One of the interesting things I have observed with my dogs’ behaviors toward other dogs is the fact that they take an immediate liking to some dogs and not others. My friend and I often walk our dogs together. The three dogs actually greet each other each morning with wagging tails and the usual sniff greetings that seem to tell each other everything about the night before.

It is not surprising that dogs would learn to like each other, if they are around each other enough. What is surprising is that sometimes they don’t like each other even when they know each other. I’ve walked many times with another friend whose dog is obviously a real stretch for my dogs to tolerate. Zsuza and Reba’s dislike for certain dogs is particular and unpredictable. My old black lab, Zsuza, will sometimes go after bigger dogs out of the blue. One day she took after a friend’s Ridge Back. My dog was stupid. She could have been totally destroyed. The Ridge Back was very docile until she was challenged. (I’ve never felt a more solidly muscled dog in my life.) My friend and I couldn’t intervene in the dog squabble. I just hoped my dog could take the licking she was about to get. Oddly enough, there was a lot of commotion but no blood. My dog cried “uncle.” After that incident, my dog never has picked on the Ridge Back. But you can tell she still doesn’t like her.

I wonder what the source of dog friendship could be? Or the reason for the dislike? I guess it could be like people. Sometimes we are simpatico. And, sometimes, no matter how hard we try, we can’t make a connection.

Why is it that when I open the front door, my old dog Zsuza who can hardly move, runs straight out the door. She doesn’t actually go anywhere (she doesn’t want to run away), sShe just stands on the other side of the door and waits for me to put on my shoes, or to call her in. It seems that she just wants out of where she was at the time.

I find this curious behavior, mainly because she is usually quite content sleeping by the fire. She is well fed. She has all the comforts a dog could possibly want or even imagine. Yet, where there is an open door, she’s out in a flash. When she was young, she would be out and off to the neighbors in a flash. But now that she’s older, she just waits to find out what I might have in store.

I’ve learned a lot from watching Zsuza. Mostly, that I shouldn’t be so quick to change where I am for where I could be. I’ve also learned that by not jumping too quickly into something new enables both dogs and people to reclaim their former position, savoring the comforts of a chair by the fire.

All of us dog owners get used to the doggy smell, sort of. But I am drawing the line with my Labs this fall. I have just returned from a lovely fall walk in the woods with dogs that I don’t want to allow in the house ever again. What happened to get my ire up? As soon as I let my black labs off their lead in the woods, they immediately ran off. Obviously, they found a rotting dear carcass to roll in. The putrid stench of rotting dear almost made me gag when both dogs came bounding back to me excited by their find. They announced by their smell what they had gotten into.

Why is it dogs are so attracted to offal? Why can’t they like the smell of doggy shampoo? Or a light lemon scent. I’m not certain how to counteract the deer stench. Tomato juice is supposed to help with skunk oil. Perhaps that’s where I’ll start. I thought the dead fish at the lake was bad enough. This summer they both were swimming and found a dead fish on the shore to roll in. But, that doesn’t hold a candle to their current smell of “Eau d’ Deer.”

My two black labs have always been enthusiastic, if not frenetic, about their morning walks. Almost every morning for eleven years, I have put on my hiking boots at least five days a week, and taken Zsuza and Reba for a walk. They have always greeted each day as a brand new adventure. A few years’ ago, I was surprised to learn that they could tell my walking clothes from my riding britches. They knew my casual jacket from my dress raincoat. It’s hard to believe, but they even functioned as alarm clocks. On the odd day I decided to sleep in, they were by my bedside at the usual hour just sitting and staring at me, tail pounding, letting me know that it was time. All I had to do was open my eyes, and they began to wiggle and bark.

Recently, however, their behavior has changed. They won’t leave their beds until they note which shoes I’m wearing. They even sleep -in on those odd days I decide that 6:00 am is just too early to go walking. They are getting old. They are slowing down. Both limp toward the front door after they take account of my jacket and my car keys. Still, as soon as we are outside, they both transform into young pups again.
My problem is that I have to take Zsuza and Reba in the car, down the road about four miles, to meet a friend who also walks her old dog with me. Three black labs and two women all hike a three mile loop each morning in the wild Montana woods. Over the years we have seen bears, and mountain lions and coyotes and all sorts of varmints. It’s dog heaven when it comes to smells. It’s a great time for us people as well.
This summer neither dog could jump easily into my car. This was a serious issue. For ten years I took them in our truck. Last year the truck became impossible for them because it was too high off the ground. Now, even getting into the car was a problem. They are big dogs. I can’t lift 90 or even 70 pounds of dead weight dog. What was I to do?

The solution came in the form of a friend’s handy work. My friend made a hinged ramp that folds in the center. When open, it stretches out about four and a half feet. It fits the back of my Rav perfectly. My friend even carpeted the ramp so that the dogs wouldn’t slip as they walked up. Zsuza and Reba were wary of the ramp at first. It took several days for them to decide it was o.k. Now, they don’t even try to jump. They like the ramp. They rely on it to get them safely inside. So, may I recommend a ramp for the aging dog. It provides easy and painless access to vehicles. I think the ramp has given my dogs at least a year or two more of morning excursions. After the wonderful companions they have been to me over these years, I feel I owe them that.

Zsuza, our black lab, and I have walked almost four miles every morning for over twelve years. She and her partner, Reba, our other black lab, is a Heinz variety pup we rescued from the Humane Society over eleven years ago. In spite of their ages, they still enthusiastically charge along the wilderness loop outside of our house in Missoula, Montana every morning at 6:00 a.m. The dogs are my best buddies. For years they have protected me from things that go “bump” in the woods before sunrise. And they warn me about dangerous shadows when they take their outing before bed. These dogs have been my inspiration to get up early every morning before work and walk in all types of weather. No matter what is happening outside, we go. Now, I find my good companions are full of lumps. The veterinarian tells me they are old for their breed, but in fabulous shape, except, that is, for their lumps.

Zsuza now toes in on her right side when she walks because one of the lumps is under her right shoulder. Reba is full of lumps of all sizes and shapes. In spite of this, she limps along at an amazing clip. Both dogs are a bit hard of hearing; Zsuza’s eyesight is not what it used to be. Yet, they act like puppies when I put on my hiking boots. It used to be that the walk began their day of exploration and exercise. The walk now pretty much begins and ends their day until evening. They have become sack hounds .

I have been worried about their limping. I wondered if I should leave them at home now that they are old and have such difficulty getting around. When I mentioned this to my friend, he told me that he is old, and limps and no one talks about his not walking. I thought that good advice. So, I decided I will walk my dogs until they can no longer get out of the driveway and up the road. Zsuza and Reba and I make quite a trio each morning. They both limp along beside me now instead of running ahead. But they provide me with the incentive to embrace each day enthusiastically. And their infirmities remind me that even when our bodies fail us, there is just no excuse to stay home. The idea is to go and celebrate the morning. Then, of course, to nap.