Alaska Beagle Ranch E28

Updates on Alaska Beagle Ranch. Also, is a dog right for you after retirement? What type of dog should you get for retirement?

Transcript

Alaska Beagle Ranch

Episode 28

Hello everyone and welcome to the Alaska Beagle Ranch. I’m Dave Dorsey and I manage the ranch located near Wasilla, Alaska. There are presently 16 beagles and 1 basset at the ranch right now. Alaska Beagle Ranch is the only rescue in Alaska dedicated to beagles only.

Thank you to all our listeners. This week we welcome new listeners from Frankfurt, Germany and Whitehorse, Yukon. In the US, we have new listeners from Brentwood, Tennessee and Dallas, Texas. Of course, our largest listener groups are in Wasilla, Anchorage, Palmer, North Pole, Fairbanks, Knik and new listeners from Homer and Kodiak. Welcome and I hope you like what we have for you here. We do appreciate your support. The Alaska Beagle Ranch has over 940 downloads since we started doing our podcast last November. We are available wherever you listen to your podcasts at.

 While we’re talking about it, will you take a moment and write us a review. Tell us what you think, how we are doing and maybe what you would like to hear more about. Help us get the word out about the Alaska Beagle Ranch.

You also can help support our podcast by donating on PayPal @Beagle Ranch 907.

Today’s show is dedicated to Aggie. Aggie was a beagle / lab mix from long before ABR came to be.

ABR Update:

No changes since last week. All the pups are doing well.

Dave has retired from his paying job. Yes, after 38 years of selling auto parts, I am now a full-time beagle wrangler.

OK, I’m retired and have 17 dogs. The question is if a dog or two is right for you after retirement. Here are 6 reasons dogs make the best pets for retirees.

1. Dogs Encourage Exercise

Dogs have a special way of getting their humans off the couch and out moving. In fact, a dog owner walking their dog can log about 23,700 miles over the dog’s 12-year lifespan. “Of all pets, dogs appear most likely to positively influence the level of human physical activity,” the American Heart Association asserted in a scientific statement on pet ownership and cardiovascular risk.

In support of this, a study on dogs and exercise led by BioMed Central, found that dog owners on average walked 22 minutes more per day or 2760 additional steps per day compared to people who didn’t own a dog

2. Dogs Can Help Heart Health

In addition to encouraging exercise, a dog may help improve your cardiovascular health. For example, in one study on dog ownership and blood pressure, 30 people with borderline hypertension were told to either adopt a dog from a local shelter immediately or remain dogless.

Months later, participants who adopted a furry friend experienced a reduction in blood pressure, unlike the others. But once those in the other group adopted dogs, their blood pressures decreased as well. Dogs aren’t a cure all for cardiovascular health issues, of course, but living with a canine companion may do your heart some good.

3. Dogs Provide Companionship

A dog is the perfect pet to provide company. After all, humans and dogs have been together for over 18,000 years. Dogs love to be close to their humans—scientists call it “proximity seeking”—which is why they tend to want to snuggle on your lap, cuddle next to you on the couch, or lie at your feet. Dogs also have an uncanny knack for picking up on and responding to signals from humans and can be trained to perform tasks, like fetching your slippers or picking up dropped items.

A bonus: training and playing with your dog can give you a mental workout, explains Darius Russin, MD, a family practice doctor and geriatrician in Austin, Texas. “You can keep your mind sharp by playing with puzzles with your dog.”

4. Dogs Foster a Sense of Community

Dogs not only provide plenty of companionship and love on their own, they also help bring people together. If you’ve ever walked a friendly dog through a bustling neighborhood, you know they make great ice breakers. Research backs up this obvious truth. In fact, one study found that walking a dog was the third most common way people met their neighbors in a new neighborhood, and that dog owners were 60 percent more likely than non-dog owners to meet new people in their neighborhood. 

Dogs also bolster support networks, which helps guard against loneliness, says Steve Feldman, executive director of the Human Animal Bond Research Institute, a nonprofit organization that gathers and funds research on the benefits of companion animals. “Dogs really do encourage and facilitate social interaction, and people you interact with socially become your support system” he adds.

It’s easy to see how dogs bring people together, Feldman says. Dog owners who go out walking with their pooches “learn the names of the dogs and maybe even the names of the humans” in the neighborhood, he explains. “Or the neighbor kids want to come see the dog and you meet the family next door.”

5. Dogs Add Routine to Retirement

When you retired, you probably savored your newfound freedom. But, at the same time, you might have found it difficult to adjust to the lack of structure that having a job provides. Fortunately, dogs are very routine-oriented, and they can help to get you on schedule.

For example, Walker’s dogs wake her up every morning at 7 a.m. She takes them for a walk, then makes coffee and watches the news. They remind her when it’s time for their afternoon snack and they even start barking when it’s time to go to bed. She and her husband welcome the sense of order their dogs provide. “It’s like they have a clock in their brain.”

6. Dogs Make Good Travel Companions

Many retirees take advantage of their release from the 9 to 5 grind by traveling more, and some become snowbirds, traveling south every winter. Because dogs are generally amenable to life on the go, you can take them with you on your travels. Small dogs can even accompany you on flights in the cabin so long as they’re in their carrier.

