Weird old farm dog - any advice?

[jennigrey]

Our older female shepherd mix mutt is getting weird. Her hearing is very poor now and she's getting funny in the head. Might just be behavioral changes due to losing her hearing, but it might also be cognitive changes.

She's a dog we got free as an adult dog via Craigslist 6 or 7 years ago. No idea how old she actually is. She had a bit of gray on her muzzle when we got her.

We've had a few dogs through the years but never one as neurotic and emotionally fragile as Roxy. Hates scrutiny, so she detests any grooming (bathing, brushing, nail trimming). She went through an initial 1-year period of submissive peeing... she would still have a few episodes a year if she got in trouble for something. Often, she would much rather hide from me than take a command and obey it, but she would obey, if slowly and reluctantly. She was a very different kind of dog than I was used to. It was very hard for me to learn to tone down my "energy" so as not to overwhelm her when I gave a command.

For all her anxiety, however, she was fairly reliable. Enough so that I could take her to town, traveling, camping. She enjoyed her sidecar and truck rides. Had good recall (come when called) off-leash and in high-energy situations. Good with livestock. Attentive. Was tolerant of being petted by strangers when I was around, but if approached while alone in the truck bed she would make a point of slinking, head-down, to the far side of the truck bed and woof distrustfully at the stranger.

In the last couple years her recall started to deteriorate and I began taking her off-farm less and less because I was concerned about the consequences of her somehow getting loose. The less I took her away from the farm, the more wary of strangers she became. Then I didn't want to leave her alone in the truck bed or in the sidecar (to go into the feed store, for example) because she struck me as a potential fear-biter if a stranger stupidly tried to force contact.

It was only about a year ago that I realized that her recall problem was probably due to poor hearing.

In the last year she has really gone downhill. Sometimes when it is bed time, she will refuse to come out of her dog house for me. She will respond to my husband, who has never been the disciplinarian; she has always been much more comfortable around him than around me. I have reached into the dog house and taken hold of her collar and had her snap at me. She is getting a little snappish about being brushed or having her nails trimmed. She gets wound up to the point that she will begin to yelp while I am brushing her, roll into a ball and refuse to stand on her own feet. Submissive peeing is making a comeback.

I have always used hand signals and verbal commands interchangeably, so my dogs respond to both. I try to remember not to use verbal communication with Roxy and just use body language and hand gestures. She is responding to them less and less - tries to slink away and hide from me. I wonder if it is because she is confused and doesn't know how to respond to them.

I've never had a dog's mind fall apart before her body. I'm afraid I'm going to have to put her to sleep soon because she is becoming very unreliable. I have given up taking her off the farm. It is sad - her quality of life has deteriorated greatly in the last year because she can't be trusted. She gets left alone far too much. I dare not let her run loose because she won't come when called. She doesn't want to accompany me doing chores on a leash because she can't bear the energy I use when I interact with the goats and horses. She just comes undone when I verbally chastise one of the horses or tell the goats to scram. She seems to like hanging out with the chickens but I'm worried that one day she might forget herself enough that she turns chicken-chaser, although she never has been in the past.

I try to keep her days routine, if bland.

Any advice?

[Ruby]

Poor Roxey, sounds like her loss of hearing has her confused. I do know when Peanut was a puppy my husband shot a gun and it temporall affected her hearing. She went under the house and we liked to hav never got her out. W decided she was scared because she couldn't hear so she hid.

We also have one that dont like any brushing or nail clipping. When it comes to bath time I have to trick her into getting close enough to pick her up. Then when she gets out of the tub she goes berserk.

I don't know what to tell you about your dog. Have you tried keeping her in the house and just taking her oun on leash?

[Ravenlost]

Our Black Lab, Drake, is 12 years old. He is a very old man and we treat him as such. Drake PREFERS to be left alone. He doesn't like the other dogs to touch him or even get near him. Drake is often confused and will stand and bark over and over while staring off into space. He's getting unsteady on his feet so hubby doesn't take him on long walks now...just takes him out to potty, or lets him into the front (fenced yard). Drake used to love riding in the truck, but he can no longer get up into it so he doesn't go for rides.

We're not ready to put Drake down because we don't feel his quality of life has deteriorated to that point. Instead, his quality of life has changed as Drake's age has changed him.

My advice would be to adjust your dog's life to fit her needs at this stage in her life. She sounds like she needs a quiet environment with no stress. I don't see anything wrong with that, nor do I see it as a loss of quality of life.

