We started our appointment at the owner's home. I wanted to observe her with her dog and get a better idea of their relationship. After just a few minutes it was clear that her dog is starting to experience some of the early signs of canine cognitive dysfunction, basically senility in a dog. Her dog was doing some pacing throughout the day and having accidents in her house which she attributed to the dog not getting out for walks enough. However, when she gets the leash out for walks, her dog often hides or avoids putting the leash on. For senior dogs, regardless of size, I prefer a harness over leashing them to a collar. Senior dogs often have joint pain, arthritis, disc disease, etc., so leashes pulling at their neck can be uncomfortable. In addition, a lot of senior dogs have failing vision, so if they stumble or lose their footing, getting yanked at their neck can be disconcerting to say the least. A body harness works great, or even an easy walk style harness will do. Next, you want to make sure your leash is 6-8 feet in length. You need enough leash to give your meandering, senior dog room to safely sniff and explore, even if they are lagging behind you on that walk. While the quality of the walk (i.e. how much they are allowed to sniff and explore) is top priority for all dogs, really emphasizing that the purpose of the walk for a senior dog IS to sniff, explore, and stretch their legs, NOT walk a specific distance or meet a certain amount of time outdoors. Senior dogs do not need to walk as far, nor be out for as long as they did when they were younger. What they need is an opportunity to take in the smells at their own pace. If you let them sniff, they fill their brains with all of that information, and are quite satisfied when they get home, ready for a well-deserved nap.
I had brought a harness with me to our appointment and I gently put the harness on my client's dog, telling the dog how wonderful he was and giving him treats for letting me do so. He wagged his tail and smiled with an almost toothless grin. His owner indicated that he's never just stood there when she leashed him up and I reminded her that I wasn't attaching a collar to his neck, but rather gently putting a harness around his shoulders and upper body, while rubbing those areas as well; plus, I was giving him treats, something she'd not done in years! Once we attached the 8 foot leash, we headed out the door...and stopped. The owner was at the end of her driveway before she realized that we were still on the doorstep! You see, her dog had stopped to look around, so I had stopped too. His nose was in the air and he was sniffing away, eyes closed, face to the sun. I did the same and remarked to him that the sun felt good. The owner came back and asked what on earth we were doing and I told her we were enjoying our walk. She laughed and said, "But you haven't gone 10 steps yet!" This is when I reminded her that this was her dog's walk, not mine. I was letting him set the pace. We slowly made our way across the lawn with her dog sniffing all the way. The owner indicated she usually headed straight for her driveway as her dog could "take forever just sniffing his own front lawn!" Time for a gentle reminder that this is the whole reason we were outside; this walk was for her dog's enjoyment, and not something to just check off of her to-do list. I talked to her dog as he stopped to sniff some flowers, as he pawed at some leaves, and as he avidly sniffed the crack in the sidewalk. I pointed out how lovely her neighbor's roses were, the dead snake her dog had found in the bushes, and asked her if she'd seen the grass poking up through that crack in the sidewalk. She'd seen none of these things. She'd missed the hummingbirds, the cat hiding in the bushes, and the half eaten bag of chips we'd found as we walked. It took us 15 minutes to walk a block and a half. At this point, I could see her dog was really slowing down. He was sniffing still, but not as much, and his gait was getting awkward; he even stumbled a couple of times in spite of our slow pace. It was time to head home. It took us almost 30 minutes to get back home. We had to stop a lot. I offered her dog a few treats and some love on those pit stops, but we made it home. The owner was flustered. How in the world could her dog get any exercise out of that walk? She felt like she wanted to scream and just haul him home.
I took off the harness at his water dish and gave him a few pats. Within minutes of getting home, he was passed out at our feet. At this point, I reviewed the walk, breaking it down from her elderly dog's point of view. All of the joy in that walk came from sniffing on a loose leash. Quality over quantity. For the humans on these walks, I can only suggest that you try to enjoy them as well. Try sniffing the air, the flowers, etc. Look around, take it all in. Slow down and just watch what's going on around you. Don't talk on your phone or mindlessly scroll through your social media feeds. Stay present. Talk to your dog. Pet them. Get excited about the things they get excited about. Fake it until you feel the joy in these moments for real. Bottom line? That dog won't live forever and every day with your senior dog is a gift. Don't waste it.
I love all of Alexandra Horowitz's books and recommend them frequently to clients looking to better understand their dogs. I'll leave you with a quote from her book, Being a Dog: Following the Dog Into a World of Smell: "Take a breath (through the nose, please)...By following the dog's lead, we can learn from him about what we are missing--some of which is beyond our ability to sense, and some of which we simply need a guide to see."
Let your dogs be your guides. Excellent advice.
As always, if you have questions about your pet's behavior, you know where to find me.
My Desi is a senior dog too; he will be 12 next month.
His walks have gotten markedly shorter in length and less frequent,
but he still enjoys a good sniff in the company of his family.
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