I'm tiptoeing around, trying to pass Luke without waking him but it's not happening. At 14 years old his hearing has only slightly diminished. At the same age Tilley and Jessie's hearing was awful; I found myself constantly yelling. After they passed it was difficult to get back into the "not yelling" mode. Calling Luke and Elsa for dinner took the longest as that was the only time I really needed to get Jessie's attention. Any other time I would just go get her; find her and bring her wherever I needed her to go. But Mr. Luke is keeping his hearing pretty well; I am rarely able to pass by without him waking.
I hate that my movements cause Luke to get up and follow. Of course I love that my dogs feel the need to be near. Both Luke and Elsa are very close follower types. Tilley and Jessie were not as panicked followers; my boy before Luke (Clyde) was. Most of my dogs have been followers; some more than others. I have never in all my years of living with dogs; had a dog that didn't care where I was. With Luke being a close kind of guy; it is important for him to be where I am. Elsa is even worse than Luke; she needs to be inches from me, whereas Luke is good with a few feet.
Luke's worst age issue is by far his back legs. They give him grief daily and in the morning they are at their low as far as strength goes. The longer he is down the harder it is to get up. But being 14, he needs to sleep; and I would like to allow him to do that in long sessions. but I move around a lot. Moving means that Luke is following. He has even changed his position in the living room so that I cannot come or go without him knowing. He is now lying right in the middle of the walkway from one room to another. There he has full view of the front door, stairs going down and up and the family room. So he's got me covered.
Just this morning I tried my hardest to tip toe past, but nope. He awakened and I quickly set my hand on him; telling him to "wait, I'll be right back." He has started waiting when I tell him to. But I only have a small time frame to get back in sight. He knows that when I say "I'll be right back," that I will indeed be back.
On one hand the following is a good way for him to keep moving. He still follows me up and down the stairs; although I am always behind him going up and in front of him going down. He has a difficult time on walks so they are very short; at least his moving about during the day does keep him mobile. Although I really wish that he could sleep for longer periods of time without waking. I am lucky in that he is a good sleeper and pretty much is asleep as soon as his head his the pillow. I just hope that Elsa can sleep well when she grows old; that one always has one eye open, ready at a moments notice.
For now I try to bring my water, snacks, phone, camera etc up to the office with me so that I can sit for while. This lets Luke sleep interrupted. As long as I stay put, he stays put and asleep. There truly is nothing like an old dog.