We are on day two of a very large renovation. This has been a longtime coming, we have been prepping for months. We are now in the thick of it; and will be without a kitchen, dining room and living room for about 3 months. This of course has thrown a curveball at our routine and we’re just figuring it all out. Lucky for us both Elsa and Riggs are pretty use to having workers around the house.
A year ago we put a new roof on our house which was the loudest procedure they’ve ever gone through. Not only did they have to remove one roof, but two. Apparently the previous owners thought it was a good (cheaper) idea to build a new roof over an old one. Not a good idea at all. So it was loud, crazy loud and we made it through; so this should be easy peasy…right?
Alot has changed. There are more stairs daily for Elsa to deal with which has been a challenge but she’s getting use to it. Feeding is different, I have no kitchen to prep. We prep in the garage and eat there or outside. But I have tried to maintain sameness as much as I possibly can. Having old dogs is very different than young or prime age dogs. Riggs just goes with the flow; even though he is a much less steady type dog.
We have lots of barriers up so we have privacy and our own space which is very important as this will be a while. I am trying to make their days pretty much the same. We were at the park early this morning; but getting to and back from our car was even different. We had to harness up and cross the road to get to our car. This is where all the important training comes in. NO JUMPING OUT UNLESS RELEASED.
Riggs is doing a bit of grumbling when he hears the workers talking close, but not alot. It takes time for everyone to adjust and something like this is by far the hardest on Miss Elsa. Her footing is the most important thing; along with her beds. She needs comfort so that she can get the much needed long hours of sleep that she needs. We have more runners around and are in the thick of our learning curve.
This being only day two I think we’re doing great. Change is hard, harder for old dogs. I remember going across the country with Jessie, Luke, Tilley and Elsa. Jessie (15.5) and Tilley (14.5) had a very tough time of it. Luke was a champ at 11 years old and Elsa was an angel at 4.5 months. It is often the act of removing familiarity that gives you the clearest vision of how an old dog is doing. In their familar surroundings they can seem to thrive; taken out, not so much.
So keeping everything as same as you can is a very important part of change for old dogs. Life is full of changes. There are small, almost unnoticeable changes all the way up to monumental changes throughout life. Keeping things familiar for our old dogs is important. So we are working on making sure that everything is great with Elsa. Riggs seems fine with it all; although he’s not a fan of losing his run of the house right now. But a large part of his house is now in shambles and very unusable.
I always say “it has to get worse before it gets better.” This is a fact right now.