Hopefully, everybody gets old, a sometimes unpleasant truth. Everybody has to face they are not getting any younger and start dealing with elderly problems that start to bite in our late baby boomer years, or sometimes earlier, and continue until we finally shuffle off our mortal coil, by which time hopefully we will have lived life to the full.
Predictably, our dogs get older with us and all too often we have to face the agony of losing a long term pet; a dog who has romped through the woods with us, played catch in the park, played with our children, seen off intruders (and occasionally one or two we would have preferred to be made welcome – we all make mistakes) and given us years of companionship and love.
What on earth do we do when our constant companion is suddenly gone? Many people vow never to get another dog but invariably they change their minds after a year or two and start looking for another doggy friend. Anyone who has returned home after a bad day to an ecstatic welcome from their dog will understand the feeling of comfort a dog can give. A dog’s affections are without strings. The equation is a simple ‘I will love you forever no matter what’. This is the kind of devotion you do not get from a fellow human being.
So as you are getting on and possibly have elderly problems to consider, what kind of dog do you look for? Well most people consider taking a puppy into their homes and of course puppies are cute but they do require a lot of hard work and attention in the early days of training and possibly someone with elderly problems might be better off with an older dog.
Every year many thousands of people die without making provision for the pets that are left behind. The faithful and loyal friend who has seen you through all your problems over many years might suddenly find himself locked up in the pound with hundreds of other dogs, scared and lonely and confused. At least consider giving one of these beautiful dogs a home. It’s not all about the cute factor, at least it shouldn’t be; a dog that is seven or eight years old might already have elderly problems but he also will have other years of life and love to give. He can’t be happy in a dog rescue center.
If you do decide to give an older dog a home, bear in mind that there might be a period of settling in. This might take six months and over that time your dog will get to know you and love you. At first there might be some hiccups. You might try to feed dry food to a dog that has always been fed on fresh meat. You might discover your dog has allergies to certain things, or he might not like the mailman or the neighbor’s cat. Patience will pay off and if you let your dog know you disapprove of bad behavior he will soon settle down.
Giving an Old Dog a Home is part of Boomer Yearbook’s continuing series of baby boomers psychological coaching tips and how to alleviate elderly problems. We believe knowledge is power. We’d love to hear what you think.
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Tags: baby boomer, Dog Lovers and Special Families, Elderly Problems, Psychological Articles