By Sophie

Although I’m almost 84 in dog years, in my mind and heart I’m still a puppy – but unfortunately, my body can’t always keep up with what my brain wants it to do.  (I’m sure all you older pooches and people know exactly what I mean.) So drop that tennis ball and check out these activities that are lots of fun but won’t wear us senior dogs out.

• Keep on going for regular walks, but don’t do a marathon. A couple of short walks a day is better than one long one for senior dogs. Your people can keep your senses stimulated by mixing it up a little and taking a different route each time. When you get home, I highly recommend begging for a nice massage to relieve any soreness.
   
• Take lots of naps. Napping is a verb, dears, which means it’s an activity.
   
• Invite yourself along to social gatherings. Working a roomful of people with wags and kisses helps keep us alert and mobile.
   
• We older pooches also make great therapy dogs since we’re calmer than our younger counterparts. There are plenty of people in hospitals, nursing homes and schools who would love to scratch our ears and give us a nice tummy rub!
   
• Teaching an old dog new tricks is not just a cliché – it actually works, and provides us with lots of mental exercise! In fact, I just learned how to impress all my pals by offering them a paw to shake.
   
• Chew toys are a senior dog’s best friends. And so are peanut butter-flavored treats. Chew toys filled with peanut butter-flavored treats? Those are our “BFFs,” as the puppies say.
   
• If you have a swimming pool and the weather is warm, go ahead and do a little dog paddling.
   
• From personal experience, I can tell you that having a younger pooch around keeps me feeling like a puppy. Just be sure to train the l’il whippersnapper  to sit and stay whenever you need to rest. It works like a charm with my pal Leroy!

 I know we’re still pups at heart, but be sure you don’t overexert yourself when doing any of these or other activities. If you’re coughing or losing your appetite, be sure your people take you to a vet right away.

Also make sure your people regularly give you doggie vitamins and supplements to keep you in the pink. Personally I adore TJ’s Health Bites because they’re so peanut-buttery good and easy for an old gal like me to chew.

Remember – napping is an activity, my dear friends, so if you get tuckered out, find a warm spot and treat yourself to a nice snooze!

Do you have any ideas for fun activities with a senior dog? Please share them in the Comments area below!

Sophie was almost 84 dog years old when she passed to the Rainbow Bridge last November. She was adopted by i Love Dogs writer Laura Goldman in 1998 from a Hawthorne, Calif. shelter. She loved long naps, looking out the front windows and most of all, her best buddy Leroy. Check out her other articles!