My Old Labrador is like a Fine Wine

Labradors are like wine… they just get better with age. 🙂  I LOVE senior Labradors. Love the wise faces, the graying chins, the soft loving eyes. The way they still lay at your feet in awe of you, as if somehow saying, “I know I don’t have the energy I once did, but I will still warm your feet and faithfully stay by your side.”

There’s just something about the journey from puppy to old dog… Something about being able to share in every special moment of your lab’s life.  We love them like our own children.  Yet it’s somehow different.  God willing, we don’t see our child’s life from start to end.  With these beautiful creatures, we get to nurture them and watch them grow and learn as young pups and even still watch them as they age with wisdom and grace.  To see the start to finish result of loving and living with a great lab is something truly incomparable to other joys in life.  Of course it’s still hard, and even harder, every time we have to say goodbye to one our beloved companions.  (https://emlabradors.com/have-you-recently-lost-a-pet/) Yet at the same time, what a joy and blessing to know you were able to share a part of your own life with one of these amazing dogs. Yes, we really love labs. 🙂

We often have people inquire about adding puppies to their lives while they still have an older lab at home.  More often than not, people are afraid that their old lab will feel replaced, cheated on, and betrayed if they bring home a young pup.  I have to say, in my own experience, there is nothing farther from the truth than that.  Especially with labs.  First of all, as I’ve said in other posts, dogs are pack animals.  They ALWAYS do better with a canine companion.  And most often people are amazed when they bring home a puppy and it really brings out the life in their older dog.  I’ve seen old labs play like puppies when encountering a younger dog.  If you’ve ever seen that, you know there’s no better feeling in the world!

The picture above is of Endless Mt.’s Chip off the Ole Doc (“Chip”), a Doc puppy, and his buddy Amos.  They live together in Alaska with their human mom, Karen.  Amos is an older boy and was diagnosed with cancer last year.  Karen brought home Chip in hopes to brighten Amos’ life a bit, and he did just that!  They are now absolute buddies who play and lounge together.  She couldn’t be happier with her decision!

I can tell you countless stories such as Karen’s! Feel free to read some for yourself on our testimonials page–> https://emlabradors.com/testimonials/

One thing we do recommend for older labs is a supplement called NuJoint!  You probably read about NuVet under our Dog Nutrition page already (https://emlabradors.com/nuvet-supplement/).  We often have clients ask about NuJoint while ordering NuVet for their new puppy because they may have another older dog at home.  This is a great supplement for older dogs or for any dog with joint issues.  It has glucosamine and chondroitin in it to help improve hips and joints.

“I can’t think of anything that brings me closer to tears than when my old dog — completely exhausted after a hard day in the field — limps away from her nice spot in front of the fire and comes over to where I’m sitting and puts her head in my lap, a paw over my knee, and closes her eyes and goes back to sleep. I don’t know what I’ve done to deserve that kind of friend.”
–Gene Hill