And Your Little Dog Too...

And Your Little Dog Too...

Our dog is getting old. She's always been a bit quirky. To us, that just meant she had the right family. But we are starting to see little changes. She has days when she has to work it to get on the couch or bed. What that means is that she bends back until her hind end is close to the ground and gives herself about 5 false starts before launch. She's also become more vocal. I don't mean that she barks a lot. What I mean is she settles down next to one of us and, while laying there, gives a continuous series of grunts, groans and moans. It almost sounds like a pig rooting through the mud. She also snorts a lot now -- like when she greets us at the door. She'll be wagging her tail and acting generally happy to see us and then... snort. What does that mean exactly? Should I be offended? She's more vocal in her sleep too. That can be a little unpleasant in the middle of the night. Nobody likes to have Paul Bunyan snoring at their feet. Husband has noticed an increase in the number of times she has to go out when she isn't snoring too. Fortunately for me, I sleep like a log. He was out of town one time recently when she tried to awaken me to go out. I was just coming out of the fog when she gave up, snorted and laid back down. I'm not sure how long she was trying to wake me but she can be pretty persistant.

I realize though that there are some things I like about her getting older. She isn't obsessively wanting to play anymore. That's kind of nice because she's more likely to want to snuggle. She has us down now. She knows what we mean when we say certain things and what our routine is. And we tend to get her signals too. I guess that's a good thing -- you know the saying. But I wouldn't want to teach her any new tricks. I like her the way she is, quirks and all. Even when she is sticking out her tongue.