Athena always likes to start her night next to me in bed (she usually moves to the floor later in the night). In the last week or so I've noticed she has to back up further and further to be able to get the momentum to leap up, and even then sometimes she starts and just puts her front paws up before changing her mind and dropping down again. I never make a big fuss over her; I tell her in a happy voice "you can do it!" because it seems important to her pride to be able to jump onto the bed (she looks humiliated and turns apologetically to me when she has to stop and put only her front paws up). Last night I tried to help her by grabbing her collar mid-jump and pulling her up. She made it...
But she yelped.
She wouldn't look at me, and she put her ears back in fear and distress; I almost burst out sobbing. I comforted her and gave her a massage, but Athena knows that she is aging. The conventional wisdom is that dogs are blissfully unaware of their fading vigor, but I disagree. With certain dogs--proud, vain, youthful-acting dogs like Athena, they know.
So today I ordered some old lady dog stairs that will make it so she doesn't have to jump into bed anymore. Athena will likely find a way to fall off the stairs, or do something similarly clumsy, but I'll let you all know how they work.
Does anyone else have dog stairs? Have they improved your dog's comfort?
Cat
PS: It's "Love Your Pet Day" today. Let's all do that!
PPS: Hamilton is six months old now, and SEVEN POUNDS. Seven. Pounds. I feed him Rottweilers.
