Retirement
 

Home
Up

This discussion brings up a point about older dogs.  And before someone jumps to a conclusion I'm NOT talking about Candy's older dog who started this topic since I don't even know the dog and live in Chicago not California.   I'm sure her dog is in fine shape and is running happily or she wouldn't keep showing it.  I'm just bringing up a "related point" because everyone is so disgusted by young dogs getting titles but what about the older ones who should not be running anymore?  There is a time when a dog should be retired from agility but lately I've been to shows and seen some old veterans who should probably not
be running agility anymore.  How sad to watch a once happy, bright, enthusiastic dog who now looks like it is stiff, sore and bored out of its mind because the owner wants to finish some stupid title.    My heart breaks for the dog who can't say "look I'm old, I've worked hard to please you all my life, now how about letting me watch t.v. with you, sleep in your bed and run in the yard and chase squirrels instead of doing agility?".   Everyone is so appalled about young dogs running agility but at a recent show I saw a poor old dog that
should not have been being "forced" to run agility, and there is no other word for it... The handler actually said to the dog at one point on the course the dog was "walking"  WE WILL FINISH THIS COURSE!  How sad.  What is the point? Probably the dog was close to some title and the owner has to attain that goal for THEMSELVES.  I showed my oldest JRT, Ginger, until she was 10, she started agility at 3 years old and retired due to a broken back with no arthritis and never having even one injury or soreness in her entire career and I showed her just about every weekend in agility or flyball.  I would have kept showing her until she told me she was ready to stop playing the game with me.  I'm not saying old dogs shouldn't play just that I pray that if my dogs ever look like some of these old dogs that are being dragged around courses, all their dignity gone, someone will be a friend and tell me to retire the dog and let it have the dignity it deserves in his or her old age. Diane Sanders

Of all the things in agility that I have to watch....I hate watching "sad" dogs (of any age) being dragged around the course the most. Those that through their body language or performance are begging to get off the course but no, the handler insists they must stay out there for some human's personal reason, not the dog's.  Second on my list is people that yell and/or look disgusted at their dog when a mistake happens, walk off like their dog just committed murder and everyone can see it was the handlers error (which is usually the case of course), but no, they blame the poor dog (especially all those handlers that carry off dogs that are obviously too big for them to easily carry). If those handlers only knew how awful they looked, they'd quit that behavior or at least I would hope they would.  It seems that I see at almost every trial 1 dog that should not be out there for one reason or another, either due to health or attitude (my pet peeve is fat dogs doing performance or preferred, that's not what those classes were designed for!). I actually sometimes go and look up how old the dog is just out of curiosity and I can't believe that someone is "forcing" that poor dog around the course like you've all seen.  Old dogs that go happily and are still physically capable are a whole different matter and I love to see them (I have one at 11 years young that at home still quivers and drools with excitement on the line but I can only let her jump 8" now for her own safety and health reasons). Wouldn't it be the greatest gift the dogs could get, if some dogs got "retirement" for Christmas?

Maybe for Christmas, those that know of or own a dog that Santa Dog should give the gift of "retirement from the ring" to, you could give the greatest gift of love and caring this year.  It would be the greatest gift to some dogs this season you could give, if they got the gift of retirement (which really equates to the gift of love).  That's not to say that at home or even
at a trial if you have other dogs you're still taking and they must go along  they can't still do things with you that they love (that's things they love not you love).  That doesn't mean that they need to be any less a part of your life, when in fact in some ways, at least at my house, they are even more a part of our lives. Gail Storm

I agree that it is a very difficult decision to retire an agility dog, especially the first.  My rough collie Natasha tore her ACL at age 9.   And may I add at age 9 was having no difficulty completing the courses, plus completing with much time to spare.  She had the surgery and did very well with the recovery.  I rehabilitated her with every intention of getting her back out there. But I never did.  I just kept thinking, what if something happens and she reinjures it or worse tears the other ACL.  Even now at 13 1/2, she can still do her weave poles, tunnels and low, low jumps.  It was very hard to make the decision but I know it was the right one.  I have an 18 month old collie who hopefully soon will be tearing up the course.  I can't stand people who know their dog should be retired and choose to keep showing them.  Some people may not realize but I think most do and need to rethink their selfish ways and think of their dog not themselves. Louise Pollard      

Hi - Since I have two dogs both of whom had to retire early due to vision problems, I have been to many specialists and have been asking many questions. It was fellow agility people who helped me discover that this is not so uncommon a problem as one might imagine. While a dog may look physically sound, if (s)he is performing irregularly it could be vision related. Typical problem included cataracts (#1), glaucoma, Lyme-induced vision deficits, and retinal atrophy from visual premature aging. In the case of my two healthy happy dogs, one had depth perception problems, and the other's world is slowly getting dark. Both would like to continue agility, but their deficits become more obvious as time goes by.

While retiring a willing, physically healthy dog may be one of the hardest things to decide on, its important to remember that our time spent competing is just moments in the lifetime of a dog.  Safety must come first. Backyard agility tailored to the dogs special needs can often be substituted. Happily, the dog rarely misses competition. In some cases flyball, freestyle, duck herding, rally obedience, or water work can keep the dog active and happy.

- Devi Locke