Nina is 13! (Wait, Nina Is 13?!?)
My most beautiful Bean, my heart dog, turns 13 today (May 14). It’s so hard to believe that the sweet, sassy little puppy is 13! She’s doing amazing, especially since we thought we might lose her a year and a half ago to a horrific bout of pancreatitis.
For my own reference (and for anyone who might be interested), I thought I’d note what I’ve done throughout her life to try and build on her good genes and keep her here, Nina-ing, for as long as she wants to be.
- good genes are obviously the single most important factor, her daddy Birk was 16 1/2 when he died, his mother (Nina’s paternal grandmother or farmor) Ebba was 17
- Nina has been lean and fit for her entire life, in fact an acquaintance who has Vallhunds (who are, to be polite, kept considerably plusher than mine) actually called Nina’s breeder Ulla to tell her how my dogs were far too thin. Given that I evaluate body condition as part of my job, and was taught how to do so BY A VETERINARIAN, I think I have a reasonable handle on body condition. Nina has been between 4.5 and 5 out of 9 for just about her entire life. Lean dogs live longer and are healthier. Now if I could just get someone to control MY kibble the way I control hers….
- I wish I could say diet was a big factor, but… She’s eaten everything from raw to the now-discredited grain free diets to what she currently eats, which is ProPlan
- she’s had a job (agility) her whole life and she loves it, plus it gives her a focus and a purpose
- she’s been on Adequan since she was 7 years old (and in fact I started Alice on Adequan at just 10 weeks since there’s a study showing benefits to doing that, and it has no contraindications)
- she’s been on a high-quality high-dose Omega Fatty Acid supplement (currently Catalyst Chews) since I brought her home
- she’s been on Cosamin ASU Advanced (human version of Dasuquin Advanced and much cheaper) for several years, after being on Dasuquin since she was a year old
- she sees a cardiologist every 6 months (not right now obviously), for her age-related valve disease, and she started cardiac meds (pimobendan and enalapril) as soon as they were recommended
- she’s been on Denamarin Advanced (liver supplement) for both liver support (as pimobendan can affect the liver) and brain support (it’s an antioxidant which can help with canine cognitive dysfunction)
- she’s been on ProNeurozone for a few months for brain support and I think it really makes a difference
- I fed ProPlan Bright Mind 7+ for a while and I really think it made a significant difference to her overall brightness and interactivity, but it’s a bit too high in fat for her with her pancreatitis issue so now she’s on the ProPlan Savor Weight Management Reduced Fat and she LOVES it plus she gets extra because she doesn’t need to lose weight and it’s lower calorie. Great to have a decent and over-the-counter lower fat food, it’s 8% fat which seems to be suiting her really well. I am seeing the same sorts of effects on the Denamarin and ProNeurozone, which is great. She’s often the bounciest dog in the house some days!
- she is hormonally intact. I had her hysterectomized (“ovary sparing spayed”) when her breeding career was over, but she still has her ovaries and the hormones they produce.
Here’s what I wrote on Facebook today:
In honor of her 13th birthday, here’s Nina’s QQ #19 towards her PACH (here’s hoping we get to actually run for QQ #20 at some point!) from March 8, 2020, which (as it turns out) was the last time we ran before the COVID lockdown.
If I’d known Nina’s JWW run here was going to be the last run we’d have for a while I….wouldn’t have done anything differently. Having had runs in the past where I was frustrated and let my dog know it, and then having had health scares with my dogs, I made a vow to myself and, more importantly, to my dogs, to always ask myself at the start of a run “if this ends up being your last run with this dog, how will you feel?”, and I try to run every run with joy and with the thought foremost in my mind that I love agility because of the teamwork with my dogs. I love agility because my dogs love playing it with me. I love my dogs before I love agility. But I sure do love agility. In large part because Nina loves agility so much. Her joy in her work is infectious and when runs go well, it’s like a Vulcan mind meld.
Nina has owned my heart since she first stood up on her back legs as a baby in the puppy pen at Ulla’s house and looked me straight in the eye. Her face said “take me home, I’m supposed to be yours”. She has always loved playing agility with me more than anything in the world, I am honored that I have played this game with her for so many years now. I am so very honored that she finished 2019 as the top AKC PACH Vallhund and qualified for the Invitational as the top PACH dog.
I hope we will have more trials in our future, I hope she gets that last QQ for her PACH one day, I hope we can run at the Invitational this year. But if none of those hopes come to be, I will still have the fact that this amazing little dog changed my life, I know people I would never have met because of her. She produced some amazing puppies whose families love them dearly. She is truly my heart dog and I wouldn’t change anything about her. Happy birthday my most beautiful, wonderful Ninabean. I love you so much. 