Oldies decline so sad

[aljeana]

Well Mollie is the grand age of 15 1/2 and has been doing really well but this last week there seems to be a decline in her general day to day activities.

Mollie has been such a fun little cocker & has carried this on well into old age with her opinion on how we should look after and obey her 

She has lost her hearing ( well that's what we are lead to belive ) so barks to tell & demand her rights 
Her day normally starts at around 5am we dont need alarms as Mollies Barking is good enough to wake the deadly sleeping ( good job our neighbours are all elderly so hard of hearing & we live in a little village )

So then the Baddley adults arise to start Mollie's routine out see goes has a hooley yes a hooley at 5am charging around the garden in the house out house  sliding across the hall jumping in & out of the dogs beds until she finally stops & starts barking demanding her breakfast. PEACE for a while as she has 40 winks to revive herself.

We look at the floor Mollie's foot prints everywhere how when 3 other Cockers go out & come in with clean feet does she do it ! so there we are 6am mopping the floor manage to get a cup of coffee & start to have our breakfast when

Mollie starts demanding her medication  rules are rules i need my meds & biscuit so we bow to the routine & give her meds as we know then she will go off for another nap 

So the tired adults pick up there day still only 6.30am but we know Mollie generally will sleep now for a couple of hours so we can get things done. But some days she will not give in & the demanding carries on not knowing how to console her. but as a rule she is restful until around 4pm when the tea time routine starts  & again at 8pm when the supper routine starts now in the evening we do try & sit  & watch tv but Mollie has other ideas if we do not respond she will sit in front of the tv blocking it & look right at me & bark then run & jump at me & nip if she gets enough speed up she will land on your lap & nip your nose 
She still has some eye sight so gets about well & is not got serious demenitia as she does know what she is doing we love her to bits & she is so funny but we have days when we are so so tired its like having a baby again

Difficult to groom her I just whipped round with scissors when she is half a sleep as she will throw herself about & jump off the grooming table so we just keep her tidy, we have been so lucky with her so far no real medication, she still trots in and out to the loo will bark if door is shut 

So this week it has been sad to see that something has change & she is still trying to carry on her normall routine but she is wobbly cannot seem to get herself to where she wants to go , looks a little confused had a nip at me when I went to give her a treat.
I am thinking maybe she has had a little stroke as it appears that her left side does not fully respond to what she wants to do as she is not distressed I have not taken her to my vet & will just monitor over the next day or 2 just hope she picks up or make the decision herself that time is time just so sad

[ejp]

That was lovely to read, exhausting, but lovely!    I hope Mollie picks up, and that she is just a little off colour.  The older they get, the more special they get.  And yes, they do rule the roost.  Keep well gorgeous Mollie, ask Mum to pass this on to you please   

[MIN]

sending you all   

[Robbie34]

It is so sad to see an oldie decline.  You have been fortunate insofar as Mollie can run around and still has her faculties to a degree.  My poor boy, Charley, started to decline when he was about fourteen, and he gradually got worse.  His groomer refused to cut him any more because of the commotion he caused.  He had lost his sight some years ago due to dry eye, and gradually lost his hearing.  However, he was still precious to me, but his dementia grew worse, and he was put to sleep last Monday.

I hope Mollie can hold out a while longer, and I know how you must be feeling.  Best wishes to you both.

[Carolynleah]

Oldies are so special ~ my staffie Will is 13 now, still pretty fit and active but it is so obvious when I take him out with Nerys the Norty cocker that there is a 10 year age gap.   :bigarmhug:for all oldies and their humans, so sad they can't stay with us longer.

[Lily Freya]

Here's to all the oldies......and their lovely characters.

Sending lots of these....

[jackie 14]

 Bless her

[Helly D]

Oh this is so much like my Rose who is 15 1/4. She isn't as mad now but has her moments of (yes) barking! She has to have her latest heart medication 1/2 hour before breakfast which has caused disruption to her routine, especially if we forget to give it to her. Luckily her day begins when we get up (thank goodness) as a 5am start would seriously kill us but hubby is up at 5.30am on week days so she goes down with him for her bit of toast.

Breakfast between 7.30am and 8am (depends if I've forgotten the tablet)!  She has a box of meds I have to sort out (another heart drug, her Propalin and Incurin for her old lady incontinence). Then its sleep time for about 2 hours.

If I'm home she potters in and out and checks where I am. Stairs are a difficulty now so she sits at the bottom waiting for me to come back down but on a good day she will climb them. She has her fishy biscuit and hangs around until she gets it barking!

