For Dog Lovers

Trying to sleep in the car, and not
succeeding.

She's more comfie now.

Do dogs get senile? Do they get IBS when they’re older? Our dog, Roxy, has always been a bit eccentric, it’s true. She’s a loveable boxer who loves to sleep on her back, chase laser lights, and lean against you so that she can get her belly rubbed with your foot. She sleeps on the floor beside her bed instead of on it—and, even though she’s my husband’s dog—she prefers sleeping by me.

Roxy in the pool.

But recently, (recently meaning since our move) she has developed some bizarre behaviors. Eating out of the trash is one. We’ve never had to worry about it before because our trash cans used to fit under the sink. Word to the wise—a smaller house also means less space under the sink—don’t ask me why this is, because I have no idea.

Roxy being pampered by her papa.

It is true that Roxy is now a city dog—but she’s only been a country dog for five years—and she’s ten-ish. The problem is that she used to have a whole acre for doing her ‘business’ and now she just has a small yard. But that doesn’t excuse her peeing on the patio! We have grass, after all. Grass is the toilet of preference for sophisticated pooches worldwide. I thought every dog knew that. I thought it was an ingrained instinct they were born with. So why does my dog go on the concrete? Does she not remember that grass is cooler and softer?

The wood floor is slippery,
 and yes, we bought her gripper socks.

Roxy loves our pool, and even though she has bad hips, she will race my husband through the pool gate every time—and win. Why then, has she tried peeing in the pool twice? Doesn’t she realize that it’s not sanitary? Can’t she understand that this is NOT acceptable behavior?! It doesn’t matter that she can get in and out of the pool, and in and out of the pool gate, sometimes she just takes a notion and squats.

These doggy shoes we bought over
 the Internet were equally innefective. And,
she hated them. Can you tell?

I love Roxy, I do, but when she squatted and peed on the wood floor in the kitchen while I was standing not more than two feet away, I almost pitched her out the door on her nose and declared our home a dog-free zone. Don’t worry, there’s no danger of that really—she’s too heavy—and my husband insists. She did spend a long time outside though.

It seems that our dog has lost her sense of propriety. She no longer remembers the guidelines in One Hundred and One Rules to be a Good Pet, volume 1 for dogs. What’s next—chewing holes in the underwear?

(We’ve had a dog that did that, too.)