And travel with dogs is now easier than ever due to a proliferation of pet-friendly lodgings and services, Feldman points out. For example, the Walkers stay in dog-friendly hotels at their vacation destinations. And once they arrive, they find that their dogs inevitably get them talking and joking with hotel staff and fellow travelers.

“Dogs make great pets for seniors,” Feldman says.

Loyal, protective, goofy…just some adjectives to describe our furry friends.

How to choose the best dog for retirees according to Dr Alex Avery at Our Pets Health.com

If you are coming up to retirement, or if you are already retired, and you’re thinking about getting a new dog then there are some of the questions that you need to ask yourself when you are thinking about what the best dog for retirement is.

Retirement and senior living can bring a specific set of challenges and opportunities. It is important for you and your new dog that you plan and consider all of your options carefully.

Here are some considerations, as well as the best dog breed suggestions!

When choosing the best dog for retirement, you need to decide on:

• Big or small breed
• Energetic or quiet, relaxed breed
• Which health problems are most likely for the breed
• Puppy, adult or senior dog

Answering these questions will help make sure you will be choosing the right dog that will suit your individual lifestyle and situation.

Let’s break them down a bit more.

Is a Small Breed or Large Breed Dog Best?

The first of these is should you get a big breed or a small breed. This is important for several different reasons.

A larger, heavier dog is also a stronger dog, and their strength and weight are something that you are going to need to be able to manage.

CONSIDER THEIR STRENGTH (AND YOURS)

You need to consider if you are physically able to handle and manage the dog.

Clearly a Labrador pulling on the end of the lead is going to be a lot more stress and strain than handling a Chihuahua.

Size is also important if your dog becomes unwell, gets an injury when you are out and about, or gets sick and unwell at home. Are you going to physically be able to get them into the car? Your neighbors or family may not be around to help.

SPACE REQUIREMENTS

A big dog needs more space. A big energetic dog need even more!

You need to consider your current home, as well as your potential future homes. Are you likely to need to move into a retirement complex or assisted living center, and what are their likely pet policies? Will they accept small but not large dog breeds?

Energetic or Quiet Dog?

The next question to ask when you are thinking about the best breed for retirement is, should you get an energetic dog or a quiet dog?

YOUR LIFESTYLE

An energetic dog is clearly going to be a great companion if you are planning to spend your days out and about, exploring your neighborhood, going on holidays, or walking the hills.

If you are planning on a quieter life, if maybe health problems mean that you are not able to be quite so active, then having a quieter dog breed that requires much less exercise is going to be really important.

Not just because they will be easier to manage, but also because you are going to be able to provide a better home environment for them.

There is nothing worse than an energetic dog not being able to burn off their energy. This is a classic situation for the development of behavioral problems. A dog becomes frustrated, and they are not as happy as they could otherwise be.

What energy level is going to suit your retirement lifestyle best?

Breed Specific Problems?

If you are planning on getting a pure breed dog for your retirement, then you need to know that a lot of them will come with their specific sets of health problem predispositions. That’s not to say an individual is certain to suffer from them. Just that they are more likely to be a problem.

The West Highland White Terrier will frequently suffer from allergic skin disease. A Cavalier King Charles is more likely to develop heart failure. Squashed nose dog breeds, like a Pug or French Bulldog, will often suffer from significant airway narrowing. Dachshund suffer from spinal disease.

You get the idea. It’s important that you are aware of the different health problems that your future dog could face.

YOUR FUNDS

If you are in retirement, then consider how much pension you're going to be able to afford with your pension.

It might be that money is not a concern, but the last thing you want to do is to put yourself into financial difficulty in your senior years. Especially if it to provide a treatment that could have been predicted based on the breed of dog you chose.

Puppy, Middle-Aged, or Senior Dog?

My final key question when choosing the best breed for retirement is to think about the age of dog that will suit you best. Do you get a puppy, a middle-aged dog, or a fellow senior citizen.

ENERGETIC PUPPIES

A puppy will have loads of energy and enthusiasm. It is important that they get out and about and that they are effectively and safely socialized.

The likelihood is that you are going to have more time on your hands in retirement, and so you are going to be able to put the effort in that’s needed. You are going to be able to spend plenty of time training and socializing them properly.

This is also a fantastic bonding experience to go through with your new puppy.

It might be that you are not able to do that for them. If we are not kind of starting them off on the right tracks, then we can get behavioral problems and other issues.

WELL-BEHAVED ADULT DOG

It might be that an adult or middle-aged dog is more appropriate for you.

They are going to already be trained and house-broken. They are likely to already have been neutered and vaccinated.

If socialization and training are not activities you’ll be able to provide, then an adult dog is going to be a better fit for you.

QUIET SENIOR DOG

Alternatively, a senior dog might be more appropriate. You might be able to provide a fantastic home for an older dog.

Older dogs are typically calmer and more settled.

They may have a few preexisting health problems. They may be arthritic, and you definitely need to know if there is extra care a new senior is going to need.