She has decided that walking down the road to the common is beneath her so every evening she is carried down the front steps. Strolls to the car where she is lifted in. We then have to drive somewhere interesting where she is lifted out of the car for a leisurely stroll or if she's up to it a little run for a few feet. Her coordination is going so her back end sways a different way to the front end. We sit down to give her a rest but that's not allowed and we get barked at for daring to stop. Her brain is willing and she thinks she can still do her usual 3 mile marathon but her last long walk was about 2 months ago. Sadly the deterioration is becoming fairly rapid as her heart condition worsens and her mobility lessens.

Back home for tea after being lifted into the car. Food is her main delight and she is thoroughly spoilt in that it could be beef mince, lamb steak, chicken breast, green tripe, liver, sardines. More medication and her salmon oil and mobile bones supplement.

Sleepy time and then there is usually yogurt pots to lick out. Finally eye ointment and a biscuit for allowing us to do it without fuss and its a carry upstairs to bed.

Nights can vary as sometimes she's restless so may need to go out or have a drink.

The oldies are so venerable and noble and deserve and have earned their pampering. We watch her with an element of sadness as we know our time together is limited and our hopes of her reaching 16 are fading. But she is happy and has us pandering to her every whim as all dogs deserve when they reach their twilight years. We are lucky that we have had the pleasure of their company for so long. God bless the oldies!

[Poppsie]

I just  love the oldies  :luv  sounds like a mini stroke to me as well as my golden girl Honey had one aged 12 yrs but managed until she was 13 and a half keep going gorguss Mollie x x x

[aljeana]

Oh Mollie does sound like Rosie its re assuring to know that it's their character all this routine & barking.

Mollie is such a Magpie for stealing stuff & still does she collect shoes up every morning & in her bed they go if we loose anything that where we look.

Last week I had been on my I Phone talking to my daughter in the evening so I knew I had had the phone in the house came to make a call later on could not find it, I even rang it no no where to be heard or seen.

Now at this point I think am I going senile did I make a call earlier  so I move around the bungalow with the phone ringing & I can here a slight hum in the back bedroom ( sorry Mollies bedroom ) & guess what the little tinker had it in her bed & was lying on it 

Then there was the morning I am getting worried as I am going to be late for work as I cannot find my shoes well a pair of shoes i had them whilst I got dressed then I did not only 1 on the floor  so I know who's to blame Mollie so I am searching then decide I will have to go in my trainers as they are the only pair I can see. Goes to put them on only to find the shoe I was looking for was on my one foot with a slipper on the other  & Miss Mollie sweetnes & light just smiles at me as if to say who's going senile.

Love her to bits seems a little brighter this evening barking at us so that a good sign thanks everyone we just treasure the time we have left with Miss Mollie Magpie 

[williamsmum]

Aw, dear little soul.  Yes, it is so, so sad when they start to feel their age. William is ten and a half and still whizzes around like a maniac, and barks his head off, but I am dreading the day when he does start to slow down. He has a large lump in his groin which the vet thinks could be cancerous, but I have decided not to have him operated on as he is still so very happy and lively, and I think an operation could be so stressful for him, let alone the fear of causing the cancer to spread, if indeed it is. I love the oldies - they have a special place in our hearts. 

[Helly D]

Lovely that Mollie is still bonkers. Our previous cocker was a collector but Rosie doesn't do it any more which is a bit of a Godsend as like you we had to search for our shoes!

[piph]

Our first dog was a lab/collie cross and she had a stroke when she was about 13 - our vet at the time told us that dogs don't have strokes!  What a load of tosh! I will never understand why he said that!!

[Robbie34]

No, it's not a stroke although the symptoms are identical: it's vestibular disease.  One of my Cockers, Benjie, suffered from this when he was about twelve.

[valcam]

mollie sounds like a lovley old lady, It is heartbreaking when the decline starts, my lovley old girl Meg died on 30th of April she was almost 12, till xmas we had always commented how healthy she was then she started having accidents in the house and like William a lump appeared in her groin luckily we have a wonderful vet who gently explained that an op would have been too much for her (she had a heart murmur), and so we watched her slow up a little bit more every day, she wanted to go a walk, but was exhausted after a few minutes but she pottered happily around the garden and we mopped up any accidents and loved her all the more, we visiited the vets often to check she wasn't in pain as that worried me more than anything else. She died as she lived cuddled up next to me on the couch,I canhonestly say we appreciated every day with her towards the end, I hope you enjoy all your days with your old dear doggies.