Retirement

(This post is part of the April A to Z blogging challenge.)

I had things all planned out. Duncan was 5 years, and healthy. I expected to have time to find a puppy, train them up slowly, and then start alternating my "Emergency Backup" dog with Duncan, and ease him into retirement sometime between 8 and 10 years of age.

Strider joined our household just before Duncan turned 6. That gave me two years to get everything sorted, assuming he worked out. Duncan did not like staying home while I took the puppy out, and I was sure I'd done the right thing to start the transition early. Then there was the broken toe, and Duncan stayed home for a month. He hated it. So did I. Strider was picking up tasks, and I had a lot of hope.

January came, and I went to play fetch with my boys. Duncan came up three legged lame on the throw that I said would be the last before we went in (guilt!) The months of recovery went well. He wasn't 100%, and I didn't dare use him for weight bearing tasks. Other people have had their SDs come back from TPLOs, and I can't help but wonder if I'd have used Duncan if I hadn't just dealt with the broken toe, and the way he'd been so very stoic that I only took him in because of the swelling and that I caught him leaning on the wall to take weight off the foot.

His signs of favoring his busted leg were just as subtle. He'd lean on a wall, or wag a little more to his right than his left because his weight was shifted over. We did work on a water treadmill, but while he's better and happy on his own feet, I couldn't see putting him back to work when I have so many issues with my balance. I can't work a dog who's disabled, for many reasons, not least of which is that I can't hardly keep track of myself. Trying to coddle a dog is impossible for me. If I could have, I might have been tempted.

As it was, the CCL tear and TPLO meant that my careful planning was shoved aside. Duncan retired at 6, and Strider Career Changed (washed out) before he was a year.

Duncan's still not happy when Keeper goes out and he doesn't, and he'll run to the door and volunteer to go, but I think he's settled into retirement as well as can be expected for the suddenness of it. The mind's still willing, the body's not up to it.

I will attempt to plan ahead and make Keeper's retirement more gradual, because I know my dogs like going with and having jobs. Duncan's still helping around the house. He's appointed himself house elf, and collects all the things he finds on the floor, and is absolutely willing to go "ridealong" in the car for bank deposits and the like.

It wasn't perfect, and was far too abrupt, but we're making it up as we go along.