My dog, Smidge, isn’t much of a lady. She rudely barks and kicks her feet at other dogs and chases the cat when she decides she doesn’t want to share my lap or the bed. She can be a little rough around the edges sometimes.
My point is though, a lady never tells her age, and with Smidge’s behavior, sometimes I wish I could use that against her. Specifically, about her age.
When Smidge doesn’t act like a lady, she should surely feel freer about discussing her age with me, right?
I confess this is one of the smallest but most aggravating parts about rescuing a pet. At least for me – I have no idea how old my dog is.
Cairo, I got him as an older kitten. He was easy to age because he was still getting his last adult teeth. But Smidge? Logical ideas but no facts.
When I got Smidge, the humane society believed she may have been between three and five years old. A vet suggested she may be on the younger end, maybe three. Another vet aged her on the older end.
I’ve had my suspicions she’s an older gal, things that are purely speculation and guessing so not necessary to delve into here, but then I got something for sure.
White hairs.
My dog’s face is suddenly covered in white hairs. They sprung up like weeds. All of a sudden her silky black and tan fur has been peppered with salty white sprinkles, from her snout to her forehead and even on her paws and a few on her back.
My baby is getting older.
These white hairs are why it’s driving me crazy that I don’t really know and I can barely take a guess. But if she was five when I got her, it’s been a little over three years, she’d be eight, and that’s about time for some dogs to start going grey (at least, according to my Google research.) But the sprinkles started slowly and only recently started cropping up fast, so I tack on another year.
It doesn’t change how much I love my dog, or even scare me - the fact that she’s getting old, I mean. It just means I can’t wait any longer to tackle her rude behavior with a dog trainer.
But age is just a number, and I’ve always believed an old dog can learn new tricks.
