Regal and Fun Loving Even in Old Age

Older Dogs Can Be in Great Health
and Full of Vibrant Energy and Life.

Certainly, they are not "washed up" as some may think.  There are many older dogs in shelters across the country who have had to come to the shelter, not because they were problem dogs and certainly not because they were in abusive situations.  Many of them have led wonderful full lives with their owners.  They may have ended up in a shelter simply because they either outlived their owner or because their owner has had to move to a facility of some sort to receive some of their own much needed help.  There are many wonderful benefits to adopting an older dog.  They are trained and house broken and know how to be gentle all ready.   They won't drive you crazy with lunging, digging, bolting, chewing and generally being a pain in the ....... :).  They are good dogs and because they've lived so long, not much will scare them or make them crazy.  They've seen it all in their life-times.

Some people don't want to adopt an older dog because they think they won't have the drive and energy to play.  Not so.  A healthy older dog, especially when they are in the form of a Boxer, are still energetic, happy, social and full of vim and vinegar!  Nessie the Monster is a very good example.  She has had her health scares over the years, but she is in fine health right now at the ripe old age of 91/2.  The average life-span of a Boxer is 10.  Nessie will live longer than that as she's been well cared for and still gets plenty of exercise.  

This is a picture of Nessie dozing in the garden last year.  I love it when dogs sleep with their heads up so they won't miss out on anything!

And exercise includes Body and Brain!!!!!!  If you are going to own a Boxer Dog, be prepared to get physical and mental with them.  Their highly intelligent regal faces sit on a body made of nothing but muscle.  They need to use all of their  parts to be happy.   You don't have to formally train your dog, but you need to play mental games with him/her and give them opportunities to learn new challenges.  As a dog gets older, they still think of themselves as young.  They may not be able to run as fast or as long as they used to, but heck!  They can still do many fun things.  

I hear that tomorrow is National Dog Day.  It's a great time to get out there and do some new fun and exciting things with your dog.  Learn a new trick or just go for a long walk in the rain....(if you have any).  Make your walks more exciting by throwing in some obedience training along the way!  Play Hide and Seek or Go Find.  And if you don't have a dog but know you'd like one, go to your local Boxer Rescue and consider and older Boxer.  Make sure you are honest with yourself on your level of experience in working with dogs and your level of activity.  This is the only way to be fair to you and your new dog.  Get the dog that's right for your lifestyle and you will both be happy.

Nessie just graduated from her Beginning 1 Agility Class.  The video shown is her 2nd attempt at a run.  {I have a video of the 1st attempt, but it would't load on blogger :( I think it was a little choppy. }  The dogs in this class had never done more than one or two obstacles at a time.  They don't quite yet understand that you have to follow the handler and do a bunch of things in order.  The course is simple and had a few dead crickets lying about on the floor.  This is the first time to run off lead on a course and we kind of crashed at the end, but I think she did very well and she can't wait for the next session of classes to begin!  You Go, old girl, You Go!

This is her 2nd attempt

In honor of National Dog Day, doggyloot is donating treats, chews and toys to a number of pet rescue organizations. Through this move, the discount e-commerce site for dog owners is maintaining its commitment to providing care for dogs of all types across the nation.

National Dog Day is celebrated on August 26^th annually and serves to help galvanize the public to recognize the number of dogs that need to be rescued each year. In conjunction with this holiday, doggyloot is donating a total retail value of $4,841 across the following organizations:

• Blackdog All Breed Dog Rescue

• Minnesota Boxer Rescue (MNBR) - 6th Annual WiggleFest and Silent Auction

• Golden Retriever Rescue Group of Southwest Florida (GRRSWF) - 4th Annual GoldenFest fundraiser

• Diamond Dachshund Rescue of Texas - 11th Annual Adopters Reunion

• Northeast Ohio Mastiff Picnic

• Sergey Foundation

• DogDay 5K Race

“Providing dog owners with great deals on chews, toys and treats is our main business, but the heart of the company comes from our passion to keep dogs everywhere happy and loved,” said Jeff Eckerling, CEO of doggyloot. “National Dog Day provides the perfect opportunity to donate to shelters and we hope that the dogs enjoy their new treats.”

Lord Malcolm's Hydro-Therapy

{Put Your Wee Snoot in the Air

and Give the OL' English Accent

a Try.  This time, use a Male Voice}

Hydro-Therapy, The Effects of 
Flailing One's Body

by 

Lord Malcolm, Chamberlain to the Duchess of Hagg

I dare say, old fellows, that there is a consequence to the way in which one lives his life-style.  One must always be aware of the real effects that might occur to one's body while one is sort of, well, living.   Now, I must tell you that I have never really been given over to too much thought about my health and my body.  I do have an exuberance for life in general and I have exhibited that on quite the occasion.  I think you have heard of some of my escapades here as I am well aware that my dear sister, Lady McKenzie is so often given over to talking very fast and  in such a high pitch about literally everything, including my devotion to ingesting food among other things {See Buffet, Antics, Chew Toys, Russian Roulette, One Step Forward and Chamber Pot}.   I am also aware of the Duchess (whom we love and admire) flapping her wee jowls and droning on ad-nauseum about my choices in life.  Yes.  I do indeed love to romp and jump on other dogs, especially the wee ones.  They yip and yap in those high pitches and snarl and growl while everyone praises them and calls them just the cutest wee thing.....well I don't think they're cute.  I think they get away with many various crimes against Caninity.  (If humans can say humanity why can I not say caninity?)  So I quite think it a fun job to jump at them and put them in their place.  It is quite funny to see them get so scared from just a silly jump.  Although, I  have slowed in the love of this game;  it's just too dog gone easy to scare them and I believe it stresses out me family.

My Life With Boxers

I knew it would be hard

and

I thought I was prepared...

Actually, In all Truth, I really wasn't.

It's time for a wee bit of honesty.  I wasn't ready at all for these two pups to enter my house.  In fact,  WishBone, my beloved 1st Boxer Boy had only died in September of that year (09) and by the end of October my husband was already wanting another puppy to fill the void.  Not me.  We still had our wonderful Nessie Monster and she gave the best hugs a dog can give.  She was well behaved and could handle herself in any situation and she proved that it had been WishBone who had caused any previous trouble, not her.  (Although, if it was WishBone who started it, it was always Nessie who finished it!)  But on her own, she was pretty much perfect.  And I still missed WishBone and I still DO miss him.  I just didn't want a puppy.  My thoughts were to let Nessie live out the rest of her life and then if we wanted, we'd talk about a new pup then.

WishBone and Nessie in the garden

My husband, however, was relentless.  He came home from work every day asking if I had found the perfect puppy yet.  "Uh.  Well.  No.  I haven't even looked."  He eventually got tired of me and began searching the internet for breeders.  He kept calling me to the computer to look at pictures.  I kept saying "I'm not buying a puppy from a backyard breeder who doesn't know what the heck they're doing as far as conformation, temperament and health!"  "And I'm certainly not buying from a puppy-mill!"  " Also, no reputable breeder around here will sell to us because they don't know us, so just forget about it!"  I tried as hard as I could not to buy a puppy.  And I kept him at bay until November.

WishBone using Nessie as a pillow while on a trip in the bus.