Little Old Doggie

Auguste is now 13! For his birthday, he got his teeth cleaned. (It was a good idea - he had lots of plaque and now his breath is Much nicer!) He's considered an old dog - although he doesn't consider himself old, he considers himself 'entitled'!
This is what happened: One day we woke up and found him curled up asleep on the couch. Our dogs are not allowed on the furniture. They have cozy pillow beds in almost every room- they have their "own" beds. But one day, Auguste decided he was old enough to deserve a place on our couch - and he hasn't given up his spot since. No amount of scolding, of picking him up and setting him on the floor, of pushing him off - works. He turns around and jumps back up, and giving us a "Make my day" look, lies down. If I try to sit down, he pushes me away withi his head or feet (depending on which side I've chosen) to make room for him. He's got short legs, but he's a dachshund - he'd over a meter long (including his tail), and takes up a lot of space! I usually end up watching TV from a chair.

Auguste has the usual complaints of the elderly. He's getting deaf, and his eyesight is failing, so he sometimes bumps into walls. When this happens, if we laugh, he turns away from us and sulks. His pride is injured. (But as he's getting very deaf, he doesn't hear us laughing if we do it quietly). His deafness can be selective though - when I rattle the box with his milkbones in it, he comes running.

His prostate is enlarged! His hips have arthritis! Poor old chap. His prostate is giving him trouble. He is mortified when he tries to lift his leg and he falls over. He used to be so limber - now he has to brace himself (he likes to lean against trees, a wall, a car...) to lift his leg. He refuses to squat. No, he's a Male dog, and he will lift that leg to prove it. Even if he wobbles. His arthritis means he hates the rain and cold now - it makes him achy - so when it's raining, I practically have to drag him outside. Then he dashes to a bush, leans against it, carefully lifts his leg.... and then he runs back inside as fast as he can (this is usually when he runs into the wall.)




The other day I took him to the vet to get an ultrasound, and as he lay on his back, the vet moving the sond over and over his newly shaved belly, the vet remarked, "Auguste is such a good dog - he's the nicest dachshund I know."  We love him too - and hope that we can celebrate many more birthdays for the nicest dachshund ever.