[Minelson]

Roxy sounds a lot like Shep as he started getting older. The hearing loss made him so insecure. More fearful. But I didn't have problems with him transitioning into a just stay in the house dog. He loved being on our bed..back when he could jump up there. He loved hanging out in the house...sleeping, chewing his bone, barking along with the other dogs when they barked...he loved that! And of course he was always at my feet in the kitchen...helping. I do spend a lot of time outside but always made sure to go in the house and spend time with him. And he always had my full attention in the evenings..eating popcorn most nights He was happy. So I would suggest you discern whether Roxy is getting joy and/or contentment out of life. When Shep's body really went on the decline things started to change. It became to where he was just existing. Didn't want the bone. Stopped getting up when I got home. Trouble finding the water bowl. Little stuff that I noticed. It is very subtle.
So Maybe Roxy is ready to retire to the house..but still be happy. (((hugs)))) It's so hard to go through this.

[Minelson]

Wanted to add...Shep started the snapping at me when I would try to get him to come out of the truck. He didn't want to get out....I think it was because it was painful to be "pulled forward" like reaching into the dog house for her, I would reach into the truck to pull Shep out. I would set up his ramp and just leave him in there with the door open. He wouldn't come out until I tricked him with treats. Grooming and nails trims became worse and worse. I used to brush him all the time and it got so I could hardly get near him. You might want to talk to your vet about putting Roxy on something to make her more comfortable. Shep started on reg aspirin (no tylenol, advil etc for dogs!) then I moved him up to 100mg of Vetprofin (generic Rimadyl) Towards the end I added 50 mg of Tramdol. It was very important to me to make sure he was not in any pain. There comes a point where comfort is more important than trying to be easy on the liver. Everything revolved around Shep's comfort as "Grandpa"

[Minelson]

Shep

[beccachow]

I agree with all the above. I noticed a big change in Scooter during the last year. All I can say is, somehow he was MORE loveable, yet really wanted to be left alone at the same time, very strange, yes? Like, I would put him out in the yard and he would stay there all night, even though he was a house dog. He took over my daughter's little fold out Dora couch and spent the majority of his life on it, snoozing, picking his head up to be sure where we all were, then snoozing again. At first I was still trying to get him to "conform" to the way things were, but with him it was day to day on how much longer he would even be around, so I decided to let him have things the way he wanted and learned to work around his new mental state. Duke has been much easier about his aging process, he has remained in the same routine, just slower. I thoroughly agree with Tramadol, at this stage of the game, who gives a darn about liver levels. Scooter was on it twice a day, and so is Duke now. I felt as Minelson does, with the horses as well. The heck with the liver tests, I would rather have Duke have 6 months of a comfortable end of life then a year of a miserable one.

Follow her lead. If she is not happy being outside for farm work, I agree, leave her inside. Car trips aren't necessary at this stage of the game. I feel for you. The seniors are tough.

[farmergirl]

And here I was just gonna ask you to post the "dog in the bed" photos!

Minelson, are you the one who posted the picture of the border collie tucked under the covers?

[Wolf Flower]

Originally Posted by jennigrey

I've never had a dog's mind fall apart before her body. I'm afraid I'm going to have to put her to sleep soon because she is becoming very unreliable. I have given up taking her off the farm. It is sad - her quality of life has deteriorated greatly in the last year because she can't be trusted. She gets left alone far too much. I dare not let her run loose because she won't come when called. She doesn't want to accompany me doing chores on a leash because she can't bear the energy I use when I interact with the goats and horses. She just comes undone when I verbally chastise one of the horses or tell the goats to scram. She seems to like hanging out with the chickens but I'm worried that one day she might forget herself enough that she turns chicken-chaser, although she never has been in the past.

If she's never been a chicken-chaser, it's doubtful that she'll turn into one at this stage.

Dogs get senile dementia, just like people. Keep her comfortable. Don't put her in any situations where she might get stressed. It's possible she WANTS to be left alone at this point, so don't beat yourself up about leaving her alone. Is there anything in life she still enjoys? If so, do those things just a little bit. If she seems happy out with the chickens, let her be with them. Just keep her safe, comfortable, and out of harm's way. As long as she seems content, I wouldn't worry too much about her quality of life. If she gets to the point where it seems like she's in pain or stress, and is inconsolable, that is when you have to start asking quality-of-life questions.

