck it for her retrieving joy but even then she sometimes retrieves with a bit too much gusto.

Tilley's stomach is a bit sensitive now so I am more aware of what she eats. And there is a whole lot of sleeping going on in our house. Although physically the oldest Tilley tends to be awake the most. She has a shadow OCD issue so that draws her outside if it is sunny.

And Luke being the youngest sleeps the most; his favorite sleeping time is early morning; this boy will sleep in until 10 if I let him. I really consider himm to be middle aged; especially since I only saw him mature at the age of 7; 4 years after most of my poodles matured.

Senior dogs spend alot of their time sitting; taking things in and enjoying the quiet things in life. There is no one to impress; just life to enjoy as life has taken them to this moment. Life lessons are all under their belt; and learning is replaced with maturity and confidence.

There is a quiet contentment in a senior dog's eyes. Once a dog hits their senior years; it's all about enjoying life. There is an amazing uncluttered quiet connection between guardian and senior dog. Each moment is a precious one; and life from this perspective needs to be about simply enjoying each other.