Its hard to believe that Henry is eleven years old. (In the pic above he is around 10 weeks old.) He is a senior Pug and is showing signs of slowing down. Our walks are getting shorter as he is getting slower. His chin and muzzle are graying and sometimes he seems a little frail.

Then, there are days, especially after he has had a Vitamin B shot, when he acts like a puppy. One recent morning he ran into the kitchen where I was doing the dishes and stood in the door way with a toy in his mouth.

When I turned around he threw it down dramatically, challenging me to a game. I ran after him, chasing him from room to room, playing chase with his toy. I kept thinking….Henry! You are an OLD pug and you acting like a puppy!! It was way FUN.

Now he is back to acting old and tired. Dogs age dramatically every six months. Thats why when they get older its a good idea to get them checked by the Vet regularly. The one problem Henry is having now is that he is showing signs of having a collapsed trachea, which is common in flat faced dogs as they age.

Henry chokes and gags frequently through out the day. The main solution is to keep their weight down because the fat around and inside the neck area contributes to the problem. But Henry’s weight has been perfect lately…15 pounds. When he starts getting around 16 pounds we put him on a diet.

Three different friends of mine put their pets down last week, due to old age and illness. I am already bracing for Henry’s inevitable decline. It is unimaginable to me at this point to lose him.