I've posted before about my dog. She's a sweet little Shih Tzu who's going on 16 years old. For the past year or so, dementia has gradually been taking hold in her little brain. She's not gone, not yet, but the dementia is slowly taking her capabilities. One of them is her sense of direction.
Now, Soozzee has never been much of an outdoor dog. She's always been a bed potato. That's like a couch potato, only her happy place is our bed. Walks are not something she looks forward to. From middle-age on, she got more and more resistant to heading out. Dragging her along on her leash wasn't fun for either of us. So we got a dog stroller. I put her in the stroller for the outbound trip, take her out to the farthest point, put her on the ground, and she will trot, or even run, back home. And it got to where she seems to enjoy the outbound trip. She'll stand there, looking forward, sniffing the air, taking it all in. Then at some point she'll say "enough", and turn around in the stroller and start pawing at the back. Time to head home, Dad.
Lately, though, dementia seems to be hitting her internal GPS. After a stop to do her business, or just sniff, or whatever, she'll forget which way is home. She'll look both ways and then head out in the wrong direction. I'll turn her around, and she'll say "nope, home is THIS way", and head off in the wrong direction again. This will happen over and over. "C'mon, Soozzee, home is THAT way." "No, Dad, it's THIS way." "Soozzee, it's THAT way." "No, THIS way." Aaarrggh.
But I found a trick. I put her back in the stroller and turn her around a couple of spins one way, then a spin the other way. That seems to hit the reboot button on her inner GPS. Then I head away from home for maybe 10-15 feet. That's like the outbound leg for her, so when I put her down again, she heads off in the correct direction. At a trot, tail up, heading for home.
Does it work all the time? No. But it usually does. And sometimes I have to do it two or three times on a walk. But a Dad's gotta do what a Dad's gotta do.
It's sad to see her slowly going downhill. Her diminished capabilities mean that our social lives are very limited - we rarely get to go out to dinner, don't go to movies together anymore, and don't take trips. Soozzee gets really stressed when she's left alone in the house now, and somebody has to be around to watch her when she wanders, or be there to give her her meds, or take her on the walks. Sometimes she's a pain in the butt, sometimes she's funny, and sometimes she's frustrating. But this old dog has earned every bit of consideration we can give her. And I'm just happy she's still with us.
Now, Soozzee has never been much of an outdoor dog. She's always been a bed potato. That's like a couch potato, only her happy place is our bed. Walks are not something she looks forward to. From middle-age on, she got more and more resistant to heading out. Dragging her along on her leash wasn't fun for either of us. So we got a dog stroller. I put her in the stroller for the outbound trip, take her out to the farthest point, put her on the ground, and she will trot, or even run, back home. And it got to where she seems to enjoy the outbound trip. She'll stand there, looking forward, sniffing the air, taking it all in. Then at some point she'll say "enough", and turn around in the stroller and start pawing at the back. Time to head home, Dad.
Lately, though, dementia seems to be hitting her internal GPS. After a stop to do her business, or just sniff, or whatever, she'll forget which way is home. She'll look both ways and then head out in the wrong direction. I'll turn her around, and she'll say "nope, home is THIS way", and head off in the wrong direction again. This will happen over and over. "C'mon, Soozzee, home is THAT way." "No, Dad, it's THIS way." "Soozzee, it's THAT way." "No, THIS way." Aaarrggh.
But I found a trick. I put her back in the stroller and turn her around a couple of spins one way, then a spin the other way. That seems to hit the reboot button on her inner GPS. Then I head away from home for maybe 10-15 feet. That's like the outbound leg for her, so when I put her down again, she heads off in the correct direction. At a trot, tail up, heading for home.
Does it work all the time? No. But it usually does. And sometimes I have to do it two or three times on a walk. But a Dad's gotta do what a Dad's gotta do.
It's sad to see her slowly going downhill. Her diminished capabilities mean that our social lives are very limited - we rarely get to go out to dinner, don't go to movies together anymore, and don't take trips. Soozzee gets really stressed when she's left alone in the house now, and somebody has to be around to watch her when she wanders, or be there to give her her meds, or take her on the walks. Sometimes she's a pain in the butt, sometimes she's funny, and sometimes she's frustrating. But this old dog has earned every bit of consideration we can give her. And I'm just happy she's still with us.
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