# Retiring a dog that doesn't want to retire



## leslie cassian (Jun 3, 2007)

It's time. I've waffled for a year, but I need to retire my Mal. While I waited for the DS to grow up a bit more, I kept working him and he was doing really, really well. I started to think that a SchH title was possible and had hoped to trial him this fall. Then the soundness problems in bitework that have been an issue before came back and he started limping from horsing around with the DS so I stopped working him. 

I know I've been in denial for a while, but he has so much drive. He wants to work. He thrives on doing stuff. He wants to train. So what do I do with him now? He's only 5 - he's a Mal - he should have a few good working years left. There's a part of me that feels like he deserves the opportunity to title.

How do you retire a dog that physically can't compete, but mentally isn't ready to quit?


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## jack van strien (Apr 9, 2009)

He is five years old and has soundness problems in bite work?He is also limping?
A good mal can do fulltime work upto the age of about thirteen,but a dog with problems?
I would spend my time training the new one and retire the mal or find him a good home.
Maybe use him for tracking?
If he is limping now after playing it will only get worse,he is still a young dog imo.


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## Sarah Atlas (Dec 15, 2008)

My Urban disaster dog turned 10 in August. May I retired him. How do you retire a dog that still wants to work? While it is hard, i decided to allow my dog the dignity to retire while he was not injured .A large dog , Tango was diagnosed with arthritis on his back and knees. Hips were still very good but he has been my partner for 8 years, brought closure to families in difficut times. and always had my back. He still goes to training and might do something simple that does not require climbing but makes him feel as thuogh he is still a very valuable member of my family.
Hard yes, but i hope to have him by my side for several more years.


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## Candy Eggert (Oct 28, 2008)

Hi Leslie,

It's such a difficult call. I have a 9 1/2 y/o Malinois that's been retired (my version anyway) from competition for about 3 years now. Even at his age he has extreme high drives, the more you work him the higher he gets and he always wants more. Quit is not in his vocabulary.

The trouble is he's reckless and almost every workout he comes up injuring something on his body. But in his mind he's still a working dog. He doesn't settle well and if not worked becomes a royal PITA. Even self-destructive behavior, ie lick granuloma on his elbow that I have keep after him from licking it.

I've devised some games to keep his mind busy and make him think he's still working in some way. Ball searches, hides, and food tosses in long grass, etc. Tossing his ball in a big pile of cardboard boxes. Of course it's not as physical as he's used to but sometimes the mental satisfaction is good too.


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## leslie cassian (Jun 3, 2007)

The limp is from crashing into the DS while running and playing with her. I suspect it's a soft tissue injury and will heal with time. I would love to do xrays and see if there is something else going on, but I can't afford to right now. Would love to pinpoint where the bitework pain issues come from. 

It would be easier if I didn't have another working dog. He's really mellow and easy to live with in the house, but he knows when we're at training. I try to get him out and do some precision work with him - mentally challenging, but not hard on him physically. 

Glad I'm not the only one who struggles with this.


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## Mara Jessup (Sep 7, 2010)

Find a job for him to do even if you've got to make one up. Get him to retrive things around the house. Get him tracking and make it a point to get out once or twice a week and track with him. Train him for OB. Sheesh, if nothing else train him to do 101 stupid pet tricks - it will still work his mind and give him something to do. 

I've got an 11 y/o Border Collie who has been my shadow for the past 8 years. She lives to work and please. So I let her in ways I can. I take her out to do farm chores several times a week and let her do simple jobs with the sheep even if it's just a gather that I really don't need. I'll work a 5 minute training session in for her while I'm out working my other 2. I have her bring me things around the house. I taught her to find my keys outdoors. She loves it and it satisfies her need.


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## Martine Loots (Dec 28, 2009)

Pain while biting usually comes from neck or upper back and if he has blocked vertebra in his neck, this can result in limping too.
Could very well be that he's good as new after a few visits to a good osteopath.

