Keep calm & carry a blanket: Senior Pet Health Month

I have a special treat for you today… a guest post! In honor of Senior Pet Health Month, Sharon Castellanos from Grouchy Puppy is here to talk about the mental health of senior dogs.  Among her other awesome accomplishments, Sharon is Editor-at-Large for LIFE+DOG Magazine and an active Board Member of Pets Are Wonderful Support (PAWS).  Sharon has contributed to this blog before (and I’ve even popped up on Grouchy Puppy), and I’m thrilled to have her back today. 

One of the things I have noticed with my old dog Cleo is that she is all about the routine and the familiar. She turns to go down the street every morning, never up. Wherever she is, when it is close to dinner time, she moves to lay by the couch in a holding pattern. She knows it is a quick step to her food bowl from there. She is out of the traffic pattern of us cooking, but she has memorized the smells and sounds that say her meal is ready.

Besides her love for food, Cleo also loves her blankets. We bought four fake sherpa-fleece blankets from Costco about five years ago. One for the car, one for each bed, and a spare. They have been work horses and have held up better than the bed we bought on that same Costco trip. Maybe it’s because she is a big girl, but her beds seem to take a beating. Now I know what my sister means when she says that she is “hard on shoes.” No wonder she buys a new pair every other month. We haven’t had to buy Cleo new blankets, and one reason I’m glad, beside the cost savings, is their familiarity to Cleo.

Comfort in the familiar. When I think about Senior Pet Health Month, something that stands out for me now is Cleo’s mental health. She visibly relaxes when she is lying on one of her blankets. To me, with her deteriorating vision, the familiar texture and scent of her blankets seem to soothe her. Sometimes I will find her sleeping in the front room, with only her head buried in her blanket. We learned when she has sleepovers with a friend, to leave a blanket for her to sleep on, or rest on like Switzerland. The familiar blanket is probably more important to her than remembering treats. In places that are “not home”, her blanket is her special neutral zone, and safe place that smells like us and home.

When we go out for her walk in the morning, we equally contribute to the route and pace. I guide her away from curbs and places she might fall into, as well as slow her down before she rams her head into a tree trunk. She tells me if she wants to walk all the way around the block, or instead that she is ready to return home after a quick pee. If she wants to walk half way, then stand and sniff the air for 10 minutes, we do that. My goal is to give her opportunities for enjoyment.

Experiencing Cleo’s aging process helps me understand my parents better. I think of my long distance calls with my 80-year old mother. Half of our conversations involve detailed accounts of her daily routine. She enjoys the familiar and often tells me how much she does not like surprises. I think the calm from her routine helps her mental health, so I encourage her to tell me all about her day. Like with Cleo, I don’t rush her pace or hurry her off the call.

When I see first hand how Cleo sighs, stretches, and dozes off in contentment, because her surroundings are familiar thus relaxing, I’m happy. Cleo can go “off duty” and not worry about protecting us or being watchful. If I can help her mental health by making familiar noises so she knows dinner is ready, I will. If I have to sew the edges of her blankets to keep them from unraveling, thus allowing her to keep them another year, I will. If she wants to walk ten steps, or ten blocks, I will guide her. Caring for an old dog has given me a chance to learn about senior nutrition for the first time, but it has also shown me the importance of watching over Cleo’s mental health.

Loving Cleo the way we do, it is a gift to have this chance to be on guard for her.

Thanks again to Sharon for joining us today! Pop on over to Grouchy Puppy to read more of her work. Now, let’s get this party (by which I mean discussion) started… does your senior dog take comfort in the familiar?

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28 thoughts on “Keep calm & carry a blanket: Senior Pet Health Month

  1. Thanks so much for letting me share a story about life with Cleo. Not only has she taught lessons on life, but she was the one who inspired me to work with Pets Are Wonderful Support (pawssf.org). I get to see first hand how powerful the human-animal bond is on the quality of life of low income seniors and disabled in our community.

    Having a senior dog in your life is something not to be missed, as you well know AJ. I’m grateful to have Cleo, and for you letting me share a slice of our life here in San Francisco.
    Sharon recently posted..San Francisco | Hidden treasures suggest why we have so many dogs

    • Thank YOU so much for this wonderful post. It’s absolutely lovely, and I’m honored to have it on my blog.

      You’re so right – having a senior dog is a wonderful thing, and I wouldn’t trade my bond with Bella for anything.

  2. Wow, I found myself tearing up over this one. 🙂 What a beautiful and loving tribute.

    I’ve noticed with my guys they mostly follow the same paths on their walks (which is okay with me) even though they have many different options to choose from.

    As mine age, this is a good thought to keep in mind, because I want them to be comfortable too.

    Thank you for the post, it really was beautiful.
    Jodi recently posted..You Can’t Keep a Good Dog Down

    • I agree – I never thought that much about it until reading Sharon’s post, but Bella seems to take comfort in the familiar as well. The routine is a good thing. 🙂

  3. What a lovely post. We are fostering a senior dog, and when he was brought to us, he came with his own bed and blanket. He doesn’t seem to care much about the blanket, but the bed is definitely “his place”. It helped him settle into our home, and if he ever leaves us for a forever home, both bed and blanket will go with him.
    And I agree, it is so nice to be able to see them realize that they are in a safe place where they can just close their eyes and relax.
    shanendoah@life by pets recently posted..Virtual Pets

  4. I found myself tearing up too. What a beautiful tribute to Cleo and your love for her. Memories came flooding back as I read your words. My senior dog, now gone, loved routine and I loved giving it to her. I wanted to give her those wonderful moments too, and did.

    Thank you for sharing such a beautiful piece.
    melf recently posted..Wordless Wednesday #108

  5. Thanks to Sharon for taking the time to share one small part of Cleo’s story. I remember very well life with my childhood dog but I remember her senior years the most. She lived to be 17 years of age and taught me a lot about what it means to really care for someone you love.
    Kristine recently posted..Cats For City Council

  6. What a great post! It’s beautiful to see how Sharon is taking care of Cleo as she gets on in years. Ty is the older of our boys and just turned 8 this month. Now that we’re past the Lyme disease, we’re not seeing him slow down much yet – but I know it’s only a matter of time. Taking time to watch him and Buster enjoying every day is great advice and applies to all dog owners, whether their pooch is elderly or not.
    Amy@GoPetFriendly recently posted..Pet Friendly Portsmouth

  7. Hey it’s Jet here. Hi Miss Cleo.

    What a beautiful guest post, honoring Cleo as you do. Mom treated my golden sister, Koko, (may she be frolicking OTRB) in the same manner. Your analogy to elder humans rings true as well. My various human grandparents are in their 70s/80s and behave as you describe. Thank you.
    Jet recently posted..Wordless Thursday!

  8. That’s a really great guest post. I’ve been tuning in to Lamar’s needs lately, and trying to do right by him by easing off on the fostering for a while–I totally agree that the disruption of having an unfamiliar dog around is quite upsetting to him, and he’s been through enough of it for a while! He does love his familiar spots in the house, but I notice that without a foster around he feels more free to explore and enjoy other parts of the house that he feels uneasy in when there’s another dog to worry about.

    Thanks for this nice reminder of how to make our senior friends comfortable!
    Kirsten recently posted..Large bundle of cheer

    • It is interesting – I think that there can be benefits to bringing in a second dog, but it is definitely a case-by-case determination. For some dogs it will work, and for others not so much. It’s up to us to figure out what our pups would prefer. 🙂

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