Teaching an old dog new tricks

This is a hard post to write. I’ve been avoiding it for a while because it’s not happy or fun to admit I’m having daily, hourly, almost minute by minute conflicts with my senior (she’s 15!) beagle. It seems like she and I are on two completely different schedules and at this point in our relationship, I’m living my life on her terms. Maybe I’m really battling selfishness? Or the stress of living in a small space (a 26-ft camper) with two dogs? It’s actually not very stressful–I love my camper life– so that can’t be it. I guess it’s back to the battle of my will versus hers. She wakes up for breakfast at 330am. As soon as I sit down to write, or read, or for a quick power nap, she all-of-the-sudden needs to potty.

I guess what I’m saying is this: having an older dog who can’t hear, still has her vision though, but who’s driven by her nose and her appetite is tough. The moments together that are easy and enjoyable are few and far between. I guess this is part of being a pet person that I never really read about when I was thinking about adopting a dog.

With all that said, she is a good pup. The cutest face, the fiercest of personalities, the biggest and best ears, and I love her so much. I’m learning that I need to grow, adapt, and accept that how I interact with her has changed and has needed to change as she has become more fragile and dependent.

But she’s not the old dog that needs to learn new tricks, I am.

-Out of the Wilderness