[Ravenlost]

Drake gets Previcox every other day. It really helps with his arthritis pain.

[Minelson]

Originally Posted by farmergirl

And here I was just gonna ask you to post the "dog in the bed" photos!

Minelson, are you the one who posted the picture of the border collie tucked under the covers?

Do you mean this one? He is an Aussie...Rocky

[Ravenlost]

Awww...that photo of Shep is so sweet. That photo of Rocky always makes me laugh!

[belladulcinea]

Our collie Mike lost part of his hearing and then had a stroke, that's what the vet decided. But he had his constant companion Chip to get him around the yard and alert us if he fell. He never got snappish with us but you could tell from the look in his eyes he was confused. He got where if we startled him he would wet himself and he hated that. We finally had him put to sleep when his hip gave out on him at 14. It just breaks my heart to see my dogs age.

[Minelson]

Originally Posted by belladulcinea

Our collie Mike lost part of his hearing and then had a stroke, that's what the vet decided. But he had his constant companion Chip to get him around the yard and alert us if he fell. He never got snappish with us but you could tell from the look in his eyes he was confused. He got where if we startled him he would wet himself and he hated that. We finally had him put to sleep when his hip gave out on him at 14. It just breaks my heart to see my dogs age.

I knowwwwwwww!! (((hugs))))

[jennigrey]

Thank you for the thoughts and advice, everyone. I really hadn't considered that Roxy might have different desires and priorities now. I had been focused on the fact that she could no longer do what she used to, and hadn't given any thought toward whether or not she wanted to do it any more. I do know that she would still love to ride in the truck or the sidecar, and with money being what it is I really can't afford to take any non-essential drives, so joyrides are out.

I'll think about everything you've said. Try to re-evaluate her life in terms of "now" rather than in terms of how she used to be. It's pretty tough for me to do, since my main reason for having a farm dog is to bark when something isn't right and she's been retired from that job for the last two years. I've been reluctant to bring on a new dog before Roxy passes. She loved our old man lab/rott when he was still around (he pre-dated her), but aside from that she doesn't much care for other dogs. So she is no longer fulfilling her original function and had been retired to "pet" status. Now she is feeling less and less like a "pet" because we interact so little. I work outside all day and Roxy gets anxious if I try to make her accompany me while I work. She would rather be in her dog house, or sleeping under my husband's desk, or on her bed in the corner of the living room... even if no one else is around, it would seem. I am having a hard time adjusting to the idea of her being alone so often, because the old Roxy would have been lonely. I will try to see this Roxy for who she is, and try to judge her quality of life by her standards instead of mine.

[Wolf Flower]

Originally Posted by jennigrey

Try to re-evaluate her life in terms of "now" rather than in terms of how she used to be. It's pretty tough for me to do, since my main reason for having a farm dog is to bark when something isn't right and she's been retired from that job for the last two years. I've been reluctant to bring on a new dog before Roxy passes. She loved our old man lab/rott when he was still around (he pre-dated her), but aside from that she doesn't much care for other dogs. So she is no longer fulfilling her original function and had been retired to "pet" status. Now she is feeling less and less like a "pet" because we interact so little.

Sounds like she's even retired from "pet" status at this point. That's okay. I know you still need a farm dog to fullfill the "watchdog" role. It might actually be a good time to get a new dog, since Roxy isn't demanding much from you right now, you have the time and energy to raise and train a pup. She might be cranky about it, but that's okay, too--an elder dog can do much to help remind a puppy of her manners.

I am having a hard time adjusting to the idea of her being alone so often, because the old Roxy would have been lonely. I will try to see this Roxy for who she is, and try to judge her quality of life by her standards instead of mine.

Yes. Dogs live in the moment. They don't lie around thinking "Gee, I used to do all these fun things and I sure miss it." Elder dogs will seek comfort and security over challenging games, and that's par for the course. Let her be who she is now, keep her comfortable, and don't worry too much.

[Ravenlost]

Excellent post Wolf Flower!

[oregon woodsmok]

Sometimes, when their quality of life isn't good, it is simply time. It is the kindest thing to do for them.

A couple of things that might help, if you aren't ready to give up.

You can use a flashlight to give commands after dark to a deaf dog. It works well.

Put the dog on a grain free diet. Being gluten free made a world of difference to my senior citizens' clarity of mind. If they had grain, they acted confused. Without grain, they were much more clear.