I Fooled Old Speck

That dog . . he’s on borrowed time as it is but he is so blasted grumpy. Remind me to tell you about the chicken thigh he got!

He’ll be 17 in June. I didn’t think he was going to make it til his 16th birthday and here we are coming up on his 17th birthday but he is so grouchy and pretty aggressive lately. I know . . we need to do something but I just can’t do it!

At night, the last thing I do is take him out before I go to bed. He’s sound asleep almost all the time but by about 9:00 p.m., he’s really snoozing. It’s usually close to midnight when I go to bed. 

For the longest time, I’d wake him up, make sure he knew it was me, gently pick him up and carry him outside. 

Then he got to where he would growl when I picked him up . . not all the time . . just for that late night trip out. Then he started snapping at me when I’d get close to him to get him outside.

I started putting a leash on him and gently tugging and that would get him up and on his way out the door . . for a few weeks. Then he began growling and even jumped at me a few times when I got close to him with the leash. 

Next trick . . I had no idea what I was going to do. Then I remembered a way to a man’s dog’s heart is through his tummy. Speck’s treats are little teeth cleaning/dental crunchy balls. The first few times, I would wake him, let him sniff the ball, then entice him, with the ball, to go outside. I would give him the treat while still outside so Rita didn’t demand one. Oh, she’s a demanding little thing!

Old Speck

Now, just a week or so after I started the late night treat trick with Speck, he pays closer attention. When he hears me get up (he must feel the vibration in the floor because he hardly hears anything), he knows it’s time for that late night trip out and, as I go to the kitchen to get the treat, he heads to the back door and is waiting for me. No growling, no snapping, no biting! I’m so happy I thought of that before I got bit . . again!