Friday 5 February 2010

I have 2 teenagers now!


No, neither Mr Doxie nor I have a secret love child and we have not adopted...hang on, that last bit is not true...we did adopt...dear old Sharp End,when he was a puppy and tomorrow he turns 13!!!!

I didn't think he would make it to the Christmas before last and he surprised us by making that one and one more! He's only the 2nd one of his breed to have got to 12 that the vet had ever had on her books...so he is a anomaly! Perhaps he will be the first she's had that has got to his teens?

Dear Sharp End is full of lumps and bumps and snores like nothing on earth... but he is still enjoying life. Occasionally he gets a bit stiff thankfully tablets from the vet sort that out, but most of the time when he's warmed up he is unbelievably strong, nobody would believe his age if he wasn't greying around the muzzle. I think the average person would have trouble taking him for a walk such is his power. He's had the odd "accident" lately which we ignore and just clear up, he is not a "dirty" dog and demands to go out when he "knows" he needs to go. In his prime he was 9 1/2 stone. I used to road walk him for miles every day and he was quite a beast, solid muscle! He would take as much as I was prepared to give him. I think that and his good diet over the years must have helped his longevity, at least I hope so.

The other day DS and I were discussing how Sharp End is really no different from when he was a puppy. He is still excitable, he still plays the same games, he has the same sense of humour ( YES, dogs do have a sense of humour, after owning Dobes for over 20 years you couldn't convince me otherwise!), it is just his body that is aging...he is the same character through and through. That is what we used to say about DM, her mind was just the same, it was the body which wore out,which reminds me of another conversation I had with someone yesterday... that is a subject for another day.

One thing that is worrying me a little is when he wakes up with a start from a deep sleep... just the last few weeks he goes straight into full guarding mode which can be very alarming. I think he gets a fright but is not properly awake yet. You can't really talk sense into him as it seems to be an instinctive thing and he only calms when he "comes to" properly. I guess it is akin to an older person becoming confused. As a result I have to be very careful when we are expecting visitors as the doorbell going may put him in hyper mode just as they are coming to visit. I am finding the best thing is to keep going over to him and fussing him to stop him going off too deeply if I think there is a chance that he may get snapped out of it with a start.


I was going to make him a birthday cake, a nice sponge, flavoured with beef oxos instead of cocoa, but I have thought better of it and will make us a cake. He will have a rawhide chew with a bow attached! I have also bought him a tin of the stinkiest wet food they had in the shop. He usually has dry complete food, so he will know it's his birthday, well either that or Christmas

Happy Birthday for tomorrow Sharp End. We love you! XXX

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