Had to retire Fils last year too because of injury.
With him the only problem was his speed on the long attacks, where he kept hurting himself because of the impact of the entry.
Now I do workouts with him (swimming, treadmill, hikes) and at the club he is now "the teacher for young decoys". 
He is the perfect dog for that as he's experienced and very clean in the work. Only thing I avoid now is the long attacks, which isn't a problem as a young decoy couldn't manage him at full speed anyway.


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## Chuck Zang (May 12, 2010)

I agree with retiring them while they still have some time left so that they can relax and be a dog(pet.) My partner is eight and I hope to retire him next year. He has been a good dual pupose dog but his drive is starting to drop off a bit, especially in the summer heat. I'm hoping that he settles into an easy retirement. I'll probably do like someone else suggested and take him to training from time to time just for some easy work.

Good Luck with your decision.


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## Jenna Lea (Jul 25, 2010)

What Jack said above, find a lower impact event to work him and maybe trial him in to give him something to stimulate his mind but not tax him physically as much if he's having soundness issues. Straight obedience, tracking or the like.


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## Jaana Aadamsoo (Dec 5, 2008)

Silvia Trkman says that when people ask when does her dog deserve to be retired she relplies that she deserves to never be retired. I think this dog at the age of 14 now doesn´t do much but she just ran her 9,5 year old dog in agility European Open. 

I think this goes for any dog that wants to work. If they can´t do the work they used to just give them a new one. Previous suggestions are all great- tracking and sniffing can wear a dog out, teaching tricks and stuff that assistant dogs might do would give something to do.


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## Ashley Campbell (Jun 21, 2009)

Chuck Zang said:


> I agree with retiring them while they still have some time left so that they can relax and be a dog(pet.) My partner is eight and I hope to retire him next year. He has been a good dual pupose dog but his drive is starting to drop off a bit, especially in the summer heat. I'm hoping that he settles into an easy retirement. I'll probably do like someone else suggested and take him to training from time to time just for some easy work.
> 
> Good Luck with your decision.


This is what we did with my horse. I know it's not the same as a dog, but when he injured his knee badly, he was on 6 months of rest. The knee still swells when he's ridden hard so now he's "retired". Sure he still gets ridden lightly, or by my kids when we go to visit, but he seems to enjoy his downtime out eating grass in a field and being ridden when the mood strikes someone. 

He's still not a good novice horse, he still bucks and can be quite a handful for an inexperienced rider. I pony him from my other horse for my kids. He's been retired for about 8 years now and is 23 years old. 

So while he appreciates the occasional get out and do something, he also seems to be content being a lazy fat horse.


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## Maren Bell Jones (Jun 7, 2006)

Perhaps try herding with him? In my very limited experience, it can actually be helpful to have a "slow" dog if you haven't tried herding before (I can't remember if you have or not?). Our Mals are NOT good newbie dogs for me and my husband O, but my old nearly 11 year old Rottweiler is perfect for a newb like me.  She's slow, not grippy, drivey without needing much cheerleading (unless it's a real big arena and she's hot). I may retire her either this fall or next spring as I don't think she will want to do another hot summer, as we keep her sessions usually no longer than 5 minutes or so with 10 minutes at the very most. But it certainly keeps a nice old dog entertained.


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## leslie cassian (Jun 3, 2007)

He's not slow - that's the problem. Previous encounters with sheep ended up being expensive. He likes to 'grip' the sheep. I have thought about herding and if I found someone experienced and willing to work with a mal, I would love to try it.

He's only 5, still full of mali craziness and not ready to quit. Even if I did sort out what's hurting him - at what age do you stop trying for a SchH1 and call it a day? I have the DS to work, so I don't have a lot of time to pursue other sports, much as I'd like to. 

I have him entered in CKC obedience trial in October - fun, but somehow it doesn't seem like enough.