A senior dog is also less likely to outlive you. This is a bit of a morbid thought, but a very important consideration none-the-less.

LIFE EXPECTANCY

From this point of view, you also need to consider the fact that your dog is going to potentially live until they are 14 years old if they are a bigger dog breed, or 16 - 18 years of age if they are a smaller dog breed.

As a result, you also need to think of what your situation is going to be like towards the end of that time-frame. You need to be able to cope with your deg’s needs for their whole life.

It is clearly really difficult to predict what our health is going to be like. But if you are already suffering from health problems then what is the likely progression of these?

How active are you likely to remain? Are you going to be able to lift, carry, and move your big dog? What are your living arrangements? Is there a chance that you are going to need to move into an assisted living situation? Are you going to have to get residential care where they may allow a small breed dog but they are not going to a larger dog?

If we can have all of these considerations of what is likely to happen to us, then we are more likely to be able to provide that final forever home for our dog, without putting ourselves and our own needs under undue stress.

Looking after you is just as important as looking after your dog.

Time and again I see people, young and old, putting themselves in severe financial or emotional difficulty because they have not chosen the best dog breed for them. They have not considered their situation, lifestyle, and other circumstances.

Estate Planning

This leads me to another thing to think about, which is actually estate planning. If your dog does outlive you then what is going to happen to them? This is something that really is important to think about.

If you suddenly become unwell, then thinking about what's going to happen to your pet can be a huge source of stress.

Talk to your friends and family about the realistic chance of them taking on your dog or cat. Have a really serious conversation, encouraging everyone to be honest in their ability to have your dog live with them.

There are other options available. Charities like the Cinnamon Trust in the UK, or the RSPCA Home For Life Scheme, will look after your dog should you not be able to and provide them with the best care possible.

Consider also putting your wishes in your will. If possible, have some money set aside to look after them so that their costs are able to be covered and they don't become a financial burden for somebody. This will help ensure your dog continues to receive the best possible care.

Having these provisions in place can take a lot of stress away from your life if things do happen to take a turn for the worse.

Rescue dogs are awesome. Check out an animal shelter or your local rescue today.

Beagle Spotlight: Aggie was a beagle lab mix that my son Nick bought from a homeless person when he was 14. Aggie and Nick were the best of friends. Nick decided to come live with me, and his mom said Aggie goes also. 

Aggie had the best of lives. Nick took him to a lot of places and did lots of things. I was still married at the time. My wife Ruth took Aggie to lots of places also. When Nick was old enough to live on his own, we asked for Aggie to stay with us. We figured Nick wasn’t going to eat well and no sense of Aggie starving. Besides, Aggie was getting older and started to need visits to the Veterinarian more often, an expense Nick didn’t need.

We didn’t know exactly how old Aggie was. He was a pup when Nick first got him. When he was about 13 and on a visit to the vet a large mass was found in his abdomen. They removed it, but that seemed to age Aggie fast. The normal old dog problems started. Sleeping a lot, trouble getting up and not eating. I let Ruth make the final decision. When she agreed it was time to help him across the bridge, she went and got him rotisserie chicken, his favorite. We were both with him when he passed, and we both cried so hard. I hope we made a difference in his life because he did in ours.

Shoutout: Shoutout to all the people that mention either my name or Alaska Beagle Ranch on social media when someone is rehoming their beagle. It’s nice to know that people appreciate what we do and recommend us to others. Thank you!!!!!

Alaska Beagle Ranch is a nonprofit and we depend on donations to help us with our mission. What is our mission? Our mission and our goal are for every beagle, especially in Alaska, to have a happy home. For our beagles to be happy, they need to be healthy. We only adopt healthy beagles, so we need your help in paying their medical bills to get or keep them healthy so they can find their forever home. Beagles that can’t be adopted become resident beagles at ABR. Their medical, food and upkeep can be costly. We know that the economy isn’t as good as we would like it to be. Just a few dollars add up and goes a long, long way. You can find us on PayPal @Beagle Ranch907 or go to our Facebook page of Alaska Beagle Ranch and you can find links to PayPal and our Amazon wish list.

We are looking for some wonderful fosters. There can be a lot involved in being a foster, so think it over. Some of our beagles might have special needs like having to go to the vet, or they might need to take meds and maybe it might need some additional training. Of course, they always need some good loving. Sorry, but you must live in the Matanuska Susitna Valley area, specifically near Wasilla or Palmer. Email me at akbeagleranch@gmail.comor call us at 907-202-4226 for more information. Remember, our goal is for every beagle, especially in Alaska, has a happy home.

Thank you for listening to the Alaska Beagle Ranch. If you know of a beagle needing a good and happy home, put the owners in contact with us. If you know someone who is looking to get a beagle, please share our podcast with them. All the episodes will tell you what you need to know about beagles. If you have any questions about beagles and if they are right for you, email me at akbeagleranch@gmail.com or call us at 907-202-4226. You can follow us on Facebook at Alaska Beagle Ranch or on Twitter at @beagle_ranch. 

Be sure to like, follow, subscribe, review, and maybe send some feedback or ideas.See you at Alaska Beagle Ranch next week.