A good friend of our family recently passed unexpectedly. His wish, known by many, was to have his 14 yr old Australian Cattle Dog live with us should something happen. She was an accomplished tracker and lived a life of hunting and living on a gun range. We live in rural NJ and are not hunters. My question is how can we keep her engaged in her 'retirement ' years. She doesn't seem interested in toys like our other dogs and I worry she will stay depressed. Any advice?
Using her tracking abilities as play could work. Hide and seek, etc. Teaching her new tricks. The most important thing is to give her unconditional love and stay positive - she's getting older and may be happy to slow down as she gets used to your world.
Can I thank you for carrying out your friend's wishes and providing this elderly girl with a caring home at a vulnerable time of life. Be patient, it will take her some time to adapt to losing her lifelong pal, but she will learn to adapt to her new routine. I agree with giving her scent games as entertainment, a few times a week I will 'lose' a couple of small items in the garden, and ask my Beagle to seek them out and exchange them for a small reward. You can use pieces of cloth which carry your own scent, or small boxes containing a tiny treat for an indoor search. Lots of variations. On a park walk, one of you could go ahead and go out of sight behind bushes or a tree. With your dog on a longer than usual line, tell her to Find ... (the person's name). Almost all dogs are capable of enjoying this game.