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## jeff govednik (Jul 31, 2009)

Firstly get him comfortable..have you ever looked in to chiropractic care? I have used it in several of my dogs

My current semi retired dog is 9 he just got his STP 3 at the Mid Central regional... I track with him just not as often.. still take for walks and swimming.

I am a bit more selective about when I do activities.. try to pick out cooler days rest him more.. you can still do things with your dog just remember that with age they are more prone to injury.. tracking is excellent.. you can do some obedience maybe not as formal and avoid jumping

Best of luck


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## Jo Radley (Jun 19, 2010)

osteopathy, acupuncture, rolfing - all good to keep animals working


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## Tammy St. Louis (Feb 17, 2010)

from what i am reading his only problem is soundness in bitework? ands limping from playing with your DS which you feel will go away , so bitework is your only problem , there are MANY other things you can do 
agility , herding, flyball , dog sledding or scootering, tracking, akc obedience , 

there is many other fields you can get into , if its only in bitework .. unless i am reading it wrong


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## Joby Becker (Dec 13, 2009)

maybe I missed it but what are the "soundness" issues in the bitework?


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## Maren Bell Jones (Jun 7, 2006)

leslie cassian said:


> He's not slow - that's the problem. Previous encounters with sheep ended up being expensive. He likes to 'grip' the sheep. I have thought about herding and if I found someone experienced and willing to work with a mal, I would love to try it.
> 
> He's only 5, still full of mali craziness and not ready to quit. Even if I did sort out what's hurting him - at what age do you stop trying for a SchH1 and call it a day? I have the DS to work, so I don't have a lot of time to pursue other sports, much as I'd like to.
> 
> I have him entered in CKC obedience trial in October - fun, but somehow it doesn't seem like enough.


I hear you, my girl is 6 and she's certainly in no shortage of gas in the tank. I'm currently on my equine rotation, so I have only done one herding session in the last month or so, but I have found in my limited experience when my Mals are tired and have more space to work in (a bigger arena instead of a round pen), they tend to settle a bit better. Like Fawkes would just get hysterical in a round pen so much that I had pulled him temporarily from herding because I wanted to focus on Elsa the Rottie for the time being, but on a whim, I brought him out to a session at another location and tried him on leash in a big arena and it was much, much better. Not saying I quite trust him to go off leash without a muzzle without running one into the fence or being too grippy, but seems more promising.


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## leslie cassian (Jun 3, 2007)

Joby Becker said:


> maybe I missed it but what are the "soundness" issues in the bitework?


I'm not exactly sure, but clearly something pinches or makes him go ouch. Not every time, but I will get either a yipe or just some whining. The whining is not usual for him, and I don't think it is stress related whining, I think it is pain. Happens when he tugs with me, too. At its worst, it seems as if it radiates down his front leg. I have laid him off from tug and bitework and then started working him again and he has been fine for a while, but then it seems to come back. 

He has been seen by my vet (useless and unhelpful), a chiropracter - didn't seem to help much, and a massage therapist. 

It has been suggested that it is a whiplash type injury - he likes to shake on the bite or tug.


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## leslie cassian (Jun 3, 2007)

I know there are lots of other things I can do with him other than schutzhund, but honestly, I don't have the time or the money to pursue a second sport - it's hard enough getting out to the sch. club three times a week and still having time to keep up with all the other things I need to get done.


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## Rachel Kilburn (May 12, 2010)

I have had a similar limping issue with my DS I however took him to the Chiropractor a couple times, he was always stiff and sore after bitework, after the chiropractic visit the limping has seemed to subside and he is able to enjoy it now (not that he didn't before) I also put him on Springtime Longevity and with the combo of both it seems to have helped


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## Loring Cox (Sep 6, 2008)

If you think the injury is only temporary maybe you'd be willing to donate him to a PD to do detection only work? Maybe there is a need around you for a narc dog.

I have heard you can donate the dog to a non-profit who then gifts the dog to the PD for a tax write off. Win win for you and the dog.


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