My Morning Alarm Clock

Taking a nap on the bed while the rest of us workl

This is a blog about my aging dog Maisie the Welsh Terrier.  She is my first dog and so she and I are experiencing life changes for the first time together.

The Morning Wake Up

Yesterday morning started out like any morning in our house.  Winston lounged on the foot of the bed while I slept peacefully.  When the "alarm clock" pushed the door open, I stirred to the clicking of her nails on the wooden floor.

Click-click, pause, click, and then the bed shook and the jingle of a collar brought me to life.  On most mornings, Maisie is my morning alarm clock.

Maisie making sure there is nothing left on my face.

Not long after landing on the bed, she swiftly marched up to my face for the morning's ritual bathing.  If I am sufficiently awake, I hide my head under the sheets to prevent her iron-smelling breath and high-gear licking from assaulting my sleepy face.  If not, I just close my eyes and submit to her cleansing.

A Bit About Maisie

Maisie as a puppy. I could just kiss that nose all day.

Maisie is my heart-and-soul dog.  We share a lot in common except that she is wrapped up in black and tan fur, and I am not.  Maisie can be bossy, protective of those she loves, competitive and lazy.  She enjoys sitting in the sun, until she doesn't, and then she sits some more in the shade.  She is ten now, and as she has aged, her routines have changed.

Getting Older Together

As Maisie and I get older, I have noticed changes in both of us.

Maisie enjoyed sleeping on this Jacob's Lamb rug while living in Tregaron, Wales.

I no longer can stay up late at night and then bounce back in the early morning.  I am a bit achy after long power walks and need to stretch more than I used to.  I now take pills every morning whether I want to or not.

Maisie can run like the wind when she wants but then will sit down for a rest.

Before, Maisie used to love racing after the ball with Winston, bringing it back to me with a triumphant look.  Now, she races to the ball and then sits down with the ball safely wedged in her paws.  After one or two attempts to engage her, she just trots off to a sunny spot and leaves the racing to Winston.

Maisie fell off a piece of agility equipment when she was younger, and I believe she has developed arthritis in her hip.  We've done therapy, and she takes joint supplements, and she has learned to give herself the grace to stop when she wants to.  Winston is happy to play by himself.

Maisie fully reclining while Winston stays where he is welcome. If he turned around she'd nip him.

Another thing that has changed is where she sleeps.  Maisie used to sleep with me every night, nestled into the pillow beside me.  A soft growl in the dark told me I was invading her pillow space and reminding me to move over.  Now, she prefers to sleep in the living room on the couch or a wingback chair she has claimed as her own.  The first few weeks of this made me very sad.

Maisie loves snuggling into the pillows wherever we are. Sadly, now she only does it when I am no longer in bed.

I would invite her up the stairs and she would just stare back at me.  Or she would come up and sit with me for a bit but get up to leave when the lights went out.  Now, she gives me a look that indicates her desire to remain where she is downstairs.  I kiss her goodnight and give her an evening belly rub before heading to bed.

Missing Maisie

The bed was extremely lonely without Maisie, and then Winston showed up to replace her.  Winston is the second-stringer in the Fisher dog world.  Maisie calls all the shots, including who is allowed on the bed at any given time.

What used to be Winston's place on the floor, below the bed, has changed.  He now looks at me around 8:30 pm, while I am in the living room watching TV.

If dogs could talk, I think Winston is saying "I'm kinda tired mom and I'm gonna go to bed.  You coming?" and then he makes his way up to the bed regardless of my answer.

Winston in his spot on the bed. Looking at his eye though, Maisie must have been on her way upstairs.

Winston won't sleep on the pillow with me, but he sleeps at the foot, snoring loudly, while silently passing very stinky gas.  It's a good thing Winston doesn't sleep on the pillow, I think his mighty wind would kill me.  Some nights I really miss Maisie and her fart-free evenings.

When your dog is as close as she is in the morning, it's tough to get a clean photo. Maisie attempting to lick me.

So now, Maisie is my alarm clock.  She enters the room and Winston reclaims his space on the floor.  Some days Winston jumps back up, and Maisie throws him a look, causing him to retreat quickly.  Other times, she is a nice older sister and lets him stay, at the end of the bed of course, far away from me.

Other Changes in Maisie

Maisie is changing in other ways as well.  Where she used to happily greet almost any other dog, she now picks and chooses whom to greet.  There is no pattern to her behavior, and she never growls or bites, but I can tell from her body language she is not as happy to do the doggy dance with every dog she meets.

Terrier time is always well received.

The last major change I have found in Maisie is her deep-set fear of bathing and grooming.  She never loved going to the groomers and hates going for swims.  Trimming her nails isn't very pleasant either, but she never bites the person doing them.  Instead, she shakes like a leaf and cowers for the entire time she is groomed.

I've learned how to bathe and groom her myself and while the result isn't perfect, it keeps her a lot more calm than when I send her to the groomers.  Thankfully, there are one or two places where I can get her groomed when her coat just looks a mess.  They make her the only client, which relieves additional stress.

The Stink Eye

I am happy to report that her stink eye is still intact.  Forgive me for being proud of her stink eye.  I get a chuckle out of Maisie proudly walking past some dogs, turning her head towards them, and fixing her eyes on them.  What results is Maisie walking by looking like an angel, while the other dog goes ballistic and the human apologizes profusely for the strange behavior of their dog.

Back off mom, I want to sleep.

Maisie is a Welsh after all, and she has standards when it comes to socializing with the more common breeds of dogs.  Of course, she never gives the eye to another terrier.  She and they just bark loudly and act territorial instead.

It Won't Last Forever

Yesterday, I was cleaning out my photos on the computer and laughed at just how many pictures I have of the pups.  I won't ever delete any photos of them because they will remain as a photographic legacy when the dogs are no longer with me. She's ten now, and I hope to have at least several more years with her. 

In Conclusion

Circling back to my morning alarm clock, and her morning rituals, as I gathered up my coffee cup and phone ready to start the day I called her to come downstairs for breakfast.  Maisie looked into my eyes and stood up as if to jump down and start her day as well.  She didn't follow me downstairs for breakfast, instead she walked over to my pillow, pawed it until it was just right, and fell back asleep for another hour.

I love my sweet Maisie girl.

Pausing for a moment during a power walk to take a selfie with